02/28/2026
It’s the first time I’ve been off call in a couple of months, and sleeping in until 7:50 this morning after watching the Traitors finale last night felt absolutely glorious. The boys popped into our room around 6 am to ask if they could make waffles and watch Tom and Jerry, and we said go for it. Walked downstairs to waffles on plates and it made me smile to see our oldest attempting to make me coffee.
I spend a lot of time with postpartum families, and they all share common concerns I had - “Will I ever sleep again? “How do I keep my baby safe?” “Is it normal for them to eat this much/little?” I’m instantly reminded of the moments I had 3 boys under 4 - keeping newborn cal safe from his brothers felt like a full time job.
And as quickly as we were in the thick of it, all of a sudden we were out. I remember the initial shock of not being fully needed/demanded in such a physical way 100% of the time anymore, and I felt like that one John Travolta meme where’s he’s looking around, all alone in a trench coat.
One of the favorite things about this season for me has been the realization again and again that my kids are my “neighbors”. That they are my favorite people and I want to hang out with them- to bike, cook, garden, and play games at the table, and joke around. There are certainly new challenges in parenting as it pertains to attitudes/disrespect in communication, but wow I wish I could have gotten a glimpse into the future 5 years ago.
An encouragement to those of you who are currently battling sleepless nights and sticky handed toddlers… one day (very soon) you will sleep in on Saturday and wake up to a plate of waffles and coffee and the sound of elementary kids playing baseball in the house. (And you’ll also kind of wish you were snuggling a newborn in your arms).
What an honor to raise these kids.