You've changed overnight.....

March 2'nd 2011

Dearest Rihana,

You’ve changed over-night.

Last night, I had an emphatic realisation that you were no longer an infant.

You choose play-time over cuddling with me. You get restless when I hug you too long. You don’t cry anymore when your diaper is long on and is making you uncomfortable. Nappy-change time is loss of precious play and you’d rather deal with a heavy diaper than lie still for a minute and have me apply your diaper cream and change you. You no longer allow cute little pony-tails or any kind of hair-accessory (not that you were ever a fan of those), choosing instead to play around with hair flopping all over your brow. There is no more place for mommy's dressing-baby-up OCD’s.

When you were much smaller, you had a single-minded purpose, to feed and to stay constantly at my chest. Now, you exercise that option only when you are sleepy and have no energy or patience for anything else. I can see you've developed an independent personality; feisty, competitive and utterly charming. Everyday, your smile increases in its million-dollar value and when people compliment me on it , I know they are being genuine, not the run-of-the-mill ‘Your baby is sooo cute’ compliment kind of thing. How does one walk by and not notice that smile?

You’ve changed over-night.

Last night, you spent more than thirty minutes playing alone in your crib while you were alone in the room with me. You gave me a message then. Somehow you were ready for your own space and independent activity. You have learnt to operate your Precious Planet Motion Soother by yourself and as the gentle music played, I felt very nostalgic, remembering the past when I would hope that the same music would soothe you to sleep (when you were a little ball of infant curled up in the crib).

What did I know then Rihana? I thought motion soothers actually worked and you would sleep like the Fisher-Price baby on its cover? And, how about that mobile trick you tried to pull yesterday? Sitting down and lunging upward hoping to entrap Pooh and his friends? As wonderful a time I had watching you try to achieve something you had your heart set on, I could not watch your unsuccessfull attempt for too long, and I chose to make life easier for you by pulling down the mobile and handing you Pooh and his friends. You were not impressed with my effort to help. You tossed the hanging figurines aside for you obviously had more fun jumping and lunging toward it than actually holding it in your hand.

Even the simple act of watching you play with a mobile had an important life lesson for me. My heart swells with pride as I watch you try hard to achieve something, I would do anything to make life easier for you but promise to sit back and let you decide what eventually brings you happiness, the chase or the trophy….

For you are and always will be, in my everyday chases, my trophy.

Love,

Sunanda ( Your lazy-writer mom)