u/IdyllicMoments

Bedtime used to be so easy. I’d sing to him, walk or gently sway with him and he’d be out within 10 minutes. Then about a week ago everything changed.

He started resisting everything, asking for food (not actually hungry), wanting to go outside, wanting to be put down. But then he’d go to his bed and lie in his sleeping position like he wanted to sleep on his own, before getting up, coming back to me and going round in circles for over an hour.

Tonight I tried something different. After our bedtime routine I let him lead, he motioned to his cot so I put him down. I sat next to him, kept singing, but stopped making eye contact. He eventually settled on the floor next to his cot and fell asleep with zero physical contact from me. First time ever. Moved him to his cot after.

Took 50 minutes but felt completely different to the stressful hour-plus we’d been having.

He’s 21 months. Is this a thing? Did anyone else’s toddler suddenly push for more independence at sleep time? Would love to hear if anyone’s been through this.

Yesterday I made pasta and my toddler demolished it. With every bite, he did his happy dance 😂♥️

If anyone wants to try it, here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:
90 g rigatoni
14 g olive oil
5 garlic clove, minced
50g carrot, finely grated
40 g courgette, finely grated
240 g tomatoes
14 g unsalted butter
30g cream cheese/greek yogurt
40g medium cheddar, finely grated
1g dried oregano — to your liking

Directions:

- Boil pasta with little to no salt until al dente. Reserve some pasta water.
- Heat olive oil in saucepan medium-low heat and add the minced garlic. Cook until fragrant. Add grated carrots, courgettes and stir. Cook until soft and most of the moisture has evaporated.
- Add tomatoes. You can use canned tomatoes but I use fresh tomatoes, score the bottom, pop them into boiling water to take off the skin and blend.
- Simmer until the sauce thickens. Add a splash of pasta water if too thick.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in butter, cream cheese/yogurt, cheese and oregano. Make sure it’s not too hot otherwise the yogurt will split!
- Add drained pasta and enjoy!

I quite enjoyed the pasta too if you can make a bit extra if you fancy it too 🤪

I’m lying in bed next to my toddler right now and I genuinely cannot process how fast this has all gone. 21 months. How?!

It feels like yesterday I was in that hospital bed holding this tiny, delicate little thing for the first time. Now I pick him up and his feet are past my hips. The same baby who fit entirely in my arms.

He talks, he runs, he’s got this whole personality. He’s so silly, so funny, so full of energy and life. And I love every second of it. My heart is so full, it could burst.

What’s getting to me is that somewhere between then and now, without me noticing, he crossed this invisible line from baby into little person. And I’m equal parts amazed and completely undone by it.

Does anyone else get hit by this out of nowhere at ridiculous o’clock at night? Please tell me I’m not alone 😭🤍

I just finished watching Reminders of Him and I sobbed. What made it so powerful for me was that I experienced it less as a conventional romance. You know, boy meets girl, fall in love, drama unfolds, they end up together. But more as a moving story about a mother and daughter finding their way back to each other. Being a mother myself completely changed how I received it.