Kate is now asleep. After protesting my final goodnight with some mild bellowing and a headlock. After begging for "one more book" several times. After insisting on putting on big girl panties over her nighttime pull-up, and getting nasty with me when I tried to help. After literally running circles around me to avoid letting me unbutton her shirt. And I didn't even try to brush her teeth tonight.
Toddlerhood brings some tough moments, and bedtime is usually one of them. Where, oh where, is my super-sleeper baby, who slept through the night at two months, went down with no trouble at all, and made us the envy of family and friends?
Long gone. But she could come back. Who knows?
If there's one thing parenthood will teach you, it's that everything is a phase. You may take this for granted the first year or two, especially with an easy baby who makes it easy to assume she's just naturally good-natured and you've got this parenting thing down. But nothing lasts forever. Good or bad.
We like the song by Darius Rucker (AKA Hootie of Blowfish fame, turned country singer), It Won't Be Like This for Long, which describes a father's experiences through phases of his daughter's growing up, good (it won't be like this for long, so cherish it) and bad (it won't be like this for long, so hang in there). There are days I just have to take a deep breath and sing it to myself, sometimes from the upside and sometimes the downside.
Battling to get her in her carseat? It won't last long.
Spitting and licking for fun? It won't last long.
Sleeping on the floor every night, rather than in her bed? It won't last long.
Having conniptions over completely random little things? It won't last long.
Refusal to brush her teeth? It won't last long (I hope).
Sweet girl saying, "I wanna hold you, Mommy!"? That won't last long, either.
Everything's a phase. Survive it. Cherish it. It won't be like this for long.
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4 comments:
I was giggling and nodding until the end of the post, and then I got all teary. Great post, Jessica! Sometimes I need these little reminders. :)
Goodness, I'm sitting here teary-eyed! Your Kate and my Bug sure are two peas in a pod. Bug is also currently perfecting the art of extending the bedtime routine.
Jer heard that that Darius Rucker song on the radio a few days ago and has been singing it every since. He's a sucker for it, too!
So true... and here we are about to start all over again with new phases and personalities to figure out. I have to remind myself of these things too. And I'm just impressed that Kate lets you brush her teeth at all! :) We're still working on that one!
Oh, she doesn't let US brush her teeth--I promise! She just used to brush on her own with a little coaching. The problem came in when we introduced big girl toothpaste rather than the toddler stuff that really doesn't do anything. She says the big kid stuff is yucky, and we've tried two different kinds (actually, she's tried one and now won't try the other one we bought). I guess we should go back to the toddler stuff or even no paste at all--just so she's brushing, at least, b/c this is definitely not healthy!
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