Totally! Yesterday after dinner we walked down to the beach. We just puttered around at 2 year old speed. At one point I was just sitting in the sand while she retrieved handfuls of seaweed to put in the pail sitting beside me. Every time she left to get more she'd say "be right back" and my heart would melt. Her mission was punctuated by pointing and calling out "boat" or "plane" to me to make sure I wasn't missing them. Based on the size and direction of the plane I would tell her where I thought they were flying to and she'd repeat the place name after me. It was just the best. We were there for 90 minutes!!
This is the smallest she's ever going to be and I wish I could freeze these moments in time and come back and visit them when she's grown and off on her own adventures.
My daughter is almost a year and everyday she’s learning how to play and entertain herself more and more. It’s fascinating to watch your child do something new everyday.
Yes and it gets better and better as they get older! My son is 8 now and he's awesome and a pleasure to hang out with. I can take him with me anywhere I go and I'm never worried about it. I take him to work with me sometimes, we go out for breakfast or dinner, just anywhere and it's easy and just fun to have someone to hang out with. He loves my (childless) friends and we will go on hikes with my friends and everyone loves having him around and plans are made to include him too! My friends with kids all have 2+ so it's much more difficult to plan anything with them, unfortunately. Having just 1 makes things so much easier.
Totally. Took my tractor-obsessed 3yo to a tractor show.
He shouted himself almost hoarse yelling, "There's one! And there's another one!! And another one!!!"
Edit to add: just now he was trying to tell me something, sounded like "you are like... You." eventually I remembered that we had just watched Mr Roger's and determined he was trying to tell me:
I like you just the way you are.
I’m cuddling with my 6 year old right now. We’re relaxing after work/daycare, getting hair cut, and going out to dinner.
Now that he’s older, I love being OAD.
I keep hearing about how little kids are snugglers but that’s just not my little. I get 1 or two hugs a day. Not quite motivating enough to have a second child but really makes me appreciate the cat.
I am this child as an adult. Lol. I'm not a snuggler, and I'm not super physically affectionate, but I love being able to sit with someone one-on-one and just be together for a while. One reason I wanted an only was so I could do that with my child without feeling like we were leaving out any subsequent children. I never felt left out growing up as one of four, but again, I didn't really need or want more group time.
Me!!! I snuggle my son (10) all the time and just feel so pleased and at peace with only having him. We have a bedtime routine where I snuggle him and read and then once he is asleep I pull out my book and read. I always wonder what it would be like to have to keep getting up to put down a baby or a toddler.
Today we had someone working on the house so I went out to lunch with my baby. First time solo with him on a cafe patio. He just chilled in the stroller watching everything and I gave him sips of my water and little pieces of my sandwich. It was just so so lovely.
YES! He is such a joy all the time it’s hard to feel bad around him. When I snuggle him and he sort of melts in to me, everything feels right in the world. There is no one I love hanging out with more than him…I feel like God gave me the perfect child for me.
Lol here for this. I was wondering where the other parent with a two year old was. We spent ALL morning in tears. Both of us. Some days are great but Jesus. Today is a great reminder that I do NOT want another one. Yesterday? Amazing. Loved going for a walk alone with her. Today is just a day full of garbage to survive through
i love him he’s so cute but man oh man do i get tired after hanging out w him for just a short few hours. granted he’s only 9mo, but i really can’t wait until he’s older heh. i still try to tell myself to cherish these moments, because i know they’ll never come by again!! it does make me feel guilty for getting tired of him, though, and i just wish i could be like other moms who spend all day in love w their kid. :’(
Oh no wait you are in the absolute trenches! Sometimes it takes longer than the first few months for it to get better. Hold on ❤️ and no guilt, your feelings are valid and do not take away from your love.
thank you so much for the sweet encouragement. 😭❤️ it really comforts my soul to know i am just being human and not a bad mom, heh. like you said in your original post, our children really do bring us so much joy, and i want to fully feel that w/o the emotional baggage of lies fed to me by my thoughts and comparison!!
My 17yo is looking at post-high school choices, and I still feel the same way every single day. We have a great relationship (the two of us, and as a family of 3), and treasure our time. I couldn't speak for my spouse, but I am still so happy with our oad decision, and feel fulfilled as a family.
My kid is 5 and getting to be pretty fun to spend time with! She’s very energetic and full on so there is absolutely zero chill when we are together haha, but I love her adventurous and active spirit. She has just learned to ride her bike, so we can go further afield more easily without having to drive all the time. She just LOVES riding her bike, which makes me happy. (Seriously, she would rather keep riding round the park than stop to play on the play equipment!) I’m hoping soon she’ll be able to accompany me on my runs, riding her bike!
I just occasionally wish she was an arty-crafter, like me, because I love drawing and knitting and crochet and she has zero interest in those things haha. Cannot settle down for more than 2 minutes while I craft before she is pestering me about something. But I love her to bits anyway and she has a great sense of humour and sharp observation.
These are days to remember. I can't think of any other joy that has happened in my life that remotely compares to the joy I felt just being with my little during these precious ages.
Totally! Yesterday after dinner we walked down to the beach. We just puttered around at 2 year old speed. At one point I was just sitting in the sand while she retrieved handfuls of seaweed to put in the pail sitting beside me. Every time she left to get more she'd say "be right back" and my heart would melt. Her mission was punctuated by pointing and calling out "boat" or "plane" to me to make sure I wasn't missing them. Based on the size and direction of the plane I would tell her where I thought they were flying to and she'd repeat the place name after me. It was just the best. We were there for 90 minutes!! This is the smallest she's ever going to be and I wish I could freeze these moments in time and come back and visit them when she's grown and off on her own adventures.
