Crawling!!!

Namastè!

Baby Namastè's crawling, y'all!!! It happened today.

I'm both excited and sad.

Excited? Of course. Babies growing is a sign of successful parenting, in a sense. We figured out his optimal food, sleep, and snuggle requirements, so he's a happy, healthy little Bud who's finally getting that baby chunk. Babies thrive when their needs are met, so despite people telling us he would be spoiled or not independent because we "coddle" him JUST LOOK AT HIM GO!

Alas, it is sad for me also. Crawling is one milestone closer to walking and one milestone further away from being my newborn squish.

I spent hours holding and snuggling him when he was tinier, smelling that sweet baby scent and reveling in all that new baby sweetness. He would snuggle into my arms and just sigh, like he was perfectly content and knew exactly where he belonged. All I wanted to do those first couple weeks was hold my boy, feed my boy, and smell my boy.

Nowadays I still get my fill of holding him, except he is interested in so much more than before. See, to a newborn, mommy is the whole world--she is comfort, she is warmth, she is food. She is safety. She is the baby's anchor in a place full of experiences and sensations that send him swaying about.

Today it really dawned on me. This little baby is becoming a toddler, slowly and surely. Almost in the blink of an eye! Baby Namastè before, was essentially coccooned in unawareness, safely swaddled in his own little world.

That little world, sadly and also incredibly, is no longer only me. I'm no longer the beginning and end for him. There are other things to do now, besides or perhaps in addition to, cuddling with mommy or sleeping on mommy's chest. There are now toys to play with, and rooms to explore! He can follow Daddy or investigate his play space. He can laugh and clap with his siblings. He is mobile and curious, and his agenda is to explore, investigate, and categorize everything in sight.

I'm simply base now, because he is no longer stationary. He is a mover and a shaker these days. He can move away from me. He can shake life's proverbial trees and gather new layers of understanding. Our job as his parents has now extended as well. We now have to keep him safe from his biggest detriment--HIMSELF! It's enough to turn my hair white sometimes. It's also so amazing that I get teary-eyed and have to breathe a minute so I don't cry in front of him. (He's aware of feelings now, more each day, and when he sees another's tears, he cries too. *sighs* Why is he growing!)

I'm glad I cherished those squish days. I've tried not to take them for granted, even at the worst. (Two words: Wonder Weeks.) Pretty soon he will be walking, running, bounding toward whatever he decides to do in his future. I'm gonna cherish these crawling/exploring/demanding days too...because they mean we've survived another chapter. Intact!

Right now he's doing that sweet baby sleep breathing. I'm gonna go creep on him and listen a bit. Pretty soon he'll be my adorable toddler, so I plan to drink in the rest of these baby moments as if they're the last water on Earth.

Namastè.

-- Tayè K ♡