An Historic Day
September 24, 2008
Long gone are the diapers, the bottles, the sippy cups.
There are no outlet covers, cabinet locks, or stairways blocked by gates.
No more high chairs dragged around the room during meal times. No more infant car seats and baby carriers blocking the back door.
When I say time to go, people run to the car on their own volition. Sometimes they even carry my stuff for me.
Stuff that does not include a huge diaper bag, two changes of clothing, bibs, blankets and enough Cheerios to feed a daycare.
No more spit-up stained shirts or leaking milky breasts. (I was going to clarify that I just got rid of the milk, not the breasts, but as I look down at my chest I realize that no, I did actually get rid of the breasts.)
No more pacifiers worn on my finger like a ring.
Fare thee well little cribby.
After 14 years the last remnant of babyhood is gone.
(I feel the need to say that the room is a mess because it is being gutted and renovated.)
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You made me want to run and kiss my three-yr-old.
btw–I didn’t get rid of the breasts, but obviously they are trying to run away from me by flopping themselves down to the ground…*sigh*
September 24th, 2008 at 10:32 amWow. Big moment.
Sending you virtual Kleenex and champagne.
September 24th, 2008 at 10:44 amSo true how fast time flies - but during all those years it felt like it was creeping by - weird.
September 24th, 2008 at 10:55 amLOL I felt like I was swooning to an epic love story’s ending reading that. Mine are only 7.5 and 1.5 - I’ve got a long way to go until I can use the excuse that my house is a mess because it’s being gutted and renovated!
September 24th, 2008 at 10:59 amI never got that historic day because I have the daycare kids all the time. I was so excited to finally get Owen potty-trained, and then I remembered that I STILL had to change diapers. I think I need a new way to make money! LOL
September 24th, 2008 at 11:11 amWow hard to believe especially after 14 years.
I bet it is bittersweet!
Even more so kind of freeing!
September 24th, 2008 at 11:16 amI can not believe that I have been first on comments the last few days! I am never ever first. I know I need to grow up!
Have a great day Chris!
September 24th, 2008 at 11:18 amAwww, it’s exciting and kind of sad at the same time. It really does seem like the one thing that makes the move out of the baby stage final. sniff. and yeah! lol
September 24th, 2008 at 11:28 amWoohoo, congratulations! It’s been nearly 3 years for me now and it’s a totally different world. Strollers, what are those again? The best is not having to unbuckle and buckle babies/toddlers in the van, all my kids can do it themselves. Course Gameboy DS’s and granola bars have replaced diapers and Cheerios in my purse but at least it’s a step up.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:38 amAh, I will be a bit sad when that day comes around for us…
September 24th, 2008 at 11:41 amSniff… I’m not there yet, but my day is coming. It’s so bittersweet.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:46 amI am on the other end of the tunnel (a two year old and a newborn), and part of me is extremely jealous, but even now I am already nostalgic about my oldest no longer being a baby, and I know I wouldn’t wish this stage of our lives to zoom by any faster. A glimpse however, at the other side would be nice, something like a childless vacation should do the trick, sigh, someday.
September 24th, 2008 at 12:00 pmCongrats! You survived it.
I just turned around the last of the drawer locks this weekend. My youngest is 7 and he was messing around in the drawer when I noticed the lock. I hadn’t realized I still had a lock left somewhere. *sniffle*
September 24th, 2008 at 12:00 pmWe, too, have dispatched all the remnants of babyhood and while I don’t want to go through the threes every again, it does make me a little, teeny bit sad.
September 24th, 2008 at 12:10 pmAw. I know exactly how you’re feeling. My youngest, my 2y4m son, has just graduated to his big boy bed, and I took away his sippy cups because I was tired of cleaning them. Now we’re working on potty training. It is a little bittersweet (especially when he tells me he wants his baby bed back and wants to be a baby again… SIGH).
September 24th, 2008 at 12:11 pmWhat a both glorious and sad day. There are days that I can’t wait until this whole baby stage is over, and then there are days that the baby urge hits me so hard I think I might literally fall over. Congratulations!!
September 24th, 2008 at 12:12 pmAwwww. So sweet. And a little sad. Kinda like shouting: “GOOD RIDDANCE! (I’ll miss you.)”
(Oh, I think we all just sort of assume that something is always being renovated at that big beautiful house of yours, unless you state otherwise!)
