My Darling Daughter

My baby has never been one to cuddle. She has been an independent child from day one. Just a few hours after she was born, she was laying on her dad's chest and she lifted up her head and shoulders and stared around the room for about and hour. She is always on the go, moving around the house. I really treasured the times we had together while she nursed, because I could hold her close, snuggle her, and look at her lovely face. She decided last month that she was ready to be weaned, and I had my first have-to-let-go pains as a mom.

Many women that I know talk about how much trouble they have had weaning their children. The crying and sleeplessness, and trying to just get through it and teach their child to drink from a cup. We had none of this. I don't know if it is because I never forced the issue (I figured that she would know when she didn't want or need to nurse anymore) or because she is so independent.

I had plenty of backlash from family members ("You mean you are still nursing her? She has teeth for goodness sakes!")but I just ignored them. I was the first woman in my family to breastfeed in the last five generations, and I know that a lot of their comments come from ignorance. I do my best to educate each new mother of my relation and acquaintance, and to sort of be the ambassador to the general public of the uninformed for breastfeeding mothers everywhere. Frankly, I was prepared to nurse her much longer than what was necessary.

But on to my original point, what happened to my baby? She is already so grown up. I feel like I completely missed the early days of her babyhood. I just let it all fly past me, while the rest of the everyday took up my attention. She is almost 15 months old! How did that happen?

She runs and climbs and sings. She gets frustrated because her wants and actions are limited by her lack of vocabulary. Sometimes she has this look on her face as if to say "If only I could say what I want, you would get an earful.". She is stubborn and strong. She is so much like her father that I can not help but be amazed at the way God designed my womb to create this wonderful mixture of the two of us, but at the same time leave character traits and facial expressions so intact as to be instantly recognizable.

I miss my baby, but I am so excited to see the girl that she is becoming, and the woman that she will someday become.