To feel sad at how quickly my dc are growing up.

[cookieswirls]

Just checked in on my dd who is 5 and couldn't believe how grown up she looks. I still see her as my baby even though I have 11 month old twins too but I think the past year she has just changed and grown up so much! When I was out earlier I saw a friend who said how much she has grown up and now I'm seeing it too. My twins are also growing rapidly and although I certainly do not want to go through the newborn stage again, looking back it did seem really lovely. I'm sad how quickly life flys by

[SumAndSubstance]

YANBU. Fortunately, when my DS(4) is asleep, he looks like a baby again and I can pretend he's not so old!

[WheresLarry]

Me and dw were saying the exact same thing tonight about our dd, also 5 and our soon to be 3 year old dd. Where does the time go?!

[IslaLettuce]

I let my boy play with tall children. It helps to remember that he's still little really.

[OhMrBadger]

Oh OP. YANBU. I know what you mean. I look at my eldest (10) and it takes my breath away to remember him as a tiny newborn. It seems like yesterday when we brought him home from the hospital.

I think that time certainly speeds up when you have children but once they start school it just zooms by.

I'm not helping at all but I totally get where you're coming from.

[RaskolnikovsGarret]

Sorry OP, I know you don't mean anything bad, but these threads make me feel sad for anyone who doesn't get to see their child grow up, because they die young.

I think we should embrace each stage of life and be grateful for each day our children manage to grow a little older. Mine are mid teens now, and although I will miss them when they leave, I am immensely grateful that we have reached the GCSE years and they are experiencing all the normal ups and downs of teenage life without undue mishap.

Do relish their lives as they grow up. The alternative is unthinkable. Sorry to be so morbid, but I think it helps to see them growing up as only a positive thing.

[LittleBoat]

For a second the other night I thought there was a man in my little boys bed. On further examination it was my little boy.

[cookieswirls]

Garret that is very true and I know I should be grateful for every day I have with my Dc!

[hungryhippo90]

This! I've got a nine year old who is 5"1, started her periods last year and is such a wonderful little lady... old head on young shoulders type. It makes me so sad to see that the years have gotten away from us. I've no idea where they went.

[DustyMaiden]

Putting up the Christmas tree brought it home with my DS. 16.

I used to lift him to put the star on, then he got too big and I got him a step. This year he is as tall as the tree.

[NickyEds]

I know what you mean. My dc are only 18 months and just turned 3 but it feels like it's all just flying by. I've had a few people react oddly when I tell them our babies age gap- several older relatives over Christmas said things like "don't worry this bit will be over before you know it". I was actually going to start a thread asking if anyone else was actually enjoying their children's childhood!

[missyB1]

Oh don't! I could cry when I look back at photos of my three as babies my youngest is 8 now and I'm too old to have any more. I would give anything to do it again.

Eldest is 26 and getting married this year so hopefully some grandchildren soon

[imip]

Yes, I feel very sentimental about this. I have a 10, 8, 6 and almost 4 yo. Five years ago I had a 5, 4, 1 and newborn. How much difference a short time makes (I seem to have aged massively also). I've felt v sad as my last dd started school in sept.

[imip]

She's almost 5, not almost four - see how fast time is going

[DrSeuss]

I don't experience this. I am more excited to see them grow and progress. dS starts senior school this year and I can't wait! As a teacher, I know how exciting all the new subjects and opportunities will be. He will love science in a real lab, weekly IT, learning a language and everything else.
Also, I know a woman whose son aged 6 is still as helpless as a baby due to oxygen deprivation at birth. He will always be a baby.

[cookieswirls]

I think the fact my dd started school this year also made me see how she is really moving on and becoming independent. There are so many things we use to do together and I would do for her but now she's able to do them herself and she has friends to play with. I miss it when i was her only friend although I'm so proud of her

[steff13]

My eldest will be an adult two weeks from today. I'm not old enough to be the parent of an adult.

On the bright side, that means my parenting is done for that one, right?

[pennyscrayons]

I feel the same. There is just me and dd7, always just been the two of us. It's flown, and she gets better n better - the things we do, conversations we have. But I can't help feeling a little sad n wished I'd savoured the early years more.
Given the news today though, I feel especially grateful she is happy and healthy.

[wigglesrock]

I've loved watching mine get older, more independent, find their feet and their likes and dislikes, try new things, disgard new things. My eldest is 11 and my youngest is almost 6. I've really enjoyed watching my eldest turn into a smart, funny, eyerollery, slightly snarky almost teen. She started secondary school last September and it's been really nice watching her discover new things/subjects/friends. I love watching them go to school and learn new things. My almost 6 year old is funny, you could just watch her all day, I'm dying to see what she's like as she gets older, same with my 9 year old.

[OhMrBadger]

I feel like I've barely paused for breath these past 10 years. I sometimes want to put the brakes on and just think for a while. Just to take on board what the hell happened all those years ago when DS1 was born!

I'm not making much sense!

[AtiaoftheJulii]

One of my kids posted a pair of #2006vs2016 photos of the dc together last month - dh said he wished we were having both sets of kids for Christmas. I love having teenage/adult children, they're amazing, but they're just different to the little cuties we used to have - and sometimes I miss those little ones.

[NickyEds]

It's not that I don't love seeing them develop, I do, it's just going too quickly! I'm broody.

[user1475439961]

I love that my children are getting older! I recently took my girls 9 & 5 to see Matilda the musical because they're at an age they appreciate it. We stayed in a hotel in London & had such fun. Life can be wonderful & I try to enjoy every step & embrace each change- no more nappies & less sleepless nights!

[minmooch]

Please don't be sad that your children are growing up. This is what they are meant to do. Each stage is a privilege and a joy.

[DramaAlpaca]

It's lovely watching your DC grow up and seeing how your relationship changes as they grow from children into teenagers and then young adults.

It's something to celebrate I feel, it's nothing to be sad about, it's just different.

I don't really get wistful about my DSes' baby & childhood years, they were very special but I've enjoyed them at every stage.

I still find it hard to believe I'm actually the mother of three grown men aged 23, 21 & 19 .

[GogoGobo]

YANBU OP. Watching them grow is agony and ecstasy but as a PP said unthread - treasuring each day and feeling grateful that they are growing older is the way to go.