Metamorphosis

In one short evening my baby boy has become a child.

His voice has completely changed.  Of course it could be that's he's hoarse from his 25 minute scream fest last night, but at least tonight it's changed and so much more adult sounding.

I have always put lotion on his entire body after bathtime.  I suppose this may be my lifelong battle to not have ashy skin :) but since the day he's come home he's been 'lubed' up.  I don't use any of those Johnson 'n Johnson products (hate all the chemicals!), so he's never had that 'baby' smell.  I use Cetaphil and it's kept his eczema at bay!

But tonight he told me "I don't want lotion tonight."  I asked "Are you sure?"  He said "Yes, no thank you."

Then he told me "I don't want to wear a diaper tonight."  I've always put him in an overnight diaper even since he's been potty trained.  He's almost always woken up dry since before he was 2 years old (I firmly believe that's a biological thing, not a potty training thing, as I did absolutely nothing to help facilitate that).  However,he also refused to put on underwear.  Sigh.  He's going commando in his footie pjs.  I told him he had could not not not pee in his pajamas!!

He then proceeded to read me his bedtime story!  I just laid there and listened.

I've always rocked him.  I rocked him to sleep every night for as long as I can remember, then one night around 14 months of age I had to run downstairs, so I put him in the crib.  I returned about 5 minutes later and he was sound asleep.  Since then I've rocked him to sleep many nights, and many nights I just rock him to have that mommy/baby time and put him in the crib wide awake or drowsy.  

Tonight I gathered him up and he put his head on my shoulder and we rocked for about 2 minutes.  And then he said "I don't want to be in the rocking chair tonight."  I asked if he wanted to go ahead and get in his crib and he said yes.  Into the crib he went.

And then there's his hippo lovey.  He placed hippo on my fainting couch telling me hippo was not his best friend anymore.  I retrieved hippo asking if he was sure and he actually got very sad, and told me "Please put hippo back on the chair, I don't want him with me."

I was grief stricken!!  It is so true what is said about parents and their kids' loveys...we parents are as attached, if not more so, than our kids are.  I sadly left hippo on my fainting couch and got his Sue-Y bear who he asked for.  

We walked over to the crib (I asked if he wanted me to carry him and he said no, he wanted to walk!) and I put him in.  He curled up clutching his Sue-Y bear underneath the train blanket his grandmommy made him.

Now I'm going to go upstairs, check on my big boy, rub his head, kiss his cheek and whisper how much I love him.

And I'm going to put that hippo into the crib with him :)