“Does anyone else find later stages more difficult than the newborn one?“- A question asked in the WIO group.

It varies. I find that I struggle at different points in time. I compare it to a marathon. At different points along the marathon you’ll struggle. You’ll have a harder time running up hills. You’ll have a harder time when you need water. You’ll have a harder time when you’ve run 2/3rds of the marathon and know you’ve got 1/3rd left to go. You’ll have a hard time if you lose sight of the race you’re running. You’ll have a hard time if you mistakenly think you’re running a 5K race instead of a marathon. You’ll have an easier time in weather that you favor than in weather that you don’t.. All of this applies to WIO as well.

If you think your baby should be STTN by 6 weeks or by 6 months it will be harder if they don’t.

If you are not taking care of yourself it will be harder than if you are.

When you’re part of the way there but not close enough to see the finish line it will be harder.

When you’re “going up hill” with a growth spurt or teething it will be harder.

But like a marathon this “race” has an end. And like a marathon you can’t see the ending from the beginning. You have to run the race and be approaching the finish line before you will see the finish line.

Just like a marathon you’re not “running backwards” when you are running up a hill. And your baby isn’t “unlearning” or “regressing” or “moving backwards” when they’re having a harder time. You’ve run what you’ve run. That isn’t taken away from you or from your baby any more than you’re losing miles when you have to run more slowly up a hill.

Above is an unedited comment that I left in response to someone who asked if anyone else found it “harder” at a certain point than it was with a newborn. I am posting it here on request of a few WIO group members that want to have it easy to reference. ❤