16th Month Wonders

Publié par Analyse à 3/26/2007 06:49:00 PM

lundi, mars 26, 2007

First time Mom, away from the family and living in another country are the perfect factors to feel lost. I've conditionned myself to rely on my instincts but there's just some situations that I feel the need to rely on something else. Since my pregnancy to present, I have been a grand devourer of books, magazines and internet sites. I've frequented Mommy and Baby bloggers around the net. I have learnt a lot of Mommy tricks, but the most important of all, I've learnt that there's no such thing as Child: User's Guide.

Every child has his own curve of physical, cognitive, social and emotional developments so no need to stress out over something because statistics say so. I have stopped worrying that my child walked later than her peers. I have stopped worrying that she just started potty training at 16 months old. I have decided to let her grow at her own pace, not worrying about statistics. I have decided to watch her grow without pushing. I have decided to savour the magic moments of her little discoveries without worrying.

She sees/hears the world. She stops when a dog barks and says 'waw waw' in return. She looks up in the sky when she hears an airplane and points at it. She loves observing birds and would stop walking just to see them fly. She would stop walking, lacking confidence, when she hears a motorcycle pass her way - like she's sensed danger. She would stare at someone and wait till he says hi and would smile and wave her hand in return.

She imitates. She cleans the toilet bowl with the brush (even if I say no). She puts toothpaste on her brush. She uses her toothbrush as a lollipop. She combs Papa's hair. She holds the (computer) mouse like a pro. We were once walking at the town center and some teenagers shouted. She stopped, turned to the youngsters, and surprised everybody when she yelled back at them. It's the time of parenthood when we have to be careful on what we say and do before her.

She makes us laugh. She would swing from one foot to the other when she hears music and look at us with a smile. She would do something good and would clap her hands.

She understands. More than what we think she does. She shows where her nose is and if she points somewhere else but her nose, it means playtime. She would arrange her toys, put her diapers in the garbage, goes to her room when it's bedtime, bring something to Mama or Papa... but all that, exclusive when she's on play mood.

She drinks on her own. This one's a milestone! She holds her glass, ask for a toast (when she's on play mood), drinks what's inside, and ends the whole procedure with a cough. Chic!

She knows good from bad. It's either we applaud or nothing. Depending on the gravity, she would either give us a hug or a kiss or go to the corner. She would always try to push to the limits, of course, but kids will always be kids. I let her be. That's part of the gazillion joys of parenthood.

8 commentaires:

Anonyme a dit…

So heart warming :)post Analyse. I wish I was blogging when my Little K was still at Louna's age. I have only pictures and videos to remind me. I think Little K says "stinky" even if she is smelling flowers.

It's so true that there isn't a user's guide for kids, it's a hands on on-the-job-training all the way.

Analyse a dit…

thanks kk. i love to chronicle all her developments, im sure she will love to read all of them when she gets bigger. if you look on the first entry of this blog, it's actually when i knew i was pregnant.. this blog is all about her. i just hope blogger wont shutdown one day...

feng a dit…

haha, like KK, I too had somehow regret not blogging when it was first invented. but just the same, i'm picking up pieces of memories and try to write/recollect about them in my Blog.

the little milestones of our kids are so precious to us really that we always want them remembered.

analyse, if you fear that the contents of your blog might disappear one day, you can try making a backup of your entries. i learned this backuping thing via Chateau's blog, also a co-Mommy blogger at Pinoy Moms Network.

Forever59er a dit…

Awwww! Delightful mom journal. Makes me inggit I didn't have this in my time. Anyway, trying to document as much of my remembrances as I can.

Bravo and merci for sharing with us your heartwarming mommy moments with your 16-month wonder.
are you in Paris?

Anonyme a dit…

Hi Feng, thanks for the info. I just checked Chateau's site and will surely go for it. I would really hate blogger if they will stop the service one day.

AnnaManila, we live in Dijon, ~300km south of Paris.

Thanks. Well, actually, I don't want to miss a thing. I wan't everything documented, as much as possible. It's double purpose, actually. For Louna when she grows up, and for our respective families to follow Louna's evolution even if we're miles apart. They love the videos!

Christianne a dit…

Aww smart little baby! And she can do housework too.

I wonder where she learned to cough after drinking :P

Anonyme a dit…

I am glad of your rationality on raising Louna! Educating children is not like having a recipe to follow but letting them to live their life in a normal way! Let them unveil things as they journey from childhood to adolescence to maturity stage! Parents role is to let them know the difference of good and bad! Goodluck Ana and you are very lucky for she isn't a difficult child.

Analyse a dit…

Christianne, haha, just one of her tricks. i don't know where she saw that.

Haze, I don't want to pressure her by imposing what books say. let her be a kid. and by the way, i forgot to list down that she dances with her papa too, still with the same technique, swinging from one foot to the other while holding on to papa's hands. she's so cute hehe.