I feel the need to preface this by saying I've loved being a mom to Kendall at every age. She is the light of my life and the past 16ish months with her have been nothing short of amazing and a complete and total blessing. She adds such joy and completeness to our small family, I thank God every day for her. With that being said, I love being a toddler mom.
I was always the girl that was like, "I want to keep my baby a baby as long as possible and when she turns 2 you can have her", those words may or may not have actually come out of my mouth on more than one occasion. You see, I love me some babies. Always have. I think I played with dolls much longer than is socially acceptable and the thought of having my very own, real life, baby doll made me all warm inside.
People used to tell me, "babies are great but they just get better when they're older" to which I was always like "poppycock! I'll take a baby over a toddler any day!" And then I had a baby. I had a perfectly pink, squishy, baby and I loved her to pieces. She was what I had always dreamed of, what I always wanted.
Fast forward 17 months and we have a toddler and I love it even more. Sure I have moments where I miss my BABY but in reality I make a better toddler mom than I did a newborn/infant mom.
Perhaps I'm not giving myself enough credit. Maybe the reason I think this way can be chalked up to first mom jitters. You know the fear that you aren't doing something right at every moment of every day for the first 4ish months. But I never really had those worries, I've always been fairly confident in my parenting abilities. So I'd just like to think that I'm a better at toddlering than I was infanting.
Do I still LMS on occasion? Of course! Do I still find myself doing and saying things I swore I'd never do and/or say? Sure do! BUT I find myself enjoying this stage more. I find myself playing more and worrying less. And I don't mean worrying about Kendall and is she breathing at night stuff, I mean worrying about housework and what needs to get done when kind of stuff.
For example, the other night I had full intentions of running, had the gear on and everything, and then I went to put KP to bed. We did our normal thing, read a book, she drank her milk and then BAM she fell asleep on me. This NEVER happens, normally she's all reaching for her bed before I'm even done with the story. So I took advantage and rocked her and then before I knew it Jimmy was waking ME up. I had fallen asleep, in my running clothes, with my toddler in my arms and you know what? I didn't care because those sweet snuggles are very rare and I can run any time {relatively speaking}.
Also Kendall is way fun right now. She makes me laugh so much each day, there is never a dull moment at Casa de Dew. I mean just hearing her do her animal sounds and show me what an elephant does is enough to convert me from a baby lover to a toddler lover.
Maybe it's not Kendall's age that has changed my new love for mommying, maybe it's me? I know I've changed A LOT over the past year, not just physically but mentally too. Back in the day {you know like a few months ago} I was all..."but my house needs to be clean because WHAT IF someone stops by" {we live in the country, no one is just "stopping by"}, "I need to work out because I'm over my calories otherwise", or "I have this great blog post in my head I must get it down before I forget". Yeah these were actual thoughts in my head, cray cray much? But now it's just like, "oh well...it WILL get done {eventually}"and I make compromises, I ask for help more, & I figure it out. Maybe that's why I'm enjoying this age more.
It's almost sadness that fills my heart when I write this because I feel as if I missed out on her infancy, I mean I can hardly remember this time last year with her. Maybe I had a mild case of postpartum depression and never knew it? All I know is I am loving this new phase of mommyhood and embrace it with open arms.
People used to tell me, "babies are great but they just get better when they're older" to which I was always like "poppycock! I'll take a baby over a toddler any day!" And then I had a baby. I had a perfectly pink, squishy, baby and I loved her to pieces. She was what I had always dreamed of, what I always wanted.
Fast forward 17 months and we have a toddler and I love it even more. Sure I have moments where I miss my BABY but in reality I make a better toddler mom than I did a newborn/infant mom.
Perhaps I'm not giving myself enough credit. Maybe the reason I think this way can be chalked up to first mom jitters. You know the fear that you aren't doing something right at every moment of every day for the first 4ish months. But I never really had those worries, I've always been fairly confident in my parenting abilities. So I'd just like to think that I'm a better at toddlering than I was infanting.
Do I still LMS on occasion? Of course! Do I still find myself doing and saying things I swore I'd never do and/or say? Sure do! BUT I find myself enjoying this stage more. I find myself playing more and worrying less. And I don't mean worrying about Kendall and is she breathing at night stuff, I mean worrying about housework and what needs to get done when kind of stuff.
For example, the other night I had full intentions of running, had the gear on and everything, and then I went to put KP to bed. We did our normal thing, read a book, she drank her milk and then BAM she fell asleep on me. This NEVER happens, normally she's all reaching for her bed before I'm even done with the story. So I took advantage and rocked her and then before I knew it Jimmy was waking ME up. I had fallen asleep, in my running clothes, with my toddler in my arms and you know what? I didn't care because those sweet snuggles are very rare and I can run any time {relatively speaking}.
Also Kendall is way fun right now. She makes me laugh so much each day, there is never a dull moment at Casa de Dew. I mean just hearing her do her animal sounds and show me what an elephant does is enough to convert me from a baby lover to a toddler lover.
