It’s funny how we compare babies to one another. For instance, my son is 10 months old, according to the calendar, but, as he was 2 months early ‘techically’ he’s only 8 months old. So, which do I compare him to? Initially, he was compared to his calendar age buddies and was going along swimmingly. Even ahead on some things. Then his technical age babies started getting older and doing things that Eion wasn’t doing… He was 7 months old before he got the hang of sitting up on his own. This was at the same time as his 5 month old friends. But, that was okay as he was a preemie. Then his technical age counterparts started crawling. And pulling up to standing. And babbling. And he *wasn’t*. This was when I started to get sad and, truth be told, a little afraid. Was he going to be really behind? Then, the sweetest thing. Babababababababababa. Sometimes for long stretches at a time. Playing with toys? Babababababa. Mad at mommy for making him lay down and have his diaper changed? Baabaabaabaabaa (these are more drawn out). One day a couple weeks ago I was waiting for a prescription to be ready. Eion and I were over in the kids’s area of the waiting room. He started trying to pull up to stand on one of the chairs there. I had to hold the chair steady for him and it took a while, but, he DID IT. And, of course, I started crying as he laughed hysterically in joy.. Today he scooted backwards for a good distance, and then, even more miraculously, he went FORWARD. Only a tiny distance and mostly assisted by pushing against the coffee table with his feet, but still. He even got onto all fours and got one knee forward. Brandon and I both held our breaths ready for more, but that was it this time. He also got from his belly back into a seated position today, and, again, I cried. Then I started cheering and laughing and Eion started laughing. He kind of had this "I did something good apparently ’cause mommy’s cheering, but I have no idea what" look on his face. It was precious.
The other night I checked on Eion before going to bed, as always. He looked so sweet and peaceful I couldn’t help myself. I very carefully picked him up, cradled him against me and sat down in the rocker with him. He kind of woke up, looked around with sleepy eyes then put his head back down and went back to sleep. As I was cradling him I thought about how big he was now in comparison to where he was. His head was resting on my shoulder, and his feet were past my lap. The first time I held him in that position his head was on my chest with his feet barely reaching my waist. It was just a very "oh my goodness" moment. With his head resting on my shoulder I could feel his cheek moving as he sucked on his pacifier. As he dreamed I felt the little twitches in his hands, once so tiny, now not so much. Then I was struck by another amazement. He has come so far and seems like such a big boy to me now, but he’s still not even a year old. And I can’t wait to see in what other ways he will amaze me.
Filed under: Family
