Monday, April 20, 2009

Rockabye Big Boy

The other night at the inlaws house, my sweet boy fell asleep in my arms. As a baby, that's just about the only place he slept. Now as an almost 5 year old boy full of spark and curiosity, he usually collapses mid-sentence on a pile of books. But it's been a LONG time since he just slept in my arms.

It makes me all weepy, not just thinking about my sweet boy growing and becoming more independent, but thinking about all the babies in the world who are shunned out of their mamas arms. Maybe I've been listening to the soundtrack from Les Miserables one too many times lately, but HOW can any parent complain about a baby wanting to be held while they sleep? How can any parent let their baby cry alone in their room? How can we call ourselves a civilized society when nobody blinks if you mention that your dog sleeps with you and your baby is in a cage down the hall, but everyone gasps when you say you share a family bed with your kids?

I should add in fairness of full disclosure for those of you staying tuned, that I am in the middle of reading The Continuum Concept and it's blowing my mind.

I am just so blissed out with my healthy, happy, little boy in my arms. I am so keenly aware that the amount of time that mama is center stage will be SO SHORT in the grand scheme of my life that I wouldn't push him away for a single, loving, amazing moment of it.

Now go hold your babies.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, yes :) I dream of living on a boat and like your blog.

Ashley said...

I needed to read that. My sweet 13 month old still hangs on to me and won't let go. Sometimes I feel societies push to shove him away and I don't want to. He's not going to be wanting my arms forever... thanks again.

cupcakesandcoffee schwartz said...

Awesome. I feel the exact same way--hold your babies :)

Mama_Amethyst said...

My son is almost 14 months. He is needing a lot of mommy time right now. It's somewhat difficult to hold him continuously all day. Sometimes, he has to come to the bathroom with me. Other times, he doesn't want to be put down to get his diaper changed, but all in all, I appreciate how much he loves me. I'm glad that I am able to comfort him. I know that some day he will no longer be with us every day. He will have another woman in his life and perhaps children of his own. This time that I have with him is all too fleeting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about and experiences with your son. I hope that my son wants to sleep on my lap when he's that age. :)

Kate said...

yes, yes...reading this makes me weepy as I just celebrated my oldest's 10th birthday-- I wrote about it today, from that other end of the spectrum. Hold tight at every age, because my, it goes so fast.

michele said...

i just discovered your blog and am *loving* it. what an adventure you are living!

thanks for this post. my 18-month old wants to be on me ALL.THE.TIME. thank goodness for the ergo. sometimes in the day-to-day it is easy to forget how fast they grow up and that they will not always want to cuddle mama. thanks for the sweet reminder.

e said...

I totally agree with you.
My "baby" is 6.5 years old and falls asleep in my arms still almost every night. I know the nights will come when my arms will no longer be filled with him. I try to smell his hair every night and try to remember the scent. His hair laying across his face. His little hands resting so peacefully. I just never want to forget.

Greeblygreebly said...

My kids are 15 and 12. People warned us they would never wean from breastfeeding if I didn't wean them. Then that they would never sleep in their own bed, then that they would never sleep in their own room. Then when I would sit with my son every night talking until he went to sleep he was never going to outgrow that. Needlesss to say in their own time they moved on from all of those things. And I don't regret a minute of it. My children are very loving nurturing people.

I remember when my daughter was much younger she caught one of my cousins propping his baby in a car seat with a bottle and she was shocked and appalled and raised a fuss until allowed to take him out and cuddle him while he ate. :) A scene made that much more heartwarming by the fact that she is fairly seriously developmentally delayed (due to autism). People who work with her are constantly amazed at how affectionate she is. I hesitate to take credit for anything to do with my kids, they are their own fantastic selves. But I wonder if in those early days when she was a wee sprog who would angle her body away from mine while nursing to avoid touching me, I wonder if being worn and held constantly back then helped to acclimate her to human contact.

I love the stage they are in now, they are such interesting people but how I miss being able to carry them!

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