When my daughter was 4 months old, she
learned to roll from back to tummy. (A feat that I missed the first
time because I was at work. But I digress.) However, it took her
another month to figure out how to roll from tummy to back. And that
part should be the easy one, right? All you do is fall back over. But
the baby just wouldn't do it. I even rolled her in a blanket to try
and give her the sensation of what this rolling would feel like. But
she just kept rolling onto her tummy and then crying when she was
tired of tummy time.
All of this is to say that being a mom (or a dad) is one huge waiting game. When will my child crawl, walk, talk, etc.? I wrote a few weeks ago about how impatience was one of my biggest mom fails, but that's not only waiting for my kid to catch up with me or come to me when I call her. I think all parents experience a sense of impatience when waiting for their babies and toddlers to "grow up".
It's fun to watch our kids develop and learn new things! It's exciting to see them get excited about new skills!
But we need to remember not to push them to grow up too fast. There's a saying that many parents like to bandy about: The days are long but the years are short. This is supposed to remind us to enjoy the day-to-day moments, even when they are filled with temper tantrums, no naps, exhaustion, and so much more that just, frankly, isn't fun. In those moments, we can often wish for a future without such trying times.
And that's okay, but we also have to remember that our kids are only little once. And in my case, I'm only experiencing it all once. I don't want to look back at my daughter's preschool years and think, "Oh, I wish we had done more of that" or "I wish that we could go back to those nights when she used to ask to be rocked in her rocking chair for a few minutes."
It's true that all kids develop at their own pace, and we should encourage them to try something new and take those first steps (figuratively and literally), but in the spirit of #havemorefun, let's not get caught up in the waiting game - waiting for our kids to do this, waiting for our kids to not do that, waiting for the time when we'll get to sleep in again.
Say "yes" more often. Remember that this meltdown over seemingly nothing will be solved by a nice long nap. (And that naptime means some quality "you" time.)
It's hard to have patience in parenthood, I know. But it is possible!
What are the most trying times with your littles, and how do you find your patience and your fun in parenting?
I talked about this to just about
everyone, telling them that we just couldn't figure out why the baby
wouldn't roll from tummy to back. I hoped that other parents might
have some tips for us, but usually the only thing anybody ever said
was, “She'll figure it out. Every baby develops at a different
rate.”
And sure enough, one month later, while
I was getting my hair cut and complaining to my hairdresser about how
the baby could only roll one way, back at home the baby rolled from
tummy to back. (Why was I never home when these things happened?) I
returned home to my husband showing me picture evidence of the new
rolling. She had gone from one end of her activity mat to the other
end. I think she knew I was out complaining about her lack of
rolling, so she finally did it to shut me up.
The same thing happened with crawling. While other babies her age were moving around with ease, pulling up on the furniture,
getting ready to walk, my baby just sat there. (SUCH a contrast to her always on-the-move personality now.) How come my
baby isn't crawling?, I wondered. How come my baby isn't pulling up yet? There's something to be said about having a cautious child, one who doesn't give in to every curious impulse. (If only that could have lasted.) Some parents said their kids never crawled at all. Was that going to be my baby?
 |
| The start of crawling way back in 2016! |
Before I knew it, she was getting up on her hands and knees, and then a few weeks later, she started crawling. I had to turn on the Amazon Fire to encourage her to crawl for photographic evidence. A colorful screen? That's my child!
All of this is to say that being a mom (or a dad) is one huge waiting game. When will my child crawl, walk, talk, etc.? I wrote a few weeks ago about how impatience was one of my biggest mom fails, but that's not only waiting for my kid to catch up with me or come to me when I call her. I think all parents experience a sense of impatience when waiting for their babies and toddlers to "grow up".
It's fun to watch our kids develop and learn new things! It's exciting to see them get excited about new skills!
But we need to remember not to push them to grow up too fast. There's a saying that many parents like to bandy about: The days are long but the years are short. This is supposed to remind us to enjoy the day-to-day moments, even when they are filled with temper tantrums, no naps, exhaustion, and so much more that just, frankly, isn't fun. In those moments, we can often wish for a future without such trying times.
 |
| Two summers ago: my little miss not at all afraid of the inflatable dinosaur costume |
And that's okay, but we also have to remember that our kids are only little once. And in my case, I'm only experiencing it all once. I don't want to look back at my daughter's preschool years and think, "Oh, I wish we had done more of that" or "I wish that we could go back to those nights when she used to ask to be rocked in her rocking chair for a few minutes."
It's true that all kids develop at their own pace, and we should encourage them to try something new and take those first steps (figuratively and literally), but in the spirit of #havemorefun, let's not get caught up in the waiting game - waiting for our kids to do this, waiting for our kids to not do that, waiting for the time when we'll get to sleep in again.
Say "yes" more often. Remember that this meltdown over seemingly nothing will be solved by a nice long nap. (And that naptime means some quality "you" time.)
It's hard to have patience in parenthood, I know. But it is possible!
What are the most trying times with your littles, and how do you find your patience and your fun in parenting?
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