Jude and I have been doing the rounds of first birthday parties lately. In the last 8 weeks or so I think we might have had 1 weekend free. It's been great fun and only slightly exhausting.Jude, of course, had his own birthday party which was a real milestone. It's not that we were waiting impatiently for him to turn 1, but his first anniversary of life was remarkable. It's hard to believe that 1 year before he hadn't taken a single breath or seen our faces, and while he certainly existed he was still a blank canvas on which life could splash its many colours and varied textures.
That first year of life was so phenomenally important to Jude. I hope that we were able to provide him all the love, support, patience and everything he needs to become a happy adult in later life. During that year he made the most incredible leaps and bounds learning more in one year than I can really comprehend.
He still has sooooo much to learn and new skills to gain. He has reached all his milestones in timely fashion and continues to demonstrate new skills every single day, but I experienced something interesting the other day.
I meet with a group of mothers from my hospital antenatal class, and our children were all born within 1.5 months of each other. However, many of those children are now walking. It's normal for children to start walking between 9 and 16 months, but almost all of Jude's peers have started walking at 12 months. Jude is cruising happily around the furniture, but I'm not expecting him to take independent steps any time soon. I'm perfectly happy with the situation, make no mistakes. The interesting thing is yet to be revealed, I was just scene setting.
Jack is 2 weeks younger than Jude but has taken to walking with great finesse and expertise. He is a real toddler now. At Jack's party the other day I noticed myself responding to Jack as a toddler, while I still treat Jude a little more like a baby even though Jack is 2 weeks younger. I caught myself doing this and I was a little surprised because it made me realise that even though Jude is still crawling he is getting older and he's not a little baby any more.
He no longer cries like a baby with that little Waaa Waaa sob. When he cries he does so with the enthusiasm of a little boy. He expresses his needs more now and he's constantly demonstrating his awareness of his surroundings.
I feel a little bit confused because he's not, technically, a toddler yet and he will always be my baby. His motor skills may be lacking, but mentally and emotionally he's a little boy now and I need to be aware of that so that I respond to his emotional and mental needs appropriately.
