Leaving the Baby Stage Behind

Sweet Pea woke up an hour after going to bed tonight and refused to go back to sleep. As much as I like my free time, it’s sometimes nice to play with her at night. I hardly ever have time just with her. Playing at night is quiet and relaxing, I’m not worried about making dinner or cleaning or doing anything other than just playing with my baby.

Tonight, I watched my sweet pea toddle around the house. She’s been walking for a few weeks now but I can’t get over how cute it is. I can’t believe how old she is. She turns one next Tuesday. I don’t even really believe it’s been a year. I’m in denial. She’s still almost bald and until the recent addition of four new teeth looked like a baby. But now she is walking. There’s no denying that my baby is a toddler in every sense of the word.

Some people say they don’t like the baby stage but I love it. I love having a sweet baby sleeping in my arms. I like not having to chase her around and take her off the coffee table. I miss the days where she wasn’t stealing her older sister’s toys. When there were no such things as temper tantrums and messes to clean up.



I liked being the only one able to feed her. Now she is too busy and distracted to sit still and breastfeed very long. At the same time, I enjoy being able to get out and not have to rush home to feed her. My baby is growing up before my eyes. I love the baby stage but I also love the toddler stage.

I have her first words (besides mama) to look forward to. I am excited to have conversations with her and figure out what is going on inside her head. She will learn to dance like her older sister. The thought of the two of them dancing is precious. My girls are close together and I hope they’ll be the best of friends. Right now, they struggle to understand each other and take turns but as they get older and can communicate they will have even more fun than now. I know Princess will enjoy having an older sibling to help her take care of her dolls and play dress-up.

I’m looking forward to this stage in Sweet Pea’s life but I can’t help but wonder when I’ll have another sweet newborn in my arms. At least I have one more baby to look forward to. I’m going to be even sadder after the next since it will probably be the last time I experience the baby stage. Time flies and I feel like I didn’t take enough time to just enjoy Sweet Pea’s first year. Hopefully, I remember that when I have a third and will treasure every moment.