Needless to say, this week was a wee bit emotional for me, especially in the nighttime. I even dreamed one night that Little Mister was a gigantic baby, dwarfing everyone in the room we were in (he is pretty large for his age, and growing so fast!). But I need not have worried that my connection with the babe would be broken. On Monday night, as he drank his "milk" from his sippy cup and I rocked him in his room, he stopped periodically to giggle at me. He'd catch my eye and his own would sparkle, the corners of his drooly mouth turning upward. When he had finished drinking, he did exactly as he's done every single night before that and he nuzzled right into my chest, tucking in his arms, and closing his eyes.
I know, of course, that Little Mister and I will forever be connected. But as he grows, that connection will become less physical- moving steadily away from the umbilical cord and breast- and more emotional. And it will take work. But for us, I know that the foundation has been laid. We've already put in 10 intense months of work at getting to know one another's rhythms, likes and dislikes, physical and emotional needs. It is a foundation that I am eager and committed to building on, even as my gigantic baby becomes his own physical being who can crawl, and eventually walk away. These nighttimes are a reminder that we can and will come back to the earthy, innate connection that is the gift of being mother and child.
