You are only nearly nine months old and yet already I have a bittersweet taste of your growing up. You are growing in independence and confidence each day which is so amazing and exactly what I wanted for you but I can’t help but long for the newborn bundle who needed me so strongly. I carried you with me for 9 months and now you sleep in your own room at night. I nursed you for 6 months and now you love to tuck into cheesy spaghetti and juicy tomatoes.
You still need me to pick you up and carry you places but soon you will be crawling there by yourself, and then before long you will take those tentative first steps. I’ll blink and you’ll be running with your friends and dancing to music that makes your heart happy. You’ll learn to talk and to sing, you will chatter and giggle with your friends. You will have your own interests and passions. Will you be quiet and studious? Or will you be wild and adventurous? Maybe you will love the quiet of the countryside or the business of the city. How is it that I know you so completely now but your future is such a mystery to me?
As much as I already miss these baby stages and feel sadness at how quickly time has passed since you arrived, I am so excited for your future. I am already proud of the person you will become and the amazing things I know you will achieve. But I will cherish these years while you still need me and when you are older humour me with the baby photos, I have a lot to show you. The videos of your first smile, first laugh and all that splashing in the bath. These years will always me so precious to me, because you are the most precious to me. You will grow and change, and so will I as the years go by but you will always have my heart, my sweet baby girl.
