A Mama's Boy

Little C and I had a delightful lunch date yesterday at our local Costco.  We dined, or shared lover's style, a hot dog (forbidden pregnancy food ... I know!) a soda with two straws and a berry sundae, extra spoon please.  Sitting with him under the awning, munching away, I felt complete happiness with a tinge of regret.  You see, we're coming to a close in our a courtship of mama and baby of the family.

This time is always bittersweet for me.  While I can't wait to meet the next member of our family, who no doubt with steal my heart and take my breath away, I say goodbye to my former baby with a heavy heart.  We've shared some great times together.  Late night feedings for a year, snuggles in the morning sun, and little hands with chubby fingers tangled up in my hair, just to name a few.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not packing his bags and kicking him to the curb.  He'll still be here on a daily basis, cheering me with his dimpled smile.  But there's just something that happens when the new baby comes.  All of the sudden you realize with acute clarity just how big and grown up the former baby of the family really is.  Their head looks gargantuan, compared to the little mellon now nestled in your arms.  Their feet ginormous.  And you begin to see just how independent and self sufficient they really can be ... finding their own food in the fridge, bringing you a diaper when it needs changing, getting into the car and buckling themselves in, telling you exactly what the need, in no uncertain terms.  And so the courtship ends.  As the mother, you focus in on the helpless one, the one that needs you every waking second of the day, and you let the other grow, sometimes as an observer from the sidelines.  

Though the moments together come with less frequency, gratefully they will still come.  I think that it is one of the tender mercies of the Lord, the every child still wants their mom when they are hurt, sick or want to celebrate a victory.  And then there are still the every day chances.  I plan on not being so crazy that I can't still enjoy a quiet moment with Little C, cuddled up in front of Dragon Tales, with his little hands resting in mine, his warm lithe little body nestled in the crook of my arm.  

But for now, I'm just going to enjoy the final stages of our love affair and try not to cry about the loss of an era.  He's still a mama's boy.

P.S. My DH is returning to his mama today ... for a short visit and some interviews.  He is the eternal baby of the family, as all last children are, and I know that she'll enjoy pampering him, stealing a few moments with her 31-year-old baby boy.