A little sad that baby is growing up

[Sandy]

Well I should be sleeping since we're having Alexander's 1st birthday party tomorrow and there will be tons to do but I don't seem to be able to. I can't believe that Alexander is now 1. This year has been so amazing and I feel so blessed to have him in my life. I don't know where the time has gone. I can't even remember what I used to do with my time before he came along (oh wait, I have vague memories of something called sleep). ;)

I am just sitting here reminiscing about the last year and I feel like he is growing up so fast and in some ways it makes me so sad but in other ways I can't wait for the next amazing thing he is going to do. I just plan on treasuring every moment of this amazing journey that I am now on.

I want to thank everyone in this community for being so wonderful and supportive. It has been a privilege to be part of this community. I love hearing everyone's stories about all our amazing babies.


Sandy
mom to Alexander Thor 3/16/02

[JulieL]

I am there with you. Anthony turns 1 next sunday. It is so hard to believe how much he has grown. But I love just how much he interacts with me and DH now. We can play games with him and he just loves to be tickled! I sappose each phase has its treasured moments. Well until the next one, I will just sniff and remember babyhood! I too just love this community of women, and the occational man!. My DH thinks I am obssessed w/these message boards. I just find them helpful and sometimes you just need a word of encouragement, even if it is directed towards someone else. It's good to know you are not alone in this. Each day has it's own set of challanges.

-Julie
mama to Anthony 3/23/02

[brubeck]

Trust me, it's not nearly as sad as it seems. As a Mom of two I can give you my experience.

My daughter's second year was full of walking and learning to talk, and lots of running to each other with happy screams of "Mommy!", snuggling with books, watching Sesame Street and singing the songs, visits to the zoo, etc. There is SO much more you can do with a one year old and as they approach 2 the interaction is much more two-way. Now at 28 months it's hard to imagine my daughter not being able to tell me what she wants or communicate what's wrong or express how glad she is that I'm there.

I also have a 3 month old son, and I can honestly tell you that knowing what's coming there are many time I have wished that he were older and could do many of the things my daughter can do. Of course I'm also breastfeeding and not also getting as much sleep as I could be. :-)

I guess the real truth is that there is joy to every age, so make sure to stop and smell the roses..... uh, the poopy diaper. :-)

[Rachels]

I absolutely know what you mean. Abigail will have her first birthday in May, and it seems like only five minutes ago that I gave birth. She gets more and more amazing and exciting, and being her mother gets more and more rewarding, but I feel sad thinking that her infancy is almost behind her.

Happy birthday to Alexander! Congratulations on a year of wonderful motherhood to you.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[mamahill]

Happy Birthday Alexander! I completely know how you're feeling. Ainsleigh's birthday is coming up and I can hardly believe it. It seems like just yesterday we were poking her trying to get her to wake up so we could "play" with her (what WERE we thinking?!). But Ms. Brubeck makes a good point (almost made me cry at the thought), and I am looking forward to each day since it seems like I can actually SEE her learning new things each day. Here's to a wonderful year ahead of learning and loving...

[SASM]

Geez...I am blown away by how fast Ian is growing and it saddens me. I was hoping that I would get "used" to it and not get so emotional every time I look at him with a different pose, expression, etc. and feel the need to photograph that moment so I don't forget it. My husband thinks that I am insane ~ NO...just a mom. Wow...now reading how you girls feel at the first birthday leads me to believe that I am NOT going to get over this feeling. My heart breaks when I look at Ian and see that he is growing sooo fast (AND HE IS ONLY 6 WEEKS OLD!!!) ~ I don't want to forget a moment. :-( Oh... help.

[cara1]

I know exactly what you mean. I was really melancholy the day after DS's first birthday. But as Brubeck says above, it gets better. He's walking now, and we just bought him his first pair of shoes yesterday. He just looks so delicious. While I look at my 5-week-old nephew, and see DS tower over him and have some sadness, I just grab DS and eat him up and all is better. :)

[parkersmama]

I agree with brubeck, too. I remember so well how sad and nostalgic I was at Parker's first birthday. I guess if I'm being completely honest I'll admit that I get this way every time one of my kids has a birthday. Wesley just turned 3 and he's my 2nd child and I still had these feelings on his birthday. I was commenting to dh "3 years ago I was in labor" etc. I think dh gets a real kick out of it! I try to use it as a time to reflect over my time with my kids and it helps me to appreciate them better.

Also, things seem to get better and more fun the older they get. I know it's hard to believe and I still love, love, love that baby stage but having older kids is fun, too. I love listening to my 5yo read to me, and hearing my 3yo and his hilarious logic ("Mama, only rabbits eat carrots!"). As they grow and change, it's fun to look back over where we've been but also exciting to look ahead to new stuff. I guess what I'm saying is I know what you're feeling and go ahead and wallow in it a little and then move on down the road cause the best is still to come! :-)

[kathsmom]

Sandy,

First of all - Happy Birthday to Alexander!

I know how you feel. I just sent my oldest child to kindergarten this year. I was 8 months pregnant and was crying outside her room after I dropped her off. The other moms had to hug me and comfort me. I am sure some of it was due to pregnancy hormones, but it was a little sad to see my little girl growing up. She loves school so much and now has 2 boys who want to marry her and she has already asked my DH and me to tell them that we said she couldn't!

DS came about 6 weeks later, and I haven't had time to dwell on her growing up. They do get to be a lot of fun when they are older and can communicate verbally more (until they learn to say "no"!).

Take care!

Toni - mom to Katherine (5/19/96) and Andrew (9/23/02)