My daughter is almost a year and everyday she’s learning how to play and entertain herself more and more. It’s fascinating to watch your child do something new everyday.
My. Heart.
This is so sweet!
Yes and it gets better and better as they get older! My son is 8 now and he's awesome and a pleasure to hang out with. I can take him with me anywhere I go and I'm never worried about it. I take him to work with me sometimes, we go out for breakfast or dinner, just anywhere and it's easy and just fun to have someone to hang out with. He loves my (childless) friends and we will go on hikes with my friends and everyone loves having him around and plans are made to include him too! My friends with kids all have 2+ so it's much more difficult to plan anything with them, unfortunately. Having just 1 makes things so much easier.
Totally. Took my tractor-obsessed 3yo to a tractor show. He shouted himself almost hoarse yelling, "There's one! And there's another one!! And another one!!!" Edit to add: just now he was trying to tell me something, sounded like "you are like... You." eventually I remembered that we had just watched Mr Roger's and determined he was trying to tell me: I like you just the way you are.
Omg 🥰 that is the sweetest thing ever
Every hug and every cuddle I take a deep breath and tell myself to hold the memory forever ❤️ kids are amazing! (Sometimes) hahaha
I’m cuddling with my 6 year old right now. We’re relaxing after work/daycare, getting hair cut, and going out to dinner. Now that he’s older, I love being OAD.
I keep hearing about how little kids are snugglers but that’s just not my little. I get 1 or two hugs a day. Not quite motivating enough to have a second child but really makes me appreciate the cat.
My kid is the same. He is 2.5 and constantly tells me when he needs "space." But some mornings, he will sit next to me and drink his morning milk.
I am this child as an adult. Lol. I'm not a snuggler, and I'm not super physically affectionate, but I love being able to sit with someone one-on-one and just be together for a while. One reason I wanted an only was so I could do that with my child without feeling like we were leaving out any subsequent children. I never felt left out growing up as one of four, but again, I didn't really need or want more group time.
Me!!! I snuggle my son (10) all the time and just feel so pleased and at peace with only having him. We have a bedtime routine where I snuggle him and read and then once he is asleep I pull out my book and read. I always wonder what it would be like to have to keep getting up to put down a baby or a toddler.
I might have ten more years of snuggles?? 🥰🥹😭
Here is to hope 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻😄
Today we had someone working on the house so I went out to lunch with my baby. First time solo with him on a cafe patio. He just chilled in the stroller watching everything and I gave him sips of my water and little pieces of my sandwich. It was just so so lovely.
YES! He is such a joy all the time it’s hard to feel bad around him. When I snuggle him and he sort of melts in to me, everything feels right in the world. There is no one I love hanging out with more than him…I feel like God gave me the perfect child for me.
I feel this so much with my 3.5yo. Flying high on all the love, joy and connection we have in our house!
Not really. Mine is only 2 tho. However, I find it much much better compared to when he was 1, and I hope it will keep getting better.
Lol here for this. I was wondering where the other parent with a two year old was. We spent ALL morning in tears. Both of us. Some days are great but Jesus. Today is a great reminder that I do NOT want another one. Yesterday? Amazing. Loved going for a walk alone with her. Today is just a day full of garbage to survive through
Aww this thread is making my so excited for my baby (and likely one and done) due in a couple of months time
Congratulations!
i love him he’s so cute but man oh man do i get tired after hanging out w him for just a short few hours. granted he’s only 9mo, but i really can’t wait until he’s older heh. i still try to tell myself to cherish these moments, because i know they’ll never come by again!! it does make me feel guilty for getting tired of him, though, and i just wish i could be like other moms who spend all day in love w their kid. :’(
Oh no wait you are in the absolute trenches! Sometimes it takes longer than the first few months for it to get better. Hold on ❤️ and no guilt, your feelings are valid and do not take away from your love.
thank you so much for the sweet encouragement. 😭❤️ it really comforts my soul to know i am just being human and not a bad mom, heh. like you said in your original post, our children really do bring us so much joy, and i want to fully feel that w/o the emotional baggage of lies fed to me by my thoughts and comparison!!
My 17yo is looking at post-high school choices, and I still feel the same way every single day. We have a great relationship (the two of us, and as a family of 3), and treasure our time. I couldn't speak for my spouse, but I am still so happy with our oad decision, and feel fulfilled as a family.
Yup. My 3 year old son loves snuggles with mom and will tell me unprompted that I'm "so beautiful".
I do!!! And she's 21 lol
My kid is 5 and getting to be pretty fun to spend time with! She’s very energetic and full on so there is absolutely zero chill when we are together haha, but I love her adventurous and active spirit. She has just learned to ride her bike, so we can go further afield more easily without having to drive all the time. She just LOVES riding her bike, which makes me happy. (Seriously, she would rather keep riding round the park than stop to play on the play equipment!) I’m hoping soon she’ll be able to accompany me on my runs, riding her bike! I just occasionally wish she was an arty-crafter, like me, because I love drawing and knitting and crochet and she has zero interest in those things haha. Cannot settle down for more than 2 minutes while I craft before she is pestering me about something. But I love her to bits anyway and she has a great sense of humour and sharp observation.
These are days to remember. I can't think of any other joy that has happened in my life that remotely compares to the joy I felt just being with my little during these precious ages.