As I lay nursing Sophie to sleep tonight I thought, “I’m in love”. She’s still small and light enough to carry around (without seeking assistance from a chiropractor), she wakes happy and when she ‘talks’ she makes perfect sense (in a way only the greater universe can understand) and only answers back with happy gurgles and coos. She still surrenders happily to the need to sleep and there are no furrows of worry or stress on her perfect brow.
She has yet to perfect rolling onto her tummy, so has no choice but to gracefully oblige when her nappy needs changing. Mummy’s milk still satisfies her hunger and I am free from the added work of preparing, dishing out and mopping up (baby, mother, walls and floor!). Her pearly whites are still happily hiding in the depths of her gums and her developmental ‘milestones’ are yet to interrupt her sleep.
People smile and coo over her and she wrinkles up her nose and gives a perfect, gummy smile back. The world is her friend and she has no reason to doubt it. She looks at the trees, the ocean and the sky with an awe and wonder that the majority of adults pay a fortune to attain (on travels to far flung destinations). She reminds me to stop and see every day as extraordinary. The wind and rain are nothing to be miserable about, but a new and exciting sensation (she laughs when the wind blows in her face).
I wish she would stay this small and perfect forever, but I know that in a few months time, I’ll be saying the same thing, as every ‘age’ is a perfect age, it’s just important to stay focused on the magic.