luke's babyhood

This lovely post has stayed with me since I first read it, and it's made me reflect and reminisce on Luke's baby days.

The first three months were really hard for me. I was bone tired and, like Luke, I didn't really know up from down or day from night. What I really needed was sleep and confidence, and I had precious little of either. But then, slowly and gradually, it started to click. Luke started sleeping. I started sleeping. There were laughs, wonderful fabulous baby belly laughs. And, there was sleepy snuggly early morning nursing. Luke let me play dress up with him, with a baby pirate hat or something else equally adorable. He loved being cheered on for milestone after milestone: rolling back to front, then front to back, finding his hands, eating his toes.

There were so many firsts in that first year. First smile, first laugh, first food, first crawl, first time pulling up, first steps, first words. I loved all of it. I loved being in his babyhood bubble. I loved his determination when he just wouldn't quit until he mastered something. I loved how hard he could concentrate. I loved how he quickly he identified his favorites -- favorite animal in his mobile (the sheep), favorite song (baby don't you cry), favorite color (red), favorite food (sweet potatoes). I loved his sweet, soft, baby smell.

It's been hard to say goodbye to Luke's babyhood. I can still get misty-eyed when I think about how physically close we were, and how proud I was to nurse him for so long. I miss how, after Luke weaned, bedtime still involved a bottle of milk, with Luke snuggled up in my arms, not so far away from his truly baby days.

I miss how little he was. How, even though he walked at 10 months, he was still such a little guy. I miss the shaky, bow-legged legs. (Though, I don't miss the falling--ba-da-boom!) I miss the gummy smiles, the baby belly laughs, the hands working so hard to grasp something, the delight at peekaboo, and, well, just all of it.

I know there are so many wonderful things to come, and my little man's language explosion has added a whole new lovely dimensions to being his mama. But I have truly loved his babyhood, and a part of me is wistful that it was so brief.

Our two years in four pictures (6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 2 years):