The In-Between: Letting Go of Babyhood and Stepping Into Toddlerhood

There is a moment, sometimes so subtle you almost miss it, when you realize babyhood is slipping away. The soft weight in your arms becomes a wiggling body eager to move. The quiet dependence gives way to determination, and the coos of infancy evolve into words, demands, and laughter that fills the house. You are, all at once, so ready and so unready for what comes next.

This transition—this in-between—is not just about your child growing. It is about you, too. Motherhood is an ever-evolving state of being, where we are constantly learning how to hold on and how to let go. Letting go of babyhood is not just about adjusting to longer stretches between cuddles or fewer midnight wakings. It is about reckoning with change, with impermanence, with the reality that mothering is a lifelong process of release.

The Feminist Reckoning of Toddlerhood

Motherhood has long been framed as an act of self-sacrifice, but toddlerhood reminds us that it is also an act of empowerment. This is when we begin to see our children carve out their autonomy, to test the world with their own hands and voices. As mothers, we must reckon with the tension: to nurture but not to control, to guide but not to mold.

In a world that often sees maternal devotion as synonymous with erasure, toddlerhood invites us to redefine our roles. It is no longer about doing everything for our children; it is about walking beside them as they step into themselves. And in doing so, we reclaim parts of ourselves, too. We are not just caregivers—we are facilitators of strength, curiosity, and independence.

The Spiritual Practice of Letting Go

Letting go is not an abandonment but a trust fall. A faith that what we have given—our love, our warmth, our presence—has taken root. There is grief in this transition, yes, but there is also profound beauty. The Buddhist concept of impermanence reminds us that clinging to any one phase of life causes suffering, while acceptance allows us to move with life rather than against it. Motherhood teaches us this in real time. We let go, and in return, we gain something new: a child who meets us not just with need, but with ideas, personality, and growing independence.

For the Mother Who Feels Caught Between

If you are standing at this threshold—one foot still in the world of soft newborn skin, the other in the land of scraped knees and defiant ‘no’s—know that you are not alone. It is okay to grieve and celebrate in the same breath. It is okay to long for what was, even as you marvel at what is becoming.

Toddlerhood is not just their beginning—it is ours, too. A new season, a new rhythm, a new dance between closeness and space. And as we step forward, may we do so with grace for ourselves, for our children, and for the endless transformation that is motherhood.