The most perfect little face stared back at me through the seat mirror.
My 5-month-old has been keeping us on our toes. As first-time parents, my husband and I are navigating the challenges of sleepless nights and endless wake hours. He wants to be held constantly, napping only while in contact with us during the day and sometimes at night. I’ve found myself wishing for time to speed up, hoping that with age, things will get easier.
Earlier, while driving, I turned to check if he was asleep since he was quiet. He wasn’t asleep; he heard my voice and flashed me a little smile. In that moment, I realized how fleeting these times are. There will come a day when he outgrows his car seat, becoming a toddler, a kid, a teenager, and eventually an adult. One day, I’ll look in that rearview mirror and long for these moments.
I’ve come to understand that I don’t want him to grow up just yet. I want him to stay little for as long as possible. I want more sleepless nights and to feel him on me all day. I want to keep seeing that sweet little face in my rearview mirror.
The best piece of advise I’ve received is to pretend to be a time traveler at every given moment. Pretend you came back in time to cherish your child at this exact moment.
When I’m exhausted and my daughter wakes up for the fifth time overnight, I imagine I’ll be able to return to the period when she was so small and cozy and wanted me to cuddle her. So I sit with her in the nursery, cuddling in the dark and enjoying our time together. Then things don’t seem that horrible.
Oh my god, I did this a lot when my LO was small and my hormones were insane. I still do it at least once a week, and my son is about 15 weeks old lol.
I think about my daughter growing up all the time, which makes me really sad. My baby is normally an excellent sleeper, but for the past month she has not been. It’s difficult to be optimistic during her night wakings, but I know I’ll miss rocking her when she grows up .
I frequently have one-sided agreement negotiations with the munchkin, requesting that she stop growing for 24 hours. I never succeed, and her intransigence develops before my eyes.
If I think about it too much, I get quite sad about my son growing up. I always end up holding him long and saying to him like “now you can’t grow up to be an asshole teen who hates his mama, no sir you gonna be my lil sweet baby forever” .
Take things in stride and appreciate the moment, even if it’s a negative one.
My LO is two months old, and time is a thief, it passes so swiftly. Two months pregnant seemed like a long time, but two months with a new baby…The time simply flew by. I want her to be tiny forever, but I’m also excited to see who she’ll become.
My life changed with that first smile. Everything has become lot easier to deal with. The wide gummy smile and eyes are filled with genuine love, simply because I exist. I’m going to miss it so much after it’s gone. Take videos, not just photographs.
My LO is also 5 months old, and there are days when I wish I could hit the PAUSE button to rest. However, there are times when I wish I could use the REWIND button and relive that experience.
She is currently nursing/sleeping on me, and I do not want to go to work. I want to sit here, watch her breathe, and count her eyelashes.
Why is time moving so quickly?
Wishing you the best!
It really hits, eh. I have a 5-year-old and a 9-month-old. It still blows my mind watching them together. I desperately wanted a sibling for him, and she took what seemed like an eternity to arrive, but now that I have her guy, she makes her brother look so mature. It makes me cry sometimes how grown up he is now.
My little one turned 7 months old, and I can’t fathom him at any age in the future, whether he’s a toddler, a first grader, etc. When I try to push my brain to think that concept or believe that this gummy smile will be filled with teeth someday, it short circuits. I miss the way his head smelled more than words can express. I wish I could have bottled the smell. The most enchanting thing in the world.
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