Hours Days Months Years

Well, here we are at nine months. My little Sophie Bean has now been out here in the world of air and light for as long as she was a living part of me. It's bittersweet, these landmarks.

In the beginning, I thought of her in hours. Neil and I would chart every minute of her day and everything was so new and novel. We would say, "Just 48 hours ago, we three were only two!" Then we moved on to days, and we struggled to adjust to this new life that had taken over EVERYTHING. The first time I went out with her, against doctor's orders I might add, was when she was 18 days old. I went to the grocery store. It took me an hour to get myself and her out the door. But that short trip was our first foray as mother and daughter into the world and it was both terrifying and exhilarating. At the checkout, she started crying and I swear women came running from all over the store. The lure of the newborn is strong. When I told everyone how old she was, I could hear it passed from person to person, like that telephone game. I was so proud. Ridiculously so, given that about a million babies are born every day.

Somewhere after twenty days, we crossed into weeks and things started to get a little bit easier. Not because Sophie slept better, or ate better, or really much of anything better, but because we were starting to get the hang of things and not feel quite so unprepared for every situation. Then at some point, I began to describe her age in months. I can't say exactly when that happened because I went back and forth for a time, perhaps because I wasn't ready to give up her newness. As tough as those days were, I think a part of me recognized that they were times I should cherish.

And now here we are, 3/4 of a year old. Each day she becomes more independent and capable. She often takes off crawling (and when I say take off, I mean it, because that girl can move) and doesn't even look back to see where I am or if I'm following her. Today, she climbed down off the low shelf under the coffee table and for the first time had a controlled landing, not the usual face plant followed by a roll. She has so much to learn and experience and I am pleased as punch to be there every step of the journey.

My heart bursts with love and pride for you, keep it up, baby girl!


*Extra points for anyone that can identify the song.