Thursday, March 24, 2011

slow down and enjoy the ride

The last couple of nights my girl has been waking up a lot, I mean - 3-4 times a night, which is a LOT. Yes, I'm tired because of it. No, I don't drink coffee. No, I don't get naps since she only takes 30 min naps. But... I haven't minded. It's not going to be like this forever. She's not going to wake up in the night frequently for much longer (in the grand scheme of things). She's not going to need extra snuggle time for much longer. So, for now, I'm going to enjoy it.

I'm going to enjoy the weight of her little body laying across my chest. I'm going to enjoy her little fingers raking my arm back and forth a hundred times. I'm going to breathe in her sweet baby breath. I'm going to steal a million kisses from her soft forehead. I'm going to find peace in the rhythm of her breathing as she matches it with mine. I'm going to smile to myself as she turns her head to the right, then the left, then the right again while she's trying to get comfortable. I'm going to savor this moment because it's going to be gone before I'm ready for it to be.

There will be days when she'll want her Daddy over me. There will be days when it seems she likes spending time her friends more than me. There will eventually come a day that she'll want to be around anyone other than me. But for now, she wants her Momma. And as tired as I may be throughout the day, I'm so happy that I get to be there for her and that I can make it all better when she wakes up and needs an extra snuggle sesh. I'll gladly snuggle-bunny my Bean, even if it means I don't get a full night's sleep. Because my girl doesn't snuggle with just anyone. She's not a snuggler. I'll take what I can get. And truthfully, middle of the night snuggles are sort of sweet; the house is quite, the world outside is quite, it's just me and her, and I get to watch and take in every little thing about her while she drifts back to sleep. And once she does... I softly kiss her face and lay her back down. Ready to come back to her as soon as she needs me.

7 comments:

Angi said...

Sniff, sniff. LOVE this post. Everything you said is oh-so-true. I, too, savor all of the moments. And even though my "baby" is 16 months, she still usually needs to see her mama once during the night...and I, too, wake up, love her, kiss her, and enjoy the moments...as they too, shall pass far too quickly. Miss you.
xoxo
Fancy

Amy said...

<3. Enjoy every second. They get so big so fast.

I miss those late night wakes. I miss them every. single. night. I miss getting to snuggle them in the middle of the night. Their sweaty little faces all curled up in my neck. Humming and rocking till they laid back down. I still go in and kiss them every night though. Sometimes they wake and kiss me back but then they just roll over and go back to sleep.

My babies are still babies and I already miss parts.

Unknown said...

Like Angi's baby, Collin still needs a snuggle or two at night. Despite everyone else telling me what is/ isn't good for him, I soak up those moments. It's so true. They are fleeting.

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing these beautiful moments. :")

Anonymous said...

I agree with every word. It is gone way too fast, so stop and breathe it all in, every waking, every nurse, every scoot and giggle and dream.
<3 my boy was 9 months as of yesterday, still wakes at least 3x in the night for my milks, and now that we've stopped co sleeping and I am back in my room most of the night.. guess who I miss?
baby <3

Anonymous said...

You totally just made me cry. Although my "baby" is 4, I never miss my goodnight kisses and going in her room just to watch her sleep. There is nothing more innocent and precious than a child. Ah, how my heart melts! Thank you Cole for bringing a much needed tear and happiness to my eyes!!!

Crecia said...

Soooo sweet! Way to put things into perspective :)