September 24th, 2008 at 12:14 pmThe one thing I enjoyed about breastfeeding was the fantastic boobs it gave me. But now that I don’t do it anymore, I find that I feel sad about not breastfeeding just as much as I miss the breasts. Funny how the end of an era can make you nostalgic no matter how hard that era was at the time.
September 24th, 2008 at 12:19 pmI’ve been feeling this way lately as all things baby have slowly slipped from our life. It’s an interesting experience. I’m often unsure it is actually me.
September 24th, 2008 at 12:22 pmI know deep down inside you’re sad. My last baby just turned 3 and I feel like I can’t legitimately call her my baby anymore. The gates are gone but we’re still into carseats and the occasional highchair for those times I truly need to contain her mess (food, crayons, sticker projects, etc).
September 24th, 2008 at 12:36 pmFina/Sayville
Does it feel good or bad? I don’t miss all those things, but I do miss the little round faces grinning at me. Both my kids seem to have lost that at the same time.
September 24th, 2008 at 12:39 pmHow liberating! But, don’t you need a permit to get rid of a crib?
September 24th, 2008 at 12:45 pmOh my gosh. “Fare thee well little cribby” indeed.
We’re having a major purge of boy toys here as my son has outgrown them. As I sifted through our Lego pieces box, the sound of sifting Legos brought me back in time a few years and I felt a bit sad…
“Fare thee well little cribby” makes me a little verklempt.
September 24th, 2008 at 12:55 pmyay for moving on up! i look on with fondness… i’ve got at least another 2.5 years before i can say the same.
September 24th, 2008 at 1:02 pmIt is SO hard to give away the cribby, isn’t it! I remember the day I did and it actually “hurt”! But it is nice not to have all the baby STUFF everywhere, isn’t it !!!??
September 24th, 2008 at 1:14 pmIt is a sad and happy moment all at the same time isn’t it? My youngest turned 6 this year. How the time went so fast I will never know.
September 24th, 2008 at 1:52 pmWe are just about to embark on this experience (or are we already on it?). Our first is 6 days overdue; my wife is slowly going crazy. The baby’s room is set up, the house is organized, the midwife is ready to go.
Our new chapter begins any day now… Any day now… “hello in there?”… “come out, come out, wherever you are”… “I have a cookie”…
September 24th, 2008 at 2:06 pmI was there! My youngest of seven turned four in May, and it was the same, 14 years continuously of all the things you mentioned. I purged, cried, but enjoyed the ability to say, “Everyone get your shoes on and get in the van.”
Then, at age 42, I got a “+” on the stick, and it is time for the grand finale. This ought to be interesting!
September 24th, 2008 at 2:16 pmjealousy flits about my inner workings–but then I think of the chubby cheeks, the sleepy eyes, the wobbly first steps, the smell of their neck, the toothless grins, the soft, soft skin . . .
I guess we have to savor every age.
September 24th, 2008 at 2:36 pm*sniffs* We got rid of our crib after 11 years recently. It was bittersweet. (I got rid of my breasts too. Damn.)
September 24th, 2008 at 2:37 pmJust a little teary-eyed here. My day is coming so soon. He’s already three and the crib is the last thing to go.
September 24th, 2008 at 2:39 pmThey grow up so fast!
Delurking to say that you made my day. I needed a case of the giggles. I managed to get rid of the breasts along with the milk. As my 3-year old says - we need to go to the store and get more milk for them!
September 24th, 2008 at 2:39 pmI am so TOTALLY jealous of you. I’ve got many more years to go. My youngest is one.
*Sigh*
Someday I’ll be able to strip and paint a room without worrying about someone eating the spackle.
September 24th, 2008 at 3:00 pmYou can always save the crib and train some ivy to grow up it like my aunt and uncle did. The put about 150 coats of clear coat on it and it’s been out in the yard for a good 10 years now. They couldn’t bare the thought of getting rid of it after 12 children!
September 24th, 2008 at 3:15 pmWow, 14 years, I don’t know how you did it!
I also got rid of my breasts when my 19 month old weaned a little while ago. I’m very disappointed, I think I should have been allowed to keep them.
September 24th, 2008 at 3:20 pmEveryone feel free to tell me I’m crazy. When we went through all of this with our youngest, my oldest was 15. I clearly remember thinking (and still do, sometimes) - 10 more years and I’ll be the grandma! I’m thinking port-a-crib for that, of course. I honestly think I’m doing this partly from missing babies but also to get myself used to that word way before I need it.
