What An Elmo Bed Taught Me About Being a Mom

I wrote this a few years ago:

For any of you who might not know I’m a mother of 3 very little children. My oldest is 4 and my youngest is 19 months. My days are long, tiring, and my nights are full of interruptions in my precious sleep.

But after having three children 3 years and 1 month apart though I officially don’t have a baby in the house anymore. I say it’s official because my son has finally graduated to a big boy bed, and is no longer content to stay confined behind the mesh in his pack and play (not to be confused with a play pen which sounds more like a prison than a crib)

Off to the store I went, 3 little kids in toe. We bought an Elmo bed, simply because it was the cheapest one they had at Walmart, complete with a new mattress, which also happened to be the cheapest one they had at Walmart. Between me and my three kids (remember they’re still all 4 and under) we assembled the bed and had it ready by the amazing spider-kid’s naptime.

I assumed that since my two girls never had a problem with staying in their big-girl bed’s that mister climber wouldn’t either. But boys are apparently a bit different than girls. Needless to say my “big boy” spent maybe 10 minutes actually sleeping in his bed at nap time today, then he woke up and freaked out. Apparently he was unaccustomed to his mesh-free surroundings.

The rest of his nap time was spent sleeping on my shoulder. As I held him on the couch I tried to memorize the moment. I felt him breathing in my arms, and I held his tiny hands which aren’t as chubby as they once were. Then I smelled his sweet head and wondered when he stopped smelling like a powdery baby and started smelling like a sweaty kid. He no longer fits scrunched up on my chest but takes up my entire torso and some of my lap.

There he was my big boy and my baby asleep in my arms like so many times before. My days are so long, and there are days that are so hard, but my children are such blessings. Sometimes it takes a moment when my little guy gets freaked out by his big boy bed to treasure how small he still is.

Soon enough he’ll be embarrassed to hug his mother, but right now I’m his mommy. He wanted my arms and my love. And even though I had a hundred things that needed to be done this afternoon, there was nothing more pressing than holding my little one.