To not have imagined a 1/2/3 year old

[whatithought]

When I had my first baby, I imagined them as a baby, the classes and the mum friends and pram walks. And I imagined them older. Teaching them about the world, about other countries and cultures and reading books and about types of birds and wildlife.

I did not picture 1/2/3.

I wonder if that was self preservation

anyone else?

I've now got a man sized 13yr old and I did not imagine that for second! Quite often I hear his deep voice from another room and think it can't possibly be my son.

I hear you. I used to look at children on Cbeebies and think they looked so grown up. I couldn't wrap my head around it.

Dd1 will be 17 on her next birthday. It's wild.

Weirdly, when I was pregnant I always used to imagine DS as a teenager, as well as a baby. He's 3 now and I still often imagine him as a teenager. I find the years in between that quite hard to imagine. I had traumatic teenage years, and obviously want his teens to be happy, so I'm sure it's something to do with that.

I was an only child, had no experience of small children. My babies had obvious personalities from the day they were born. It was shocking, fascinating and appalling all at once. I'd thought I'd be able to shape them, influence them. Make them into people of my choice. LOL, nope.
But they have become my best friends.

Stand up, sit down on the sofa, stand up, sit down on the sofa and repeat...

That is a toddler. I have had to lift mine off the top of an IKEA toy kitchen twice today.

@FancyBiscuitsLevel tell your friends it's a very bad idea when your teenage kids want to go clubbing... or even younger if they depend on unreliable public transport.

"Another glass of wine would be nice - but wait, Miranda has to be picked up at 1am, from a nightclub 30 miles away"

At least you don't have to worry about the pre schoolers choking on random stuff they pick or try to kill themselves by climbing anything or anything.

If you think 5 is bad wait until 6. 😬

Really? 2.5 until now (8 and 10) have been lovely here! I had ppd though, so may have been a factor 🙃

This made me laugh, OP!

I was soooo similar. I worked with babies and then children from 5yo+ extensively before having children and felt so prepared.... somehow I forgot that 2/3/4 year olds were a thing and that I had absolutely NO experience with them at all, nor any idea what to expect or what was developmentally normal, etc. It has been a wild ride. Having a 2yo and 4yo at the same time is a very wild ride (sometimes I chant "one day they'll be 5 and 7" over and over under my breath lol)

when DS1 became a toddler I had the shock of my life. He was a wonderful easy baby, but as a toddler, my god!

I was prepared with DS2 and he was equally as nuts!

However they are now 14 and 18 and utterly delightful, never given me any problems as teens, just lovely little men!

Ah, I see you had a 1/2/3 year old who couldn't get out of a cot. That makes them substantially easier to manage (my eldest was one of those!). My second born child first escaped his cot at 8 months old and could plop himself over a stair gate by 10 months. He could also open all doors in the house before he was 1.5yo. It was a wild, wild time. He's 2 now and the idea that a COT could contain him is hilarious. Are we talking about the little seats in the trolley? Because those are very easily escapable, unfortunately. I used to have to have to strap DS to my back if I needed a trolley!

Adding that I am not deluded to the challenge of 5 and 7 year olds... but at least I know what I'm in for!

This is so nice to hear!

Good luck!

Yes..and ones that are not very good at climbing out of trolley seats!

I love preschoolers… I think 3/4/5 is the best. I love having our little conversations about things, the way they get words muddled up, or can’t say them properly, the fact that they are a bit better at following instructions and have a bit more of an attention span.

My 5 year old is still young enough to be cuddly and playful and want attention from mummy…. But we can talk about more interesting things and he asks questions about the world. He’s so funny. And we can watch a film the whole way through now! It’s ssoooooo nice

I imagined it. I love it in lots of ways, they are just starting to have thoughts. And they are so affectionate and loving and full of happiness from simple things like a cat.

Have a 3 year old at the moment and know I'll miss this stage when its gone.

I'm kind of the opposite. Now my children are grown up (late teens - mid twenties) I sort of can't believe they were ever babies. I mean I know they were, but when I look back at photos and videos and it's almost like I am looking at different people who don't exist any more. It's hard to explain, but I know I used to have small children and now I have adult children but it doesn't seem quite reasonable that they are actually the same people. (Or maybe I'm just a weirdo...)

Mine are teens now, I honestly can't remember what I imagined!

Don't imagine 13 lol enjoy your babies

😂Goodness! That DOES sound wild.

Tbf, the 3 year old can easily get out of a cot now, but the 18 month old has short little legs and is still be foiled by a 1m obstacle ❤️

The older one can be outwitted though... would Batman push his brother or chuck peas up the wall?? No? Well then, if you're Batman guess you'll have to behave too 🤗Logic!

When they're talking really well, but get too excited and lose the ability, because their mouths can't keep up with their thoughts... 💔