Kids

Dear Baby, Please Don’t Grow Up Too Fast!

As our babies grow, we sometimes wish they didn’t change or do so too fast.

Dear Baby,

You were both a bundle of joy and a terrifying, crying, pooping hurricane that came into our lives. While we’ll always remember how you screamed your brains out every three hours or so, we’ll also remember how our hearts swelled with joy when you finally got that letter sound right. Or, when you started chewing on that carrot instead of licking and sucking it up like a lollipop. But it’s in those moments we start to wish for you, baby, that you don’t grow up too fast.

Each moment with you is both taxing and fulfilling.

It wasn’t easy trying to figure out which cry was which and we’re sorry that it took us a while to get it right. But we’re so proud that you’ve found your voice. It may not be opera or broadway but it shows that you’re trying to understand and communicate with us. The way we try to belt Disney songs together even if it’s off-key is a memory we’ll always cherish even though you would rather not remember as you grow older.

We’re pretty sure that you probably didn’t understand the joy of matching outfits. But it’s a fun moment we’d like to have with you, slaying the fashion runway even though it’s just in a magical place known as Mommy’s Dressing Room.

But we’re always growing and changing.

As much as we wish for time to slow down, to give us that one extra minute, it won’t. Time waits for no one and soon, you’ll be walking. You’ll soon learn how to scream “no”, stare at a vegetable with complete disgust, and find loopholes in every house rule we’ve set up. It’ll be a struggle for sure. But it’s a struggle we signed up for in our hearts.

While there are milestones to be had, we don’t have to match up to everyone else right away. We will have our time. But for now, dear baby, please don’t grow up too fast. Let’s make the joy last and turn the world upside down later.

Love, Mom

More letters and notes from mom? Here are some:

A Love Letter To My Boobs: One Mom’s Breastfeeding Journey
A Heartfelt Letter from Our Editor-in-Chief This Mother’s Day 2022
Experiencing Mom Rage Doesn’t Make You a Bad Mother

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