I Have an "Owie" in My Heart

I only read a few of the posts so I don't know if this is a repeat suggestion, but one of my friends has a great idea. She's saving one or two outfits from each child each year. Ones that were favorites of hers or theirs, or have special memories. When they grow up she's going to make a quilt from pieces of all those outfits. I think that is such a neat idea! My DD is only 2 1/2 so I might try to do this. I will just need someone else's quilting skills!

Oh momy, I hear you and your post made me all squishy inside.
I have felt the same way, don't know if it will past or not and have not advice but I wanted to send you a hug.
Maybe take pictures or keep the most emotional valuable items. There are may things I have kept because I just can't or want let go, like their first shoes and some special toys and some teeth and even their umbilical cord (ok, maybe that is too much for some but not for me).
Enjoy your little ones to the max.

My children are all in their thirties, and sometimes I still think, "Where did my sweet babies go?" Mind you, my sweet babies have children of their own (most of them)!

Time is not something we can manipulate. We can only make the best use of it that we can, while we have some of it.

So at the same time, I am so very thankful for their growing! There would be something wrong if they didn't start solid food, take their first steps, go to school, play on the sports teams, learn an instrument, learn to drive, go to college....

So when a particular part of your child's life ends, be thankful that you had that part, and be thankful that something new is ahead. :^)

What you don't sell at your g-sale I hope you can give to a pregnancy center, church, or charitable organization, so that other mamas can love and enjoy those things, too.

Im so glad to see this is normal. I am the same way!!!!

I have four. When my baby went to kindergarten my oldest was a senior. Talk about your oxymoron day. I was happy but still ..... I cried hard that day. So then I got a puppy.
When the oldest went into the Navy I cried for 2 weeks, not because I wanted him back, but he was gone then for good. That chapter of my life/job with him was over and everything else was going to be new. I was now a mom to a man, not just a little boy who skinned his knees or climbed pine trees.
I think every mom understands the ache you are feeling.

My husband's grandma got that feeliing every time one of her babies started to crawl. THe birth control wasn't what it is today and my hubby has 11 great aunts and uncles.

how do you get over the "werent you really, really, tiny just last week??"
simple you focus on getting them out of diapers, then starting school, then graduating, then one day.. grandbabies!!
K. h.

I feel this way too.... a LOT - especially since I would like to have more kids but can't. Unfortunately I don't think it will go away - my mom's youngest child is 27, and last month she had all four of us home at once, eating dinner and laughing and the next day she broke down in tears saying it just took her back to the "good days" when we were all children and living at home. BUT, like Grandma T said, she is a GREAT grandmother, and enjoys it immensely! She is even going to come live with us for the summer so she can soak up LOTS of grandkid time - she cooks their favorite breakfast and reads bedtime stories and gets to relive all the FUN parts of motherhood while I deal with doctor appointments and getting homework done!haha I say take lots of pictures and videos, and spend every moment you can soaking up the wonderfulness of their first few years!

I am a total softy with my one and only!! Loved the dance recitals, softball games, awards, school functions, awesome trips and bonding with a great person. My daughter was always looking towards the next stage of growth so I was right along with her. She did text me from school last month to remind me that it was her last semester of high school. I am so proud of the young lady she has grown into and can't wait to see what the future holds!

Hi! I wish I had some great words of advice but all I want to tell you is that I feel the same exact way!! I'm just overly sensitive and emotional and enjoy every minute of being a mom and it's going by WAY too fast!

I love this topic because I so relate. We don't know if we're done having kids yet, but with the way my husband travels for work, I am just not sure that having more children would be realistic for us. I have 2 children, ages 3.5 and 16 months. I always cry when I look back on their newborn stages because they are already becoming a blur to me. There are days I wish I could go back to one of those afternoons when I just laid on the couch with a newborn lumped on my chest while I watched TV and listened to them breathe so quietly. Or back to the days they were each born, what precious moments those were.

I think as mothers, we wouldn't be normal if our hearts ached, knowing that even though we're thankful they are growing and thriving, we still want them to be our little babies forever, so that we can continue to take care of them. As much as I complain some days about the mess, the whining, the fighting, the "Mama! Mama! Mama!!!!"...I know I'll miss it terribly when they're all grown up and off living their lives.

Go ahead and feel sad, but also give yourself a pat on the back. You're a wonderful mother who just wants her babies to be at her feet forever, needing and wanting you. Ain't nothing wrong with that. :)

Take care,
Lynsey

I totally feel you here! My son just had his first birthday on Saturday, and I cried, off and on all day. I couldnt help it. He's just growing up so fast, and I look at him and I am so proud. But I just wish they stayed little longer. I loved rocking him to sleep everyday. But time goes by so fast, that we just have to remember to enjoy each and every moment we have with them. Hang in there, and I'm sure this feeling wont last forever. Just squeeze them and hug them whenever you can!

Best wishes!

I think what you are feeling is perfectly normal. I look at pictures of my kids when they were babies and i have my moments of questioning my decision to be done. But then I think of where I am now I am getting a little more of myself back. I can shower without rushing. I can go camping and sit back and relax instead of a fussy baby worrying if its too hot or cold or if they are sick or healthy or getting enough to eat. Now is the time for fun getting them in ski lessons so we can do the things my husband and I used to do before we had kids together as a family. I got a puppy when I got depressed and mopey now he is a 1 year old fur ball who snuggles the kids more than he does me. Enjoy where they are at now. Yes its sad that it goes so fast and you can be happy and sad at the same time. There is so much more to come though. I am finally taking my kids on their first real vacation I think they will remember to the beach and sea world I am so excited now that they are old enough to be excited about everything. I dont think the feeling ever goes away it just subsides into memories, so make the memories count.

Normal. And no, I don't think you'll ache for the next 20 years. Just on and off, here and there, a memory will tug at your heart.

SAVE a couple of the little shoes out outfits for memories. There are a few items I got rid of that I would love to get back.

my son is 8 and i dread the thought of him getting any older. he was so cute at 4 years old singing different christmas caroles. i have that on a dvd. i have some of his favorite toys and some of my favorite outfits packed away for his children some day. my heart aches when he now climbs on my lap for "loving time". i tell myself i hope this lasts forever. each milestone is so so hard to watch. i guess what i'm saying i agree with you 100%. my son is our one and only and now we are too old to have more....so he is our everything and then some....is there a way to stop them from growing??? let me know if you find that fountain!!!!!