GrandmaGrandmaGrandmaGrandma
Ugh.
September 24th, 2008 at 3:32 pmAw, the last thing to go is sad. I was there and then after 8 years we had a baby and have had to replace everything. Mind you, I am not complaining, shes one of the best things to happen this family.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:13 pmyeah, now you don’t need outlet covers–you just leave cords lying across the floor! And saws!
September 24th, 2008 at 4:35 pmSigh. My youngest is 3, and I am having a very hard time getting used to a day without a nap.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:09 pmFreedom, freedom, freedom … I sang that loud, hope you heard all the way over there. I found this day for me felt liberating, a little sad to see the nursery go, but mostly I felt lighter.
Congratulations on making it through the most exhausting part of mother hood.
I’m taking this post to mean that Miles has moved into a big boys bed?
September 24th, 2008 at 5:38 pmI love your house. We used to own a very old house and I loved the beautiful woodwork and charm. I do remember the challenges that came with an old home though!
September 24th, 2008 at 6:05 pm8 years after my “last” baby was born, we had to dig the crib out of storage! We had our 5th baby…the baby we didn’t know we needed until she arrived…7 months ago. She has siblings who are 14, 13, 11 and 8! We are obviously thrilled to have that crib filled again.
September 24th, 2008 at 6:06 pmdelurking for a little bittersweet moment. I had a bit of ahhhh caught in my throat. lovely.
September 24th, 2008 at 6:07 pmWhy do we even use those cabinet locks, outlet covers, and baby gates anyway? It doesn’t keep the kids out; it only keeps the adults out. I curse under my breath every single time I try to open a drawer or cabinet and can’t. The kids, they open ‘em easy peasy. I have to get them to help me.
Hold on to the babybed … you’ll have grandbabies one day. *ducks*
September 24th, 2008 at 8:27 pmI just can’t believe your already starting a new home improvement project !!!
September 24th, 2008 at 8:34 pmThat picture, more than anything, makes me think about having another one. My youngest is about to turn 2 and he is most certainly the last. I thought I was really looking forward to getting rid of all the baby stuff after 7 years, a lot of it has gone already - but that photo made my throat close up….maybe I’m not as ready as I thought I was!! Great post.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:27 pmI feel your pain I have 7 children myself ( well not myself my husband helped a little) anyway we have 6 girls 1 boy so now that the diapers and etc. are all gone they have been replaced by female HORMONES>>> Yeah I need prayers,wine and anything else that might help…
September 24th, 2008 at 9:32 pmCongratulations! You’ve survived past all your children’s babyhood! You deserve a drink, or two or three..
Chris says: I was thinking a bottle, or two or three…
September 25th, 2008 at 1:05 amCongratulations!
Chris says: To you and your Big Boy Bed, too!
September 25th, 2008 at 2:06 amwow, you rock!
Karen
September 25th, 2008 at 9:30 amChris, this is big. I also got rid of my breasts. Rats. I was hoping they would stay around. But they were overworked, I have to admit. And I only nursed 4.
September 25th, 2008 at 1:41 pmHi Chris, I found you blog stalking somehow, and I love your blog! This post made me want to squeeze my little urchins until their guts spilled out. Said with love, of course.
September 25th, 2008 at 4:20 pmWill the reno ever come to an end…what will you do with yourself when it’s done? I love the photos and updates and can’t imagine accomplishing all that you do…you must have extra hours in your day?
September 25th, 2008 at 5:35 pmThat makes me sad.
September 25th, 2008 at 8:14 pmAfter our first, I was sure I’d never have any more. So I went through all of this: giving away the clothes, the crib, the everything at rock bottom prices in a yard sale. Ten years later, I was married and deeply in love–and pregnant. Now after #3, I’m not ready to let it all go yet! Am still hoping for 4 or 5 to come along. Maybe then I’ll be ready for the Cleanse. Sure does look like a relief from this side of the diaper bag…
September 29th, 2008 at 11:04 amYou are very talented in many ways.
You provide these excellent photos -
and you tell a story so well that you don’t need pictures - the reader can see it him/herself.
This one brought a tear to my eye - as my oldest is 15, youngest is 13 (yep, only two for me) and this stuff is long gone!
September 30th, 2008 at 10:02 amI got rid of all our “baby” stuff many years ago but now I’m pregnant again, maybe you’ll be so lucky!
ha ha
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:17 pm