I’ll hold you while you sleep because you won’t always be this little. Some day in the not-so-distant future you’ll go to school, and you’ll make your own friends and you won’t need me quite so much. It hurts to even think of it, but someday you might not want me to rock you to sleep or carry you because you’ll be a big kid and not the tiny baby I see before me now. 

So today I’ll ignore the laundry and skip another workout to keep you in my arms a while longer.

Soon you’ll wake up and be just ever-so-slightly older than you were when you drifted off. It happens so gradually and yet so fast I could almost miss it—you’re growing up before my eyes. 

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I’ll hold you while you sleep because someday it won’t be this easy to keep you safe and make sure you know you’re loved. So today I’ll put off my never-ending to-do list and let you dream in my arms. Right now I get to be your protector, your safe place, your comfort, and when you’re older, I know you’ll have to face things without me.

But for today, you’re my baby and I get to hold you while you sleep, so I will. 

I won’t put you down to get things done while I can because time is fleeting and I know already I will miss this. I will miss watching those perfect little smiles flicker across your face. I will miss watching your tiny chest rise and fall with each steady breath. I will miss the feeling of your arms around my neck. I’ll miss holding you while you sleep. 

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I may very well complain that I can’t seem to get anything done and it’s true, I can’t because I choose to hold you while you sleep instead of using that time to check things off of my to-do list, but I won’t ever regret it.

My house will be clean again someday and my arms will be empty. So today I’ll just stay right here with you, holding you while you sleep. 

No, you may not remember whether you napped on me or by yourself, but I will. Someday when you’re grown, I’ll look back and cherish these quiet moments. Being your mama is the best thing I’ll ever be and you’re only little once, so I’ll hold you while you sleep.