Are you a mom with young children who made a New Year’s resolution to lose a few pounds? Don’t stress too much. Remember you’ll be getting an extra workout this winter — everyday when you have to leave the house and force your children into cold weather clothing. And while you’re trying to keep your kids warm, you won’t need to worry about keeping yourself warm. Because while you’re dressing, carrying, loading, and corralling them, you’ll never be cold. Most likely you’ll be sweating.
Here’s an article that I wrote last year for SJ Mom magazine about The Battle to Bundle Up. Although the struggle is real throughout the year, the winter season is the WORST. Read on to see what I mean. Oh, and don’t judge me if you see my kid coat-less in 30 degree weather.
When I was childless, I thought I’d never be that chronically late parent. LOL.
Today I consider getting somewhere less than an hour late a win. (Only a half hour late? Go me!)
The reason for my tardiness is one little human being that somehow manages to take hours to get ready to leave the house and then poops in his diaper right after a 45 minute struggle to get his shoes on his feet.
During the winter getting dressed takes even longer because more clothing is needed – an unfortunate fact being that my child Owen prefers to wear only a diaper.
The chore of getting dressed begins with the simple suggestion of putting pants on; Owen reacts as if I just told him to light himself on fire. An hour later after two dramatic tantrums, a trip to the potty, a multitude of outfit suggestions, and several kicks to my face, I have somehow managed to get him into thin sweatpants and a lightweight t-shirt. Not exactly winter attire, but at least he’s no longer naked.
We leave his bedroom and head downstairs to finish getting ready to go outside. Progress is slow. My pleas to hurry up fall on deaf ears. There are frequent stops and a lot of deep thought-provoking questions from my toddler, i.e. “Why is the light on the ceiling?” Apparently, moving while talking is not an option and the same questions must be asked and answered a minimum of five times before we can take another step.
Finally we’re downstairs. Similar to getting dressed in his bedroom, it takes another hour to put on socks, shoes, a hat, gloves, and a coat (with another round of kicks to the face, tantrums, and a diaper change). During this process, I consider the very appealing prospect of staying inside the rest of January and February.
I grab my own coat from the closet and put it on; I turn back around to find my toddler wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a diaper.
Two hours worth of work undone in 10 seconds. I contemplate the very tempting option of sending my child away to boarding school during the winter months.
Another hour later, we head out the door at last. Owen’s only wearing a t-shirt, shorts and socks. Oh well. My love will have to keep him warm. Is it April yet?
