We’re now 18 months into our little boy’s life, so it felt like it was time for another update.
I think this will probably be the last blog post in this series. While being parents will continue to be a constantly evolving challenge for us, it feels like the worst is finally over. The pandemic hasn’t reared its ugly head again and life is returning to what now passes for normal.
But how are things a year-and-a-half after m’boy (and the virus) dropped into our lives? Read on to find out!
Reminder: This blog is the work of a sleep-deprived, first-time parent, trying to talk frankly and honestly about his experience. I make no apologies for the language used.
Out and About
As I said, it’s been a while since we’ve had to worry too much about COVID restrictions. On the bright side, it is so much better for our sanity if we can get outside instead of being trapped in the house with a tiny dictator. On the downside, there’s nothing quite as bleak as standing in a damp playground with a chilly wind blowing rotting leaves around you!
But, on balance, it’s still better to be outside than to be stuck with him doing the wall of death around the living room for 18 hours a day! It’s funny, but you basically spend twelve months trying to get them to walk and talk, and then spend your time wishing they would sit down and shut the fuck up!
It’s not just outdoor spaces, too. As I said in the last blog, we’ve been exposed to the lowest circle of hell that is the Soft Play Center. But there have also been some activities that we’ve all been able to enjoy as a family. We’ve been for a ride on a steam train. Over the summer, we took him to a playground with fountains that he could play in on the handful of actually hot days we had (naturally, it’s a lot cooler than last summer, when we were trapped indoors but never mind!). We’ve even just got back from a Halloween Trail, which was basically a walk around a mini golf course, full of encounters with wannabe actors in varying levels of cosplay. But he got a little bucket to collect sweets in and a tiny pumpkin of his very own, so he was incredibly happy.
He’s also been able to spend more time with his grandparents, which is nice because it means we occasionally get to have FIVE MINUTES PEACE AND FUCKING QUIET!
General Updates
Look, I love the little guy, more than I ever thought I would. He’s my world, an adorable little angel. But he’s also fucking relentless. If he’s not napping or sleeping, he’s running around near the sharp corners of the kitchen bench, crawling into the space behind the sofa (which hasn’t seen a hoover in the three years we’ve lived in this house), or upending entire boxes of toys all over the floor when we take our eyes off him for one lousy second! He doesn’t get a lot of screen time, but it’s not because we’re good parents. If he would sit still for ten fucking minutes, we’d gladly give him the damn tablet we bought him if it meant we could have a few minutes of peace and maybe get some housework done, but he just doesn’t sit still!
Apparently, not all babies are like this. Both of his grandmothers have commented that when m’wife and I were babies, we would fucking stop occasionally. It can be a lot, but he also seems to have an uncanny knack for driving us to the very edge of our sanity and then doing something completely fucking adorable. I may complain about him… a lot!… but I do love him likey crazy.
Another?
Incidentally, I can totally understand why some parents decide to start trying for a second baby at this point. Despite his seemingly bottomless energy reserves, he’s sleeping through the night most of the time, he can play independently, he’s stable enough on his feet and in the playground that you don’t have to be on constant high alert, and he occasionally comes over and cuddles in or falls asleep in your arms. It does feel like the worst is over, and you might be tempted to think that you’ve cracked this whole parenting malarkey and the time has come to have another…
But I’ve also read enough, and heard enough from friends and family with babies, to know that the Terrible Twos are on their way. We know it’s going to get harder again as he becomes more headstrong and independent, when he starts pushing boundaries and throwing tantrums. For now though, he’s genuinely delightful.
We’re not in a hurry to have another. I think there’s a part of my wife kind of wants another one, but another part of her definitely feels like one is enough. Maybe we’ll see how the next few months go, and how bad the Terrible Twos really are, but after everything we’ve been through in the last year-or-so, we’re perfectly happy with what we’ve got for now.
Final Thoughts
So yeah, we made it to eighteen months! We’ve successfully kept him alive and managed to not go completely fucking insane, which I think is quite an achievement, given everything that’s happened.
It’s been a struggle, but we persevered. We’ve made mistakes, we’ve had our ups and downs, plus some seriously rough rough patches… but I think I – even though we struggled and made a bit of a hash of it – we can actually proudly say that we handled it remarkably well in the circumstances.
He’s a lot. But he’s mine, and however much I may complain about him, I love him to bits.