Mornings are hard.

I'm starting to dread weekday mornings. When Colin moved up to his current class in daycare, there was a definite transition period where he had a tough time and cried when I dropped him off. Within a couple weeks, though, he got into the groove and started running happily down the hall to his classroom each morning. Suddenly, just this week, my sweet boy has regressed back to his "don't leave me, mommy" phase and it breaks my heart! Monday and Tuesday were really hard. Both mornings, he broke down into weepy tears before we ever even made it inside the building. This morning was better, as there were no tears, but Colin still refused to walk and plopped himself down in protest once we rounded the corner and started down the hall. I had to pick up my gigantic, 30 pound toddler and carry him to his room.

Colin enjoying a Nutri Grain bar for breakfast

The sudden change in my little man has made me wonder. Was he that upset when I left for a few days to attend Nana's funeral in Arizona? Does he think I'm going to leave him again? Is he starting to sense that our family is about to grow by one more, and is he acting out as a result? Am I looking too deep into what is likely just a normal toddler phase?

Colin is 21 months old today, and while he is still an early riser, he seems to be less of a morning person these days. I wish I could explain to him that I don't like this any more than he does, and that I wish we could stay home together in our jammies instead of rushing out the door before 7 am each morning. I thought about letting Justin drop him off instead, but it works best for our work schedules for me to do drop-offs and for Daddy to do pick-ups for the time being. Obviously we'll readjust when Reid is born, and do whatever we need to do. But for the moment, I'm on drop-off duty, and it's hard when he want his momma to leave him there.

Daycare mommies: Has your toddler gone through this phase? If so, please tell me it didn't last very long. I'd love to believe that he'll get better about this soon!