Knowing how out of hand my baby fever has become, my friend Sarah thought she would help give me a dose of reality. (Check out her blog!) I love it when friends know what we need better than we do! She invited me over to help baby-sit her 18-month-old nephew.
Sidenote: Sarah lives on a huge dairy farm, so it was fun to spend the evening there! I wish I had brought my camera, because it was so beautiful!
Anyway, I hung out with Sarah and her adorable little nephew for about four hours. She warned me beforehand how tiring it would be, but I guess I didn't get it until I really experienced it. I'm just not around toddlers, so I don't know how much energy they have, I guess!
Anyway, It was a busy few hours chasing Nicholas around, keeping him entertained, playing peek-a-boo, pushing him around in the wagon, and walking with him on top of the hay bales (which was surprisingly such a cool thing to do! I had never done it before as I have not spent much time around farms, but it was just fun. Except that I somehow very ungracefully fell as I was getting down from them. Luckily I don't think Sarah or Nick saw me!! haha).
Nick went from one thing to another very quickly, as all toddlers do. I had trouble keeping up. We had to constantly keep him entertained to keep him happy. It was physically tiring just holding him and chasing him around the yard. And it really was a big job! And Sarah's mom was there too, which made it a little easier. But wow, we were going, going, going, for four hours. And apparently Nick was in a better mood than normal, so it was actually a lot easier than normal.
I think it actually helped my baby fever a lot. Nick is sooo cute, but he really is a lot of work! Sometimes when I imagine myself with a baby, I don't see past the sweet little infant sleeping in my arms. I forget that they get bigger, and that it is NOT easy! So thanks so much, Sarah, for giving me a dose of reality last night! It made me a little more thankful for where I am in my life right now.
That being said, I still think the trade off will be totally worth it, and I don't think I'll ever wish to be back here once I do have that sleeping infant in my arms. Or even once I'm chasing around a rambunctious two-year-old! It's just something I want more than anything. But last night did make the waiting a whole lot easier. So thanks, Sarah!
I think any amount of exhaustion will be worth it just to have a little one! But sometimes thinking about all that energy does make it easier to wait - I agree. :-)
ReplyDeleteahahaha! Nothing like a rambunctious 2 y.o. to put your hormones into check. :) Friends are the best. Blessings, SusanD
ReplyDeletehaha, yeah, I try to babysit for friends about once a week to help out with my baby fever.
ReplyDeleteoh, running after toddlers tires me out soo much too! When our niece was a toddler, it was driving me crazy keeping up with her and trying to do something different every 10 sec. But I do believe that once you have your own, you would never ever regret it! The joy and reward is just to great to feel any other way :-)
ReplyDeleteOh my.....you have just got to read this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.suburbansnapshots.com/2010/06/10-reasons-having-toddler-is-like-being.html
ahahahaha
I am so honoured that you devoted an entire post to me and my nephew haha! That was just the beginning, Jess - next time you are changing dipers and feeding him while he spits the food in your face haha!
ReplyDeleteIt's true! 18 months is a rough, exhausting age! Fun! Worth it! But exhausting!
ReplyDelete