A Mother’s First: The Sendoff To a Sleepover

Earlier this month I received a text message asking if my daughter would be available to attend a birthday party sleepover. Three questions immediately came to mind:

1. Will my daughter even stay the night? She doesn’t even sleep in her own bed for goodness sakes!
2. Is she too young to attend a sleepover?
3. Where did time go that birthday parties are now sleepovers?

After talking it over with my spouse and then with our daughter, it was decided we would give it a shot.

slumber parties and sleepovers: the first time for the parents

During the week leading up to the date, I was a nervous wreck if I’m being honest. Since this enters a new parenting zone for me, I didn’t know what to expect. From my experience these were the three that stood out:

Packing

I wanted to avoid overpacking since I’m notorious for doing it myself. After tormenting myself, I narrowed it down. First, you must have an extra set of clothes (shirt, pants, underwear, and socks). Next, I packed her two sets of pjs with underwear. Then, I packed her clothes for the next day. After clothes came her toiletries. I kept it simple with her travel toothbrush, toothpaste, and hair brush. The last item to pack was the gift.

Fear

After getting past what to pack, fear set in. Every worst case scenario came to mind. The last thing I wanted was to let my daughter know what I was feeling since she had already communicated she was a little nervous. Thankfully I have my mom friends who I turned to to share my feelings. They were great about sharing their own experiences of sleepovers and reassured me everything would be alright.

Smile

My heart started racing when I saw a text message come through from her friend’s mom. Once I opened it and saw the huge smile in the picture, I was put at ease. All those fears quickly left and gratitude immediately set in. My daughter was getting to experience a sleepover and make memories with friends, just as I had as a child. I didn’t know if she would get to have this experience, since times have changed and many parents don’t allow sleepovers anymore. The next morning, seeing my daughter smile while telling us all they did was absolutely my favorite part.

In the end, this sleepover served as a reminder to me that my daughter is growing up and no longer that toddler I still picture in my head.

Does your family do sleepovers? What was your experience sending your child to their first sleepover?


 

Angelica
Angelica was raised in West Liberty just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the Iowa City. After getting married to her high school sweetheart and living in the D.C. metro area, they decided it was not where they wanted to raise a family, and moved back to Iowa in 2012. They welcomed their daughter nine months after moving back. Then in 2018 added a yellow lab to their family. Angelica enjoys running, reading, and binge watching shows with her husband. She loves Disney, Reese's, and being a mom.

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