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View Full Version : Aack! I'm a parent to an OLD baby! long rambling...



mamahill
03-16-2004, 06:28 PM
I think I may be doomed to these realizations for the rest of my life, but I can't believe how OLD my baby is getting!! Today we went to our first day of Mom/toddler preschool (see the Preschool section!) and I walked in and beheld all these KIDS (ok, so they are all 20-26 months old) and realized I'm one of THOSE parents. When you're new to parenting, you think, "People look at me and probably know I don't know what I'm doing." But now I'm thinking, "People look at me and think I know what I'm doing. They think I'm responsible. They think I take good care of this little person. Aaaack!" Ok, so while I *do* try to take good care of her, I don't always know what I'm doing, and I still feel like I'm not that grown-up!

And then I see the posts in the Baby Lounge about when people should come to the Toddler boards and I remember back to when Beth would be giving (great) advice and met thinking, "Sarah is 7 months older than Ainsleigh - that is SO much older!" And back then, it was. But now, Ainsleigh is twice that much older (even more) than a lot of those babies over there.

And then I think about the possibility of conceiving a second child this year and think, "Geez, when I have TWO kids, I'll look REALLY grown-up!" I remember being pregnant and seeing a pregnant lady with a toddler and thinking that pregnancy must not be that big of a deal for her since she'd already done it once. What a joke! I think that's why I think other people must look at me and figure I've got it made. Let's keep up appearances!

I'm rambling. But it's one of those days when I just look around and think, "We're moving too fast!" I'm glad daylight savings is coming. Maybe that will make things slow down. Yeah right.

AngelaS
03-17-2004, 08:48 AM
My oldest is SIX. I'm no where NEAR mature enough to be shaping the morals and values of a child THAT old!

With one child (who was easy and laid back) I looked like a good mommy who knew what she was doing. With two, I'm a bit more normal (my second's a STINKER!) and now I'm going to have THREE. Having three kids makes me seem REALLY old and mature and ...

All the things I'm NOT!

I so agree with you......

pamela mom of 3
03-17-2004, 03:50 PM
It's funny how some things get you to thinking. I still think of my youngest very much as "the baby" ask him he'll tell ya ;) "I'm the baby, he'll say" ok so he's spoiled, big deal :P

Seriously though what gets me is when i see these little teeny, tiny babies a few months old and i think OMG! how'd my kids get this old?..big? :o

My eldest turned 8 last week..now that certainly brings reality home..*sigh*

I'm just getting as much squishy cheeks, baby softness as i can outta my littlest before he's all grown too.



~Pamela Mom Of 3

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/blobflower.gif

Hallie_D
03-17-2004, 04:16 PM
Last weekend I put DS in a shirt he had gotten as a baby gift, which, at the time, was SO HUGE I thought he'd never fit in it...and now it fits him perfectly. I started thinking about how old he is getting and I feel the exact same way you do...I am not grown-up enough to have an almost-two-year-old! We also boxed up a bunch of his baby toys because he's too old for them--he pointed to the box and said, "Baby!"--even he knows he's too old for them! How could time have gone by so fast?

And I think of my mother, who at my age (32, cough, choke) had two children, ages 9 and 7...and I think, my baby is growing up--how come I still feel like a kid inside?

mamahill
03-17-2004, 05:48 PM
EIGHT?! You ARE an old mom!! LOL, ok, YOU aren't old. Just your kids. And that must make you so much more mature than me. I shall learn at your feet ;).

mamahill
03-17-2004, 05:50 PM
My mom had THREE by the time she was my age (almost 28). But, with all this "I feel young still" I find myself looking at my mom as more of a friend than I do a "mom." Apparently this "I'm not that old" feeling doesn't go away. Until you're 87 like my grandma, who always says, "Give me another piece of cake. I'm old, I can do what I want." Can't argue with that!

