Things I Hope I Never Forget About Baby Mikhail

It’s so cliché I’m almost embarrassed to repeat it… but honestly, kids grow up so fast!

I’m still wrapping myself around the fact that Mikhail is now a 10 month old bouncy baby boy who is almost a toddler. It feels like just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital and he gurgled quietly in the middle of our bed, with his tiny arms and legs flailing gently in the air.
Now he’s rambunctious little monster who speed-crawls, stands on his own and tries to climb everything in sight. Leaving him in the middle of our bed would be a definite no-no. Faster than a blink of an eye, he’d be heading towards the floor.

He’s no longer my little baby… He’s a big boy… Swiftly reaching toddlerhood.
I’m so proud to see how far he’s come and how much he’s grown…
But with that pride, there’s a bit of wistfulness as well.
Kids really do grow up so fast!

I missed his 10th Month Birthday (21st September 2007) but in commemoration of it, I hereby create a special post entitled “Things I Hope I Never Forget About Baby Mikhail’.

Lint Fist
When he was a newborn, Mikhail would (as all newborns would) have his tiny hands curled up in a fist. These fists would find its way into his mouth so occasionally, we’d have him wear mittens. At the end of the day, when I prepare him for his bath, I’ll always open up his fists to find a sticky, grayish fluffy piece of lint in the crevices between his thumb and his forefinger.

I know… This is a really weird (and possibly gross) thing to ‘never want to forget’ but it’s true. I loved uncurling his little fingers and gently stroke away the offending piece of fluff. I loved the feeling of his soft, baby palms under my fingertips. I loved seeing how his hands would immediately curl back into fists the second I let him go. And yes, I even loved that icky, gray little piece of lint caught between his little fingers.


Mikhail doing a Michael Jackson... One mitten on, one off... and pose..

Blobster
Mikhail was a big baby. In fact, in the first 6 months of his life, I had to fend off comments of him being ‘too fat’ or even ‘obese’! I had perfect strangers grab at his roly-poly thighs and insanely chubby cheeks.

I remember being worried about his weight. I foolishly entertained thoughts that I may be overfeeding him or not ‘exercising’ him enough.

Silly Mommy.

Now that his baby fat is slowly turning into lean muscles and he is no longer my little Blobster, I miss my ‘fat baby’. I love the way his arms were divided into tiny little rolls of fat (my friend Alli said it reminded her of the Michelin Man…). I loved the way his cheeks would wobble after being kissed. I loved hugging him and feel his plump tummy rest on my arm.

Of course, he’s not really skinny now either but he’s no longer Mr. Blobster. And when people comment on how chubby and ‘sihat’ he is now, I always think back of those days when he was allegedly ‘obese’ and smile.


Huh...? Fat? Who? Me???

Rock n' Roll Baby
There was a time when Mikhail would only sleep when swaddled and rocked in my arms. Our bedtime routine then would be:-
1) Change diaper
2) Cuddle and Sing
3) Swaddle in cotton blanket, real tight
4) Rock, Walk and Sing

Sometimes, it took so long for Mikhail to sleep that my arms would be tired and my back would ache. There were times when I got frustrated at this routine because only I could do it (didn't work with Daddy) and sometimes all I wanted to do was to take a nice long shower and sleep.

But more often than not, I enjoyed rocking and walking and singing my baby to sleep. I loved cradling my warm little bundle of joy and watch his eyes slowly droop into peaceful slumber. A lot of times I found myself holding him extra longer even after he had fallen asleep, just because it felt nice.

Nowadays, his bedtime routine is vastly different. Of course, he is no longer swaddled. And he's way too long and heavy for me to cradle and rock to sleep. In place of the rocking, there's now the rolling.

All Mikhail needs to sleep is a lot of space to roll around and me lying next to him, occassionally patting his butt. He's most talkative before bed and we spend many nights 'talking' to each other and rolling around, cuddling and cooing. And one thing hasn't changed... Mommy's singing still accompanies Mikhail to Dreamland.


Tightly swaddled and ready for bed

Nursing Newborn
I remember feeling absolutely exhausted and drained during my first few weeks as a nursing mommy. Newborn Mikhail would nurse practically every single hour and for very long sessions too. In fact, I felt more like a cow than a mom.

But it wasn’t long before I started to look forward to the nursing sessions. It meant a special Mommy n’ Mikhail time. I’d gaze at his chubby face and watch him as he stared into my eyes while nursing. His little hands would either clutch at my shirt or pat my arm. Occasionally, he’d pop-out, look me straight in the eyes, smile a milky-smile and immediately start latching on again. Those are precious moments that made me feel on top of the world.

Mikhail still nurses now. But he can no longer be cradled in my arms and most of the time; we’d nurse in the side-lying position. He still gazes at me and I do him but the nursing sessions are shorter now as big boy Mikhail has plenty other interesting things to do than to be latched to Mommy all the time :)


Post-Nursing-Session: Mikhail's Famous... "Muka Kenyang"

You know, there are so many things I hope I never forget about Baby Mikhail. If I listed it down, it’ll never end. I guess most of ‘em will just have to be content in staying in my memory… And I hope they do.


Big Boy Mikhail saying "HELLO" :)

Your world is made of your memories, and your memories are given to you by your world. The whispering voice of happenstance is always in our ears. 'This is the world. This is the way things are. Look. Pay attention. Remember.'
Real Live Preacher, Real Live Preacher weblog, 05-25-06