The Joys of Motherhood

 How cute does your baby look when he’s kicking you with a ferocity more suited to an action hero than an 11-month-old as you sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at an increasingly higher pitch, trying to button up his onesie before he somersaults and tries to crawl off the bed?  


Nothing like an almost-toddler to test your dexterity and creativity at the same time, especially in those 10 minutes before bedtime.


Z becomes a total loonytoon around 6 pm since he detests naps and is so exhausted by early evening he’s almost delirious.  The strangest things will set him laughing like a cartoon villain and the most minor error will lead to a dramatically sorrowful bow on the ground, forehead pressed to his chunky little hands and tiny bum in the air.  


After spending several minutes bent double, walking His Tiny Lordship (HTL) around the living room, if I dare request a sit down (for both him and me), there will follow a comical duck pout, stiffening of said little body followed by a collapsing onto the floor.  What seems like a foreword to a toddler tantrum is generally waylaid in seconds because a colourful block or a lost shoe will catch his attention.


Ah, shoes! Most of the time we can’t find our own slippers and sandals because we’ve shoved them under the sofa or a coffee table to evade HTL’s gleeful grasps.


You can get the fanciest, most expensive toy and it won’t stand a chance next to an old shoe.  Or a remote control.  The best thing in the world though (apologies environmentalists!) is a plastic bottle - Z’s eyes light up and he giggles like Jaffar does when he finds Aladdin’s lamp. The beauty is it happens every time we hand him a bottle.  Isn’t it beautiful how some things are universal among babies? The love for granny’s spectacles paling only to the passion for grandpa’s ratty old sneakers!


And then there’s the hatred for any washcloths or clean hands aiming for their faces or noses! 


But I WANT ALL my boogers to stay there! 

When you touch my face with a wet muslin cloth IT STINGS AND BURNS 


Which is why I shake my tiny head so vehemently and arch and crouch and whinge and cry


Other joys include darting in and out of the toilet in the morning when they’ve learnt how to stand up in the cot but not quite managed the get back into sitting position safely, so you try and distract them with toys and combs and water bottles in between peeing, washing your face and brushing your teeth.  


When they learn ways of communicating other than just crying - such as swatting the cereal spoon away with force unexpected of a tiny hand.  It’ll be even better when they can say ‘no, thank you’ instead!  


All semi-joking aside, it is absolutely beautiful and exciting to see your tiny newborn grow into a sweet baby, with every little day bringing small changes and developments - a smile, an attempt to touch their toy, the actual intended grasping a toy, sitting up, crawling - and then suddenly, around 9 - 10 months several adorable little things spiral together and turn your baby into a very unique little individual with their very own big personality!


Z is a total clown and quite the attention seeker (introvert + introvert = extrovert?), he has a range of laughs from the coffee-table uncle’s loud fake laugh to the evil genius’s shrill cackle to the uncontrollable helpless giggle that fringes on crying and can be elicited by tickling his back or neck.  Blowing raspberries (makes you think of dainty fairies blowing bubbles rather than blubbering babies with spit running down their chubby chins), gargling, brrum-brumming like a motorbike, emitting high pitched shrieks and comically waving both arms and legs when excited …


The smallest things make Z happy and his happiness is the real joy of motherhood.  From pre-dawn snuggles and kisses that border on bites (because face it, babies are ALWAYS teething) to pointing at balloons and watching birds fly, to the excitement of walking EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME holding onto our hands, his tiny tummy leading the way followed by his legs and upper body and arms a couple of centimeters behind.  


Anything that feels tiresome - and most things feel tiresome when babies don’t nap at all or have a restless night - can be shrugged off when you remind yourself that it is but a temporary phase and we might as well enjoy it while it lasts because before we know it, this stage will pass.


I hope Z can help us become more patient and always see the humour in things - whether it’s a nap successfully derailed or a toddler running off with his poopy naked butt in the air, spilled food or pencil marks on the wall, missing chunk of bangs when they discover where the scissors are or small painted face when they find your makeup from long-gone days when you actually used to wear makeup …


Thank you for all the sunrises we’ve seen together, and the monumental increase in my heart’s capacity to love.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Norma in the Snow

3 Times Lucky

Hello Cheeky Chops