Growth

Before I know it, I'm packing away outgrown baby clothes and switching to a larger-size bottle, starting to get sleep at night and even read the newspaper in the morning. I begin making homemade meals again and paint my toenails. I'm moving out of the delirious parent-of-a-newborn stage.

Our tiny infant morphs into a chubby, happy 6-month old, spiting out carrots and laughing at her brother.

I am excited for each stage and milestone along the way. But I also lament her growth, more so than I did with my first-born. In the early months, when she is doubling in size and ability at every turn, I am nearly dismayed to see her grow. It’s not that I don’t look forward to her expansion of abilities and personality - not that I don’t happily anticipate her feedings stretching to lengths greater than an hour and half between and a more mature digestive system that includes the ability to burp on her own. It is simply that, this time, I know how quickly it goes. They are tiny but a moment.

So for now, I’ll go ahead and hold her as much as I please, stare at her, let her sleep on my chest and in the bed next to me – things I was too concerned with good parenting the first time around to fully appreciate.

Like life in general, these moments with my young children are actually fleeting. They are so often under appreciated. And, they are so beautiful.