Life with a Toddler

Life with a toddler

On Sunday, Marcus was taking his nap and I was hanging out in our bedroom being lazy when I heard him start to cry.  I should explain that Marcus is a good napper and at this point he had only been napping for about an hour so I knew it was not time for him to wake up (or an afternoon full of fits would follow) so I went in to check on him.  I could see that he was tired and scared at the same time so I am guessing that he had a nightmare.  I did something that I almost never do- I carried him into our room and let him finish the nap in our bed.

Marcus Sleeping next to me

Let me explain, the reason why I don't normally let Marcus nap or sleep with us is because once he is in our bed sleep rarely happens.  He would rather pull hair, yank on noses, bounce on the bed, or cuddle (very actively).  But this day it was different- I laid him down, pulled the blanket up and he snuggled into me and passed out.  My heart melted.... but like most true toddler moments at the same moment I was overwhelmed by the love I felt for this cute little being- I was also uncomfortable-  He had some how pushed me the edge of the king bed and I was hanging out tight so I would not fall out!

To me this short story tells what I think it is like to parent a toddler-  Moments of insane love, let me give you a few example so I never forget them;   when I show up at daycare Marcus RUNS across the room to get a hug, the smile he gives me is a look that screams "I love you Mommy", the pride I have when he learns something new or demonstrates his independence, followed by moments of frustration like when he has a temper tantrum or when I can't figure out how to fulfill his needs.  These ups and downs happen every pretty much all day long at at times they can be exhausting (but totally worth it).

One of the things one of my friends said once is that the minutes are long but the days and weeks fly by.  I worry that sometimes I don't appreciate the moments enough because I am just trying to survive them.

As for this nap- Marcus eventually work up (about 1.5 hours later) and we giggled and cuddled and had an amazing time. 

 It was worth every moment I that I clung to the bed.