It wont be like this for long | Annapolis Newborn, Family, Wedding Photographer
“It wont be like this for long” is what I have been reminding myself. As a mama some days are long, and hard, and so full of life but also so exhausting. I find myself counting down the hours until bedtime some days and looking for activities to keep my littles busy. With my first child I felt as though time moved slow for the first few years, here I am now registering her for second grade. I realize that those “little kid” years, and the portion of her that reminded me how small she was is fading. With my second time is moving so fast. I literally just felt like I was discharged from Labor and delivery and now she will be one THIS MONTH.
.jpg)
Lately she has had some sleep disturbances. The kind that cause me to spend longer in her room then I’d really like to at bedtime. She doesnt want to be put down, or if I can manage to not wake up the baby time bomb by laying her down shes quickly awake again and waiting me back. My older one has also decided to boycott bedtime by coming up with at least 400 reasons why she shouldn’t go to sleep right now. If you’re a parent I bet you can relate… she is hungry, not just a little hungry but dying of starvation. She is thirsty, thirsty in a way that can only remind me of the a cactus waiting for a raindrop. Then she remembers something really important her teacher told her, and old injury is suddenly painful again, and then after calling the 10th time the baby is awake again.
Sometimes I quickly get annoyed, but lately I have been reminding myself….. “It wont be like this for long” I mean gosh it felt like just yesterday my baby was wearing newborn diapers and had an umbilical cord stump and now shes minutes away from walking. Babies…. children… they just don’t keep.
.jpg)
Lakeleigh, my 11 month old still wakes up during the night… shes my last baby do no, I don’t fight her on it.. in fact even though I have terrible dark circles under my eyes, I enjoy our midnight snuggles together, because I realize this wont go on forever. Emmaline my 6 and half year old didnt sleep through the night until she was 18 months, and then one day she just stopped.waking.up.
I actually missed it, I had no idea it was stopping it just did, and I often wonder what that last time felt like, did I sniff her baby head, and listen to her breaths as her little lips laid against my chest. There were so many things from my older daughter that I look back on and never realized that the last time was going to be the last time until it was in fact the last time. Since Lakeleigh is my last baby, I don’t want to rush this…
Of course I hear from people, from family… “Just let her cry it out”…. yes, that is an option, but not the option I am choosing. Before I know it she will be big with her sister, who sleeps like a teenager and I have to peel from her bed in the morning, but doesn’t require rocking, or lullabies to go to sleep. This is my last time doing those things for my own biological child.
.jpg)
So when I become frustrated for spending so much time in the nursery rocking an almost 1 year old to sleep I quickly remind myself, this could be the last time, starting tomorrow she may just put herself to sleep and no longer…… NEED… ME, at least for that task.
Last babies have a way of changing your outlook on things, when you realize you wont ever do those things for your own babies again, you hold onto them. Her infancy is literally like a handful of sand passing through the cracks in my fingers…. and while I try to hold onto those days I feel them slipping away…
So, please dont judge, please dont rush me to grow my baby up or stop carrying my almost 7 year old…. please stop asking me when I will be done nursing, or how much longer will I lay and rub my big girls back until she falls asleep. Instead lets encourage one another to enjoy these days, to soak them in and embrace them, motherhood was made for these moments of sleepy babies, and nighttime lullabies, and “mommy lay just one more minute”… and If I love anything I do most.. its being the mommy to these girls.
So excuse me again while I run upstairs to rock this tired girl listen to the sound her breathing makes as it slows down and she drifts off to sleep….. in my arms.
Click here to follow us on Facebook and Instagram
It wont be like this for long | Annapolis Newborn, Family, Wedding Photographer
.png){kind=small}
Liza - It is insane how quickly time flies. I think about this all the time right now as my husband and I are expecting our first sweet baby! Also, love your images SO MUCH! They are absolutely stunning. I wish we lived in Annapolis so I could hire you to take our newborn photos!
Brittany Slaughter - This was a wonderful read and such an important one. It’s so important that you do motherhood the way yoooou want/need to! Thanks for sharing
Jennifer - What a great reminder. It is so hard to figure out the time management of being a work at home mom because there are those days when I just want to be a mom or a wife or I just need to get some work done but the kids need me for something else. I have just learned to go with it and sleep less lol.
Valerie - Oh my goodness those two are such cuties!
Grammy Dawney - Beautiful pictures, and perfectly timed insight!
Emilyanne - I couldn’t have said it better myself. As my baby is about to turn 2, I am realizing the exact same thing. That everything little thing she does – the funny way she says something, the way she gets sassy when she doesn’t get her way – it all will be gone before I know it. Thanks for sharing!
Angie - So, so true! I miss my Little’s being little 🙁 I sure do miss those midnight snuggles!
Janessa Valentine - So touching! This is a great reminder for me and my little ones.
Jennifer Mills Blume - So so so important to cherish every moment of every stage!
Alyssa Bouma - what a sweet little family!
Alissa - These are just so sweet! Thank you so much for sharing!
Misty - So much truth here! I’ve always liked the saying, “The days are long but the years are short.” Sometimes all I want is for them to GO TO SLEEP, but within about 30 minutes of the quiet I miss their little voices and their little hands. Being a mom sure is weird!
Melissa - aww i love that portrait of the two of them! you sound like such a great mama.
Jennifer Mills Blume - So important to remember to cherish each stage of childhood!
Mercedes - Absolutely sweet recollections. You are so right. It happens incredibly fast. I still catch my breath when I see pictures of my boys when they were itty bitty and remember how all those late night moments felt!
Idowed - Memories they will cherish for a lifetime. Nice job
Kira - What sweet babies! I am expecting my first and will try to cherish the hard but fleeting first year.
Aryn Baker - This is all so true! Little ones change and grow so quickly!
Laura - I just love this post. My son just turned 11 and I struggle with him growing up. I still hold his hand and sometimes let him sleep with me when Daddy works nights. These moments are fleeting.