Childhood

Childhood is the most beautiful time of life for all of us, whether you’re a child, a parent, or a grandparent. And the cycle continues with each new generation. It is truly beautiful! As I watch my son grow and learn I am absolutely floored and humbled by the person he is becoming.

It’s the littlest things, from his voice saying “Thank you, Mama,” to the way he wails like a little dinosaur when he is scared of something or tearing something down…or faced with his nemesis: ice cream cones! Being an avid supporter of cosleeping, it is also his voice first thing when he wakes up. He is just a marvel.

Then there’s the BIG things, the milestones he is hitting super early: the way he just drops parts of the ABC’s song when I’m humming it to myself, like he’s always known the words. This kid is not even 22 months! Or counting to five or ten. There’s watching him bond with the animals, Lola and Bean, and even the cat: just the patience he exhibits with them when giving them a snack, for example.

How generous this kid is—always offering others, human or animal, the best of his favorite foods—it just blows my mind!

And then there are the beautiful things I’m privy to as his mom and nurturer, like how he asks to nurse, or for the “other boob.”

Yes I’ve been breastfeeding this baby since he was just out of the womb, minus about a month of triple feeding (pump, bottle feed breastmilk and I can’t remember the rest, it was kind of a sleepless blur) when he was first born, and there has been nothing more gratifying or that has contributed more to our bond. I’ve always just gone by the AAP’s recommendation to breastfeed a “minimum of two years” for maximum benefits to baby and mom, as well as the notion that I was breastfed for my first few years of life, and the notion that he will stop whenever he’s ready…kind of like with cosleeping. I don’t offer, but I also don’t refuse. And so far, he still has great interest.

These are simple times, and I am holding on, as more complexity is inevitable…someday…holding on tight to this beauty and force of nature with whom we’ve been entrusted.

Lovingly,

Erika