The house is too quiet on Tuesdays and Thursdays now and I am having a hard time with this transition. Our youngest, Watson, will be two next month; he has stayed home with my husband and me while we work from home since he was born. He’s also our last baby so it was such a hard decision to make when we were talking about when to start him in a parents’ day out program.
My husband and I both work from home, so we’ve been able to juggle the tasks of meeting times and swapping back and forth when we need to with our son and it’s truly been so nice having him home. He’s our last baby and we wanted to keep him home as long as we could and enjoy the time with him. There’s something about knowing he’s your last baby – that these moments won’t come again – that makes you want to soak up every tiny detail for as long as you can.
Some days it feels like a lot: trying to look presentable for meetings, juggling work tasks, keeping him entertained, nursing nonstop, and handling diaper changes. But what’s made it so worth it is those midday snuggles and sweet giggles to break up the stresses of work.
What’s even harder is our breastfeeding journey has also come to an end this past week. While I nursed him longer than both of my other kids, it’s still so bittersweet knowing that it’s my last time experiencing those sweet moments where it’s just me and my baby snuggling, and watching him fall asleep so easily while nursing and just having that time together.
While it’s such a hard season with all the changes, I know he’s thriving. I know he’s ready to experience playtime two days a week. When we pick him up on days he goes to “school,” he comes home and we’ve noticed him saying new things we haven’t heard him say before. It’s so fun knowing he’s picking up little things throughout the day and he truly has the best time. My older kids especially love the mornings where Watson goes to school and he gets ready with them. They really hate it if they can’t be there for his drop-off (he starts at 8:30am and they start at 7:45am).
He’s also done so well transitioning from breastfeeding and if I’m being completely honest, I was dreading this so much. He’s our only child that doesn’t take a pacifier and I knew nighttime was going to be the hardest and a huge challenge. The funny thing though, while he cried a little bit the first night, he has done so well with this transition and has been going to sleep perfectly fine! I think I was the one holding myself back from letting go and that’s so hard to admit. I was definitely using him as a crutch to justify not making these changes that he was actually very ready for. What I found out with both of these changes, is that it seems he was ready for both of these things and it was just me that needed to let go a little bit and let him have some room to grow.
While Tuesdays and Thursdays are quiet in the house, I’m going to embrace that time and truly hone in on my work and catch up on some “me” time that I haven’t gotten for a while. I have a whole backlog of podcasts to listen to and may even be able to do some Christmas present wrapping on my breaks! It’ll truly be nice having that time to dedicate to work and myself, and for my son to have the time to experience new things as well. While this season has been tough, it’s also so exciting. It’s fun seeing the little crafts he does at school and the friends he’s making and also the independence he’s gaining.
