Precious moments with your child

[Camelia]

Hi Berries,

I loved reading your answers on my previous thread:
What you like about your child

A couple of members mentioned that reading positive comments about parenthood lifted their spirit, because most of the social discussion around parenthood tends to focus on negative aspects, like feeling tired and having a lot of home chores. I thought that sharing beautiful moments with our children (exceptionals one or little every day moments) could open another fun conversation.

Here are two of my favorite moments with my 7 mo boy:

1. Bastien is now a master of rolling from his back to his side. Before we put him to sleep, my husband and I often place Bastien in the middle of our bed and we lay down on each side of him. He rolls toward one of us, giggles, takes a little hug or kiss on the forehead, then he rolls to his other side and does the same with the other parent. He goes back and forth for a couple of minutes, giggling and smiling, like the cutest baby ever hihi. This is one of my favorite moments of the day, just the three of us

2. Bastien loves music and singing. One day, after weeks of falling asleep easily, he suddenly needed to be rocked to sleep again (he was teething). One night, he was exhausted from waking up more often than usual. It was still really dark outside. I remember I opened a night light and started to rock him, while signing one of his favorite lullaby. When he realized I was signing, he stopped crying, smiled and he felt asleep with a little grin on his face. I was so touched that he liked my signing, my heart was filled with joy and love

[snowmaiden]

Reading these was so lovely. What a great idea for a thread.

I’m not a mother, so this may not be quite relevant, but I am a nanny to eight beautiful children whom I love dearly! So, I’ve got a little story to share about one of my five little girls.

She’s six and a half, and she’s growing into some anxieties, particularly around getting sick. When I was with her and her sisters the other day, she started explains her worries to me, her nerves about her belly feeling ache-y, etc. They were the exact feelings of worry about the exact things I’d started to feel anxious about when I was her age! I felt so blessed that I got to be there with her to ease her though them. The two of us are kindred spirits!! She told me that she thought she was the only one who was worried about the things she worried about, and when I told her that I knew from my own experience that she wasn’t— that I’d been there too, and knew she could get through— her relaxed little smile and laugh were the most priceless things. She fell asleep laughing with her sister about Harry Potter jokes they were making, and I sat with the two of them until they both drifted off. It felt like such a moment, such an important little time, and I felt such gratitude for getting to be in that sweet girl’s life! Funny how the people we need always find us.

[namergirl3]

This is a great idea! I completely agree, more focus needs to be put on the good times rather than just the