Skip to main content

Lap time is so short lived...


Something hit me tonight.

Weary, emotionally spent and physically exhausted after dealing with a strong-willed two year old and the rest of my gaggle, I was so ready for bedtime to come.

I needed bedtime like a heroine addict needs their next hit. I could feel it in my bones...bedtime had to come.

And it did. Just like it does every night...but something different happened tonight.

Tonight, as I was getting my Baby Girl ready to tuck in, I asked if she wanted to rock-a-bye. To my surprise (and delight) she said yes.


Baby Girl is NOT a snuggler...she's getting better, but she's not what I'd call a "warm fuzzy". As she lay against my chest and I rocked her by the light of the moon...I realized that this lap time is too short.

I could hear The Pal bustling around after baseball and I thought about how truly short lived our time is to have our children on our laps.

Developmentally, of course...but even more so, logistically. I look at my bigger kids and think how much I'd love to bundle them onto my lap for a snuggle...and sometimes I still do (well, not the Pal...he doesn't like lap time too much anymore! ;)...but it's different.

A baby fits so well in your arms, a two year old fits so well on your lap, a four year old can still swing it, but by six it gets a little awkward...legs are too long, bodies too big. So...logistically thinking...I've got about two(ish) years of "real" lap time left.

Two years.

That's it. (Oh, great...here come the tears...)

I hope and I pray that I will be the mom that my kids feel comfortable sitting on my lap until they are 80. Scratch that...make it until they're 60...I think I'd be too frail to have them sit on me if I were pushing 100.

Tonight...I soaked up my lap time. As much as I was looking forward to "me" time, I took those extra minutes and I loved up my baby...and when she told me "I wanna go nigh-nigh" I reluctantly laid her in her bed.

Imagine my joy when she looked up at me with those baby blues and said, " 'nuggle me, Mama?"

And guess what I did?

I 'nuggled that babe to sleep. Then I dried my tears, and kissed her soft cheeks goodnight.

Comments

  1. these moments are true eye openers. i'm the mom that is BEDTIME drill sargeant. to bed ontime... but one night when my son wouldn't nap b/c he wasn't feeling well, i gave in and rocked him. he slept on me for 2 hours. i read a book. i snuggled him so good. my boy is a snuggler byut my daughter isn't. so i take all the snuggles i can get.

    wow. my daughter is 3. my son is almost 2. :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. You just made me cry. This happens to me with my daughter... there are times when I lay in bed with her (she is 7) and just weep for the time that is going by so quickly. Where does it go?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love it and totally get it. My 9 year old is way too big, physically, for my lap, and yet I still pull her in for awkward lap time, which we both love. I look at my boys and know they'll be bigger than me and hope against hope that when they are massive teenage boys, they'll still want to sit on my lap. And that if they don't, that I'll be strong enough to make them. :)
    http://amysreallife.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. This post gave me tears...
    I don't have kids yet so I can't quite understand what you mean... I may not be able to have kids, but want. Beautiful blog... I added your button to my blog.

    All the best,
    Kim

    ReplyDelete
  5. i know how ya feel. my 12 year old was always my cuddle bunny. until she turned 8. even though i now have the baby and the two year old to cuddle, i miss those days with her.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You had be bawling Mama M!! My daughter can not fit on my lap anymore because of those long lanky legs(6)..and my little guy (18months) has way more important thing to do. I cry for the time that is going by all too fast..all the time! When my girl wants to cuddle on my lap..I let her, who cares if she's well over 50lbs! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am in total agreement...today I think I'll spend a little extra time just snuggling my babes.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Abby is not the type of baby that can be rocked to sleep she's too nosy and will eventually try to run away and play. But the days she does let me snuggle her and rock her... I LOVE it! Us mommy's have to take the snuggles whenever we can!