brubeck
03-17-2004, 07:53 PM
Sarah I know exactly what you mean. 2 weeks ago we got Amy her first bike. She put on the helmet and pads and jumped on and started pedalling down the street and then she was gone out of my sight (DH was with her). I just looked at her and thought, "I have a CHILD!". Not a baby, not even (really) a toddler any more, a CHILD. And it was a sobering thought. I'm not mature enough to have a child! I don't eat my own veggies, how can I make her eat hers? How can I guide her? After freaking out for a few seconds it came to me that I've been doing okay (not perfectly but OK) so far. And that's because I take it one day at a time. I know I can handle today, I know I can handle tomorrow, I know I can handle next week. I just try not to look beyond it to the future, putting blind faith in the thought that when we get there I'll be able to handle it what with all of these days behind me.

Of course this will come back to bite me in the b*tt when she's a teenager, right? :)

The good news is that I think all of this is the secret to staying young. If I felt old I think I would actually BE old. Although I do feel old when I see teenagers. I always wonder why they are letting them into high school so young these days, LOL.

Okay, I'm rambling now. I'll stop.

mamahill
03-17-2004, 10:50 PM
See, you ARE wise. Take it one day at a time. I can do that. And, it cuts down on the hyperventilationg ;). Thanks - and fwiw, I think you're doing a FANTASTIC job. You're one of those parents I look at and think, 'Wow, she REALLY knows what she's doing - her kids are lucky!"

pamela mom of 3
03-18-2004, 10:52 AM
OLD!? Nope i'm 28 :D However do i FEEL old? yes, the children have wore me down }(

The funny thing is though, you are always learning so you still feel some days right back at the fuzzy newborn stage where you had no clue what you were doing here and what you were doing LOL

The next youngest is 5+ so their all moving up the ladder, i think what makes me shudder most is dd#1 will be 13 in like what 5yrs!! ack!

Plus what makes my mother dizzy is she didn't have me till 35, so she just shakes her head at me having 3 by 28 that are already as old as they are :o





~Pamela Mom Of 3

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/blobflower.gif

Hallie_D
03-18-2004, 03:44 PM
LOL, my grandmother says that too!!

brubeck
03-18-2004, 06:38 PM
Ah yes, I REALLY know what I'm doing. And I really know how to screw things up sometimes. :) Glad I have you fooled with my image, LOL. You didn't see me desperately trying to get Amy to potty train!

One day at a time isn't wise, it's sanity-saving! :) I had enough of anticpating future problems back when I freaked out because she wasn't rolling over and making 'd' sounds like all the other kids her age.

And FWIW I think that Ainsleigh is just as lucky as my kids!

Sarah1
03-25-2004, 05:08 PM
Hey Sarah, in my mind you've always had an OLD baby :)...Audrey was just a couple months old when you and Ainsleigh were already experienced veterans of the boards :). Now when I'm over at the baby lounge and people are asking questions about tummy time and sore nipples I feel like I went through all that EONS (sp??) ago! Now we're old too! :) :)

lmintzer
03-27-2004, 03:56 PM
Oh, I'm right there with you guys. I'm feeling both old and young at the same time too. I am 31 with 2 kids under age 3 (well, not for long--Jack is almost 3).

I feel old mainly because I'm so tired and I don't have time for fun things like pedicures, brow waxes, shopping for cute clothes, etc. I do still have this young feeling inside. Like I'm not a veteran parent but instead a college student playing the part. I don't know where that comes from. I have 2 kids, an advanced level degree--and still I feel like a neophyte sometimes. Personally, I think it's because so much in my life is in flux: I'm still adjusting to having two, and career-wise, I'm still in training (doing a postdoctoral fellowship). I always joke about not knowing what I want to be when I grow up.

And then, with the two kids, when I feel like a bumbling idiot trying to get two kids out the door (or get one bathed without the other crying), then I wonder when I'm going to "graduate" from "mommy training school" to full-fledged, got-it-together-mommyhood.