My name is Alison, and I’m a mom in Fairfield! I’m a social worker who works three days each week, which is a great balance to being home with my kids the other days. I grew up in Westport, moved to NYC for graduate school, and then my husband dragged me kicking and screaming back to CT in 2016. To my surprise, I’ve actually started to like (love?) raising kids in Fairfield County.
I have a 7-year-old daughter, a 5-year-old son, and I am five months pregnant with another boy. Like many families we know, the ‘should we/shouldn’t we’ debate surrounding baby number three was a big one. We always thought we wanted three kids, but then we were really happy with two. It seemed expensive enough, and we seemed busy enough; it just felt like enough. My husband and I are both one of two-child families, so it was comfortable. By the time my son turned three, we had decided to stop the back and forth and got rid of all the baby stuff.
As that decision sank in, my kids turned 3 and 5, then 4 and 6, then 5 and 7, and I really thought I’d made peace with it. We went out to dinner frequently, sometimes at the last minute, sometimes later than usual, and we enjoyed each other’s company. I didn’t have to worry if I’d remembered all the gear – the sticky placemat, the puffs, the leakproof straw cup, the small/quiet/mess-free toys. I didn’t have to worry that there would be nothing on the menu for my kids to eat or that the food would take too long, and they’d end up crying (or worse, screaming). We traveled without diapers and wipes, strollers, or pack-n-plays. We were officially onto the next phase. It felt nice.
But then…our kids started growing up? I started getting older, and the window was closing? COVID? Whatever the reason, there was a tiny voice in my head last fall that said, “Wait! Do it one more time!”
So here we are. Embarking on the journey one more time. It’s been years since I’ve changed a diaper or nursed a child, and part of me still can’t believe I’m going back there. But a much bigger part of me can’t wait.
As a long-time reader of Fairfield County Mom, I am so excited to share my journey, connect with other moms, and be a bigger part of this community.
