About two months after Baby was born, a friend and I were talking about all things motherhood. Her son was born almost exactly a year earlier than Baby and where I had uncertainty and anxiety, she had wisdom and perspective. As I looked forward to all of the milestones that I couldn’t wait for Baby to reach, my friend said to me, “The best baby phase is the one you’re in.”
Those words stuck with me throughout Baby’s first year, and now beyond. They helped when I spent a lot of time looking ahead, eagerly awaiting the moments when she would sit unassisted, begin to crawl, or say her first words. They help me now, when, every few weeks, I find myself looking at old photos of her and missing the phases gone by.
So I’m going to start a regular post called: ‘the best baby phase’ where I will talk about at least 3 things that I love about the phase Baby is in right now. Here’s what I’ve got tonight:
1. The words… they keep coming!
Language explosion is an understatement. I swear that at least one new word passes Baby’s lips everyday. It’s fascinating to me to watch her acquire language. And I love hearing how words sound when pronounced by her. She usually can’t completely nail the pronunciation on the first try so each new word is like a little surprise – what will it sound like!? This week’s new words of note included ‘pasta,’ ‘book,’ and ‘home.’ M also swears she started saying ‘Jimmy Choos’ but it sounds more like ‘shoey shoes’ to me. She also says it in a sing-songy voice as if she is singing about her shoes. Given how much Baby loves to talk about her shoes, it would not surprise me if she did in fact compose a song about them. I don’t even own a pair of Jimmy Choos. (Though, if I did, it would be these. And I would struggle to figure out what to wear them with.)
2. Mommy’s little helper
Someday, Baby will discover that laundry is a chore. She will realize that unloading groceries is not so much fun. And she will therefore no longer want to do these things with me. But right now, I love that she loves to ‘help’ me take care of household tasks like filling the washer and dryer, emptying the dishwasher, and setting the table for dinner. Doing chores is certainly more fun when you do it with a buddy.
3. Mommy! Up!
She can walk. She can run. She can climb. But sometimes, she wants to be carried. And because the moments when I get to carry her are fewer and farther between, and becoming even fewer and even farther between, I indulge us both when she asks. Something about the fact that we both know I don’t have to carry her makes it that much more special.
I love 19 months!