Mothering

She may not say "Mama" yet, but those sweet little arms reaching for me melt my heart every time. My girl is a wildfire! Someone at Mom's Group today said she's uniquely strong for a baby. At seven months she crawls, stands herself up, scoots along furniture and can use her walker like a pro. She's curious and brave, boldly charging forward. Rob laughs that she never goes around an obstacle, always straight through or over it. My girl has spunk and plenty of character! If I were to guess from how she is now, I'd say she's a sanguine-phlegmatic. She loves people, but she's also super chill and only really cries when she means it.

Mothering this girl is my joy. It's hard and sometimes it takes all of my strength and energy to keep up and roll with the day's challenges, but it wouldn't be a vocation if it were always easy. Our nursing journey alone has been way more difficult than I ever anticipated. She only last week fully weaned from using a nipple shield. As a choleric, I've had a running tally of all the shields in the house, where they were and when they were last washed. I'm so grateful to release that bit of neurosis. I joked that this was Sophia's Mother's Day gift to me.

Since my supply was low and I would say now it's merely adequate, she's never gotten the hang of napping outside my arms. Until recently we were nursing every second hour and now we're at every third. We've been doing baby led weaning, and she's really started to get good at eating. Girl loves meat best, but she also loves mushrooms, green pepper, pear, apple, chicken and waffles. She does a happy dance when she likes a food and happily "Mmmmms" her way through those bites. She can drink water from a straw-cup but sometimes spits a bit back out like a fountain.

She used to hate baths, but now she loves splashing around. We take lots of walks and talk to the birds now that it's nice out. She loves to go to church and to Mom's Group to see all the people. She's quiet and observant whenever we go somewhere new. She loves her cousins and Nora girlie can always get her to laugh. She laughs proudly any time she learns something new. She's a down right happy sweet baby and I love being her mom!

I'm so grateful to finally be a Mom. She teaches me so much every day even as I'm trying to help her learn and discover the world. It has certainly been an adventure, and it is one that forges a new understanding of myself and who I am. Motherhood brought a new world with these sweet fingers and toes!