3/4 of a yearJuly 22, 2015
We reached the 9 month milestone today and broke out the camera again. I’ve stopped reading the weekly baby e-mails, I know he should be crawling, teething, stacking objects… but he’s not. To add to the potential guilt he’s totally attached to his pacifier / dummy, I laugh at my younger self who swore she’d never use the things. I know in my head he’s getting too much screen time and spending too long in air conditioning, I wish we could get out more, but the heat is oppressive and even if he could cope, mummy couldn’t. It’s that guilt that pushes me to keep him on his tummy more than he wants, to sit besides him on the play mat when my legs go numb and try in vain to teach him to bounce with his knees rather than locking his legs. Oh, but we are tired.
Parenting is endless. The constant heat and treated air leech energy and lethargy comes like a welcome friend. Dirty dishes stack up, endless laundry gets piled at both ends, grocery lays in bags and any cleaning blitz is incomplete. Every nap time is a rush to work with priorities made long before little eyes are rubbed in sleep and eventually close. Computers warmed up, the to-do list is brushed aside for the rabbit hole of internet curiosities, until the little one stirs and reminds us time is precious and we start rushing through jobs.
It builds up sometimes, all these tasks, assumptions, expected outcomes and then I just need to release. However needed all the jobs are, however important the milestones to reach, none of it matters all that much. If we sit down to a gourmet meal in beautiful surroundings, or clear the table just enough to eat a pizza and a jar of baby food doesn’t matter. If Adam learns to crawl a month or two later it’s not going to hamper his future, he’s loved, incredibly, totally, insanely loved. He’s happy and healthy and he’s making our world into a better place just by being part of it.
And this time next week we’ll go to visit England, we’ll lose the heat and be able to move about during the day, we’ll remember how it is to wear multiple pieces of clothing and explore different toys. We’ll sing ‘Tasi Tasi Tanana’ and get the looks usually reserved for ‘clap clap hands’. We’ll have more than 2 rooms to explore and hugs from faces we don’t see as often as we’d like. Most importantly mummy will get to hit that great ‘reset’ button and when the adventure is over we’ll be excited to come home.
Advertisment
2 responses to “3/4 of a year”
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Have been in Lourdes in temps of up to 40 for ten days working so understand a bit about how heat drains you. Adam looks fine….if he is happy, healthy, active and most of all loved, talked to and prayed for, he is absolutely fine. My wonderful daughter didn’t walk until late. I neither crawled nor bounced nor any of those “oughts”. I just sat on my bottom, so I was told, until they took me to a doctor who told them I was lazy! Apparently too happy and contented. Everyone is different. Relax and enjoy him. The only hint t beware of is screen time. As little as possible if any at all at that tender age. Books, pictures, not flickering stuff. Hope I get to see you when you’Re in England. Xxxxxxxx
thanks Carole, just drop us a phone call when you are about and we’d love to see you 🙂