An 11 month baby update

So in less than one month’s time my baby will turn one year old. One whole year. It’s weird because although it feels like a long time – she’s far from the tiny newborn she once was – it also feels like nothing. A blink of an eye really.

People keep asking me, as my baby approaches her first birthday, whether I feel sad. And I get what they’re saying. I mean, yeah – she’s not this teeny tiny little scrap of a thing anymore. But I feel far from sad. Actually, I feel incredibly excited.

I forgot how mind-blowing this phase of babydom is. Right around the corner we’ve got first words, first steps, first tantrums (!). I love the baby phase, but I love this phase too. And I’ve got to admit, I don’t miss the complete lack of sleep.

Slowly, it feels like I’m starting to carve out a little more time for myself. Me and the NLM are gradually starting to get our evenings back. We’re enjoying spending a bit more time together. I’m enjoying getting stuck into new work projects again, being able to type without a tiny little baby attached to me in the sling.

I’ve decided to stop looking backwards, mourning the lasts and, instead, start looking forwards and getting excited about this little person Baby Girl is becoming. She’s hilarious, fearless, loud. She gets stuck right into everything – throwing herself into the water without hesitating at swimming, lunging towards the climbing frame and trying to join in with the big boys and girls at the park. Even in the classroom, when we drop Frog off at school in the morning, Baby Girl wants to crawl off and play, crying when I pick her up to take her home. She’s eager to take on the world and laps up every new experience with a grin on her face and open arms.

I say it all the time, but it’s almost comical how different both my girls are. They couldn’t be more opposite in terms of temperament. Frog is far more reserved, delicate, thoughtful. She weighs up situations first and will often need a little encouragement before throwing herself into the swimming pool, or climbing the climbing frame. Frog worries about things and can often get quite emotional. I guess temperamentally she’s very like me. Baby Girl is the opposite. She has zero concept of Stranger Danger and will greet total randoms in the supermarket with a cheery smile – sometimes even putting her arms out at them to be picked up. At the park, she’ll crawl across the grass without a backward glance, just a determined grin on her face as she makes her way towards the next piece of fun to be had.

So far, the differences between my girls are working in their favour. They’re already firm friends and make each other laugh regularly. Baby Girl literally screeches with laughter when Frog plays with her, and Frog is learning to have a slightly thicker skin as her wrestling, rough and tumble, little ball of energy baby sister bashes her and climbs all over her.

I’m starting to get a glimpse into the toddler Baby Girl will become. In many ways she’s very easy to look after. She rarely cries and she’s happy pretty much all of the time. But in other ways she is SUCH hard work! She’s into everything – especially the messy, dangerous stuff. She loves nothing more than climbing stairs, getting into cupboards, shredding, ripping, bashing. She’s the rough, fearless baby who can stand her ground against any two year old. She’s little but fierce.

So that’s where we are at the moment. A tiny whirlwind of destruction, joy, laughter and energy. A tiny whirlwind who will probably soon be walking…. *gulp*.