Child of Mine
Early this morning I was awakened by my little angel. He was crying, but not for milk or for a clean diaper. He was crying for attention. My husband brought him to me, and after a feeding, the little dude seemed to be determined to crawl around, play with us and the dogs and get his day going. None of us, however, were ready for the day to begin. Eventually, he started throwing his weight around, literally, and face-planting into pillows and cuddling up against us. At one point, he dozed off snuggled against my husband’s back. At another point, he ended up sharing my pillow, his cheek to mine and finally out cold, arms and legs sprawled, snuggling against my face. He stayed this way for almost another hour.
You know, my little guy, like every little guy, certainly has his own personality. Each day I am blessed to be able to spend my time with him, getting to know him, helping him grow, and watching as the wonderful little creature who is my son, whom God gave to us to care for changes. One of the most exciting changes is how affectionate he is getting. That isn’t to say that he hasn’t always been lovey, he just has always been much more interested in doing his own thing than being held still for a cuddle. The last few days, however, he’s been coming to myself and my husband for lots of cheek to cheek time.
He’s also been laying on the floor. That might sound random and at first, not make a lot of sense. My child, however, hasn’t been the quickest at picking up self-soothing techniques. I am his technique. I swaddle and nurse him, he battles until he can battle no longer. He is not a child who can be laid in his crib while he is tired and be expected to fall asleep. Fall down, maybe, but not asleep. Lately, despite his apparent dislike of sleep, when he gets tired, he’s been laying on the floor. He gets on hands and knees, brings his face to the floor, flops his arms and legs out into a stretch and smiles, laying there for a moment. He has yet to actually close his eyes and fall asleep, but he seems to get the concept. How exciting this new step is. He is learning to self-soothe. He is learning to find solutions to his problems. And I am delighted!
The other new thing that is going on in our home is that not only is the little guy walking, but he gets some major speed going! He’s walking around things, over things and taking off at an almost-run. No hands on anything, sometimes holding things to bring along, he is officially a mobile little guy. This is a hillarious addition to his normal antics. He climbs up, climbs down, takes off across the room, crosses the doorway (there is quite a lip there) and keeps going. He is so thrilled with his newfound freedom. Our lives will never be the same again.
So… things are changing, as they always will be, and our home is definitely getting more and more fun. What a joy this little person has brought into our home. As my husband said earlier tonite, after hearing his laugh… That guy makes everything better!