    ReplyDelete
  9. :sob: my two year old just recently started wanting to be held. my four year old is a huge snuggle bug. i am due to have a new bundle of joy any day and cherish my full lap every day!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love this...and I'm going to remember that the closer Clara gets to "two". I'll make sure to treasure that "lap time" because she will quickly be outgrowing it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am right there with you. My daughter is only 8-months, but when she is awake she is going a hundred miles a minutes and doesn't like to sit on your lap at all. She likes to snuggle with dad before bedtime, and will settle for me in a pinch. I miss when she was brand new, and she was so content to just snuggle (helped that she couldn't move on her own, LOL). Looking forward to my next, and the littlest of snuggles.

    ~Kimberlee

    ReplyDelete
  12. have you read the book, i love you forever. in the book the mom sings a song. i love you forever, i like you for always as long as i'm living my baby your be. and she sings this song as she rocks back and forth, back and forth. so as the story goes on the mommy sings to her children as they grow up and at the end of the book the son is holding his elderly mom singing it to her.
    if you do not have it let me know and i will send you one.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Brings tears to my eyes too! Just last night my "baby" (he's 6!) fell and hurt his leg. Of course to make it better he got a kiss and then a hug on my lap. But it was so awkward, because like you mentioned, legs were everywhere, shoulders were at my eyes...I can't believe and never would've thought how quickly it all goes!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Aww...tears in my eyes. That is so sweet. I love cuddling my little ones too. My oldest, who is 4, is already too big...he is as tall as a 6 year old. So I better enjoy it while it lasts!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh so precious! I love it when Cubbie says, "Mama Rock?" meaning Mama, will you rock me? This is a good reminder to be thankful for every stage...even if they are still in diapers!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am so blessed my boy is a cuddler. He just turned five and we rock and sing for 5 minutes(on my lap) before nap and bedtime every day. I know those days are numbered (can't believe we've made it this long)! But he also tells me to "make room" so he can sit next to me in the recliner when I read to him, so hopefully that will last beyond the actual rocking.

    Time does fly, I can't believe my little guy is 5 already!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Annnnnnnd, now I'm crying. Thanks a lot!

    I so know what you mean though. I cherish the snuggle time I get with my kiddos. Every time hubby and I start to talk about stopping our cosleeping he tells me, "One day they won't want us to even be in their room." and it totally gets me.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Awww! I hope that you have many more years of lap time! (but yeah, asking for that when you are 100 may be pushing it! haha)

    Still lovin all the huggin from our grown kiddoes! And can't wait til the grandbabies start coming!

    Blessings & Aloha!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love comments! And, I welcome your thoughts that aren't in agreement with mine...as long as they are respectful!

Most Popular Posts

Coming soon...

Come here looking for the tutorial? It can be found here:  Halo Braid Tutorial!  Let me know how it goes! I had something in mind to try on Baby Girl's hair the other day...my best bud, Dr. J, did something similar to it on Belle once, and I was trying to replicate it. Instead, I got this: Isn't it pretty?! It didn't take nearly as long as it looks and isn't nearly as intricate as it looks! Vlog tutorial coming soon...(for those of you waiting, I'm sorry it's taking me so long!)

Halo Braid Tutorial!

How appropriate, "halo braid", no?! ;) Finally, I have this ready for you...I apologize for the delay! This braid looks intricate, but is really quite easy and quick to pull off...the original video (prior to the warp speed braiding...watch the video to see what I mean) was just a bit over 8 minutes long...not too shabby! So, here you go...right in time for you to try it out on your little girl for Easter!

Crock-Pot Fajitas

You! Yes, YOU!! You must stop whatevertheheck it is that you are doing, and make this recipe. Right now. Tonight. Well...wait. You should probably finish reading this post first...you know...so you know how to make it... But then...STOP! STOP everything, make this, and thank me later! Oh, hold it...wait just a sec (again)...actually, I got this recipe from Melissa...yes, the Melissa of this story ! And this story ...which, well...is the same story, just told two different ways! ;) So, you can thank her...I guess. Well, in any event...prepare your tastebuds to be tantalized! You'll need this: And, this: You'll also need chicken breasts or steak, but since photographing your "main ingredient" is, like, soooo passe, I've left it out. ( Ahem... ) Just keepin ' up with the times, friend. So...slice up those peppers and onions into cute little strips... And...try your best to not slice up the little fingers that are sneaking away pepper strips... (Lemme just inte