If I Knew Then What I Know Now #Sisterhoodunite -

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Miss E is about to turn four. FOUR! My baby, my final child, has been around for 48 months. How is that even remotely possible?

It’s been 1449 days since I brought her home from the hospital.

It’s been 41 months since she first tried a solid food.

It’s been 33 months since I last nursed her.

It’s been 30 months since she attended her first day of preschool.

It’s weird to think about those moments, the ones that will never happen again. People often ask “if you could do it over, what you change?” A funny question really. There’s honestly not much I would change, not with either child.

Each child brought both different and similar experiences. Neither child slept through the night for what seemed like forever. Then after they FINALLY did, they both started waking during the night around 2 1/2. Both children were fairly good eaters once we got the hang of nursing.

Ok, there’s one thing I might change. I would have tried to nurse Mr. A longer. I pumped at work and I could never produce enough milk for his daycare bottles, so we started supplementing with formula. By nine months, with the introduction to solids, we just stopped. I nursed Miss E until 15 months, but I was home with her, so it was MUCH easier.

Of course, we had many baby products we used and products we didn’t. I didn’t use a baby carrier other than a handful of times and honestly, after the age of one, I can barely think of a time we used one of our two strollers. My kids wanted to walk from the time they put their first foot in front of them. We had way too many baby blankets. I sort of wish we’d had a glider, but oh well right? We did have, in my opinion, one of the best high chairs on the market (the Svan) so I would totally buy that again if I had do to do it over.

There’s a small part of me that thinks I would change how we do bed time. I swear it’s the longest process EVER. We brush teeth, read books, then we get in bed and tell stories, I sing songs… It goes on and on. Both children have a an advanced degree in stalling tactics and J and I have a hard time saying no to “Will you stay with me one more minute?”

I have friends whose kids go to bed at lightning speed. They read, snuggle and then lights out. But honestly, when we try to change our routine, my husband and I both agree that it’s not that bad. It’s a time where it’s guaranteed family time. It’s guaranteed snuggling and hugs and kisses. And some day that’s going to go away. Some day they aren’t going to want us there.

So no, I wouldn’t change it. I wouldn’t change a single thing.