Maybe it's not Kendall's age that has changed my new love for mommying, maybe it's me? I know I've changed A LOT over the past year, not just physically but mentally too. Back in the day {you know like a few months ago} I was all..."but my house needs to be clean because WHAT IF someone stops by" {we live in the country, no one is just "stopping by"}, "I need to work out because I'm over my calories otherwise", or "I have this great blog post in my head I must get it down before I forget". Yeah these were actual thoughts in my head, cray cray much? But now it's just like, "oh well...it WILL get done {eventually}"and I make compromises, I ask for help more, & I figure it out. Maybe that's why I'm enjoying this age more.
It's almost sadness that fills my heart when I write this because I feel as if I missed out on her infancy, I mean I can hardly remember this time last year with her. Maybe I had a mild case of postpartum depression and never knew it? All I know is I am loving this new phase of mommyhood and embrace it with open arms.
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it does get better and different. two is a BREEZE compared to 3. There are days when I want to sell my big one for a dollar (any buyers?). But, it's amazing. every.bit.of.it.
ReplyDeleteToddlers are fun when they aren't throwing tantrums because you need to put socks on their feet. I might sell mine for a few bucks and a box of wine. But you just caught me on a bad day.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely love this post Shannon! Toddlers are definitely a lot of fun (sometimes crazy but fun)! KP is so lucky to haveYOU as her mom because you are awesome!!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. I feel like every month I catch myself saying, "This month has been the best one yet!" Being able to interact makes things so much more fun...minus the tantrum thing. I hear K.Law loud and clear. ;)
ReplyDeleteRocking my babies to sleep was always my favorite time and now they wouldnt let me do that if I paid them. I was actually thinking the other night that I dont even remember them being toddlers but I do remember how much fun we had at that stage.
ReplyDeleteI find myself constantly putting everything else on the backburner when Saige decides to rest her head on my shoulder and go to sleep. Those baby snuggles are rare in our house so I take full advantage!!
ReplyDeleteThis toddler age is so enjoyable (yet frusturating) and this post was super accurate!!
awww this is so cute. I am the same as you... LOVING the baby stage and hope it never ends. I hope that once these babies become toddlers I'll be singing a different tune!
ReplyDeleteI think you're a great mommy. It's hard for me to see the baby years go by so fast, but I'm loving my people and realizing I didn't have kids so I could have babies. I want the whole experience from birth until my death...hopefully far in the future. This is a great reminder that I should embrace every stage.
ReplyDeleteI always was the same way. Until my girls kept getting older! My oldest is 6 and youngest is 4 and there's not a stage I haven't loved! Sure, there's moments (the 6 year old attitude of thinking she's 16) but I honestly just think being a mom is GREAT!
ReplyDeleteKP is luck you are her mom! And the snuggling/rocking fest? I LOVE those! Even when they are 6! I'll take them for as long as I can. God knows they won't want to for much longer. :)
Love this post. And I agree I love this age! I think it's partly because I'm more confident in myself as his mom. More confident in myself to know that it's ok to admit I need help and ok to not have the house spotless. I think seeing how FAST his first year of life FLEW by is also a huge slap in the face to enjoy every little moment with him. Not that I didn't at the time, but WOW did that year go by fast! When he wants to snuggle I drop everything. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI have always said that I want to trade my kids in when they are babies anymore! I wonder if I will stick to that! Haha.
ReplyDeleteI always said I'd trade them when they turned 5. Ha! Today my son turns 1 and everyday with him gets better and better. I definitely had anxiety for the first few months: is he breathing? eating enough? growing appropriately?
ReplyDeleteBut we survived and I couldn't be happier! Cheers to toddlers :)
I have loved (almost) every stage, but I agree.It just keeps getting better. Of course,it keeps getting harder, too. Every stage brings different challenges and different joys. I am with you, though, I have definitely learned how to make more compromises and let things go around the house and so on so that I can just play more.
ReplyDeleteAwe, this was such a sweet post. I absolutely love this age. My 14 month old is still the best cuddler and I really dont think I'll be able to cope when she decides not to be. & You're totally right about playing more and worrying less. It took me a while to realize that when Kaylee was a baby. By baby number two, I was cool, calm, and relaxed, most days. Theres things I LOVE about every age (and some things I dont, lol) but, It only gets better with time. :)
ReplyDeleteI think we all kind of have that missed out feeling about infancy. Probably because we are all in such a mommydaze those moments just fly by compared to once the storm of hormones settle down. My hubs was just saying the other night how he couldn't wait for J to be a toddler and all the fun they'd have together. You've officially got me excited for this stage :)
ReplyDeleteYou are such a good mama... love seeing all of your twitter pictures of her! She's absolutely adorable. I have a feeling you are going to love every stage of her life because it is new and exciting - I bet she is just full of so much joy!
ReplyDeleteyay for toddlers. I've never really been a big fan of babies, so I get really nervous even thinking about having one. I love toddlers though! So I figure if I can just get through that first stage I'll be okay. I also tell myself that it's going to be different when it's my own :)
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