We have completed the pregnancy and infant stage. It was absolutely wonderful, and it's sad to let it go, but I'm ready. We are ready as a family to move on to new things. I love the stage that we are at right now with a toddler and a preschooler. Now my kids can communicate their needs much of the time, they can walk and run, they laugh at jokes, they do funny and brilliant things. My husband and I can teach them things, do fancier projects and read increasingly interesting stories at bed time.
I'm starting to see the light at the end of the diaper tunnel, I looking forward to steadily reducing the baby gear needed for really little ones: carriers and special dishes and high chairs. I'm looking forward to (hopefully) more restful nights with fewer interruptions. I'm excited for the activities we will be able to do with our kids as they grow: family trips, movies, theater, school functions, etc.
Life will get easier in a way once we are really free of naps and diapers and gear. Our activities and interactions will become more sophisticated. But parenting will get more complex too as my children grow from cuddly, mommy/daddy-worshiping babies into real kids with their own sense of self: dealing with conflicting ideas on what is appropriate behavior, rebellion, sibling rivalry, and letting them out into the wider world where I can't protect them from every hurt. We are definitely in the Authority stage with my 3 year old, as described by Ellen Galinsky. Setting and enforcing rules can be really difficult, and this is only the beginning!
I'm sure parents in each stage of parenthood look back at the earlier stages in the same way I now look at those in the pregnancy and infant stage--with both a sense of nostalgia and relief that they made it through. The important thing, of course, is to enjoy each stage and live it to the fullest while you're in it.
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