As I sat with my toddler during the witching hour (4pm in our house), sleep deprived, overly tired, and getting “hangry,” I noticed my toddler and I are more alike right now than ever. While I’m in the never-ending third trimester, she’s nearing three. We’re just full of personality…you know, emotional distress about 24/7.
Let me explain.
At some point, we may make you slightly uncomfortable. Unfortunately, either of us could randomly start crying. Just know, it’s not you; it’s definitely me. I have sound reason though: these raging hormones. But who knows with a toddler; you probably just breathed wrong or thought you could come thirty feet of her.
Speaking of, we’re both cranky. Even though my toddler sleeps heavenly at night, I don’t. I must wake up a hundred times between bathroom trips, heartburn, or insomnia. So why is my toddler cranky? Oh, it’s probably getting close to naptime (yep, just saw her yawn).
We’re both going through growth spurts too. One of is shooting up in height and one of us is getting rather big width-wise. Both of us are having trouble with our bellies not playing peek-a-boo.
Which leads me to the fact that none of our clothes fit. Sometimes, I feel like a buy new clothes or shoes every other week for my toddler. First, she always outgrows her pajamas, followed by shirts, and then pants. And my belly is just expanding by the hour. Thankfully, yoga pants stretch and maternity dresses are like tents from Harry Potter. However, maternity blue jeans do not stretch, so you won’t find me in those, unless I really, really like you or just need to do laundry (lucky you!).
We’re also both trying really hard not to pee on ourselves. Okay, so that’s more me. Someone isn’t quite on board with potty training. But, we both agree that we just want all the snacks and Chick-fil-A. I’m just going to stick with calling this bonding time for us and forget all that potty training nonsense until after the baby arrives.
Ready for this horror?
No fun drinks allowed and my caffeine intake is limited. She’s upset she doesn’t get to try coffee or drink sweet tea, while I’m over here trying to savor a small cup of coffee.
Oh, we can’t forget about bath time — we both need help now. I can no longer get out of the tub without assistance from my hubby and sometimes I struggle to get dressed too. Surely, I’m a sight to see when forcing clothes on my body. My clothes keep getting more snug and my legs hit my belly when I try to put on any type of bottoms. I like to call this my third trimester workout. When I’m forcing clothes unto my daughter, I like to call it “exhaustion.”
We’re also just confusing and not the best communicators. She’s crying because she doesn’t have all the language skills to communicate. Whereas, I see a baby outfit and it’s magically in my shopping cart. I don’t know how to properly communicate to my husband that our new baby really does need that 20th onesie with the cute matching hat…because right now, he’s really not getting it.
Oh, and let’s not forget pregnancy brain. I feel like Dory searching for thoughts and all I can come up with are “I really need to sit down” or “I need some food.” Writing out lists and keeping a planner are really life-savers, but of course snacks are the real winner here. The perfect snack can help us forget about our troubles for a bit. They help distract my toddler long enough to sit in the shopping cart, which is why I always have endless amounts of snacks in my bag.
So, there you have it. My toddler and I are just too much alike. I promise, we have good qualities we share too. Right now, we’re having the best cuddles during these last few weeks together and she’s helping me get the most intense workout carrying around 60 pounds everywhere I go.
We’re both doing our best to find humor in all the chaos. Because humor, Jesus, and lots of treats keeps this mama and her family going. Plus, I’m sure when baby #2 finally arrives, we will all adjust to his personality too. But don’t worry; we’re all stocked up on post-baby snacks and coffee.
