Thank You for the Snuggles

An Exhale blog hop post

You’re my last baby, and you’re growing up far too fast. You’re already crawling around, getting into trouble. We haven’t figured out how to do nice, long naps in the crib, though. And as much as I’m looking forward to the day when I can set you down for a nap and do other things, for now I’m okay to snuggle from time to time. Or when we snuggle before I put you down for bed at night, holding you just a bit longer before I do. Because before I know it you’ll be as big as your big sister and you won’t fit as nicely on my lap or chest - I’ll still love the snuggles then too, just as I do with big sister, but preschooler cuddles are simply different.

So as I rub your back, hug you, kiss your pudgy baby cheeks, and let you snooze on me for just a few minutes longer before I lay you down for bed, I have to say…

Thank you, sweet baby girl, for loving mama cuddles enough to let me savor this moment. Thank you for falling asleep so quickly after your bedtime bottle, so I can savor these moments of baby snores and cheek kisses without being smacked in the face (a new favorite hobby, lucky me).

Thank you, universe, for this quiet moment with my last baby. Thanks for making sure that I realize these moments are fleeting and presenting me with opportunities to savor them. I may not always be thankful when it’s the middle of the afternoon and I have a grumpy baby refusing to take a nap anywhere but on me, but for now I am.

And thanks to my husband and older daughter, who are giving me the perfect excuse to hold you just a bit longer as they bang around in the room next door while my big girl gets ready for her own bedtime. I can’t put the baby down yet, obviously, because they might wake her back up as soon as I leave the room. (The truth is, the chance of that happening is not as high as I like to admit.)

I know too well, from the past four plus years of parenting, that these moments will be gone too soon. Before I know it, you will be a toddler, then a big girl, then you won’t want nearly as many mama snuggles anymore.

So thank you for letting me embrace this moment and enjoy these snuggles for now.

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This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Acceptance Speech".