Pause

Mattias just moved into his crib the other night (okay, so I started this post over a month ago. These days I only have time to write one or two sentences a day. Who knew that kids would be so time consuming?). At almost 4 (5) months old, he was just a growth spurt shy of being too big for his bassinet, so we found some time and mustered up the energy to put his crib together.

As he lay in his new digs, grinning gummily and gurgling happily while he looked around, my heart broke; just a little bit. Even though he looked so itty-bitty in there, my little boy was getting bigger.

Which, of course, is one of your goals as a parent. You could never win Parent of the Year if your children shrank, am I right?

But it seems we are in such hurry for our kids to grow up, we come down with a bad case of "Can't Wait-itis". We can't wait for them to leave the "lump" stage/start smiling/sleep through the night/sit up/eat solid foods/say Mama/start walking/talk in sentences/go to school... We wish they would grow up so fast that we blink and before you know it, they're coming to visit you for the holidays in their mini van with their 2.5 kids.

Lately, when the time affords me, I've been sitting in the rocking chair with Mattias before his nap time. I love the feeling of his body curled into a perfect fit in my arms as he slowly drifts off to sleep. Of course, all the "experts" will tell you this is horrible parenting technique and I'm setting him up for a life of failure and a penchant to rob banks by not allowing him to fall asleep on his own. Since they only fit in our arms like that for such a short period of time, I am going to take advantage of it for as long as I can.

Since no self-respecting 18 year old should be sleeping in a bassinet, I knew this day was coming. I just wish it didn't make me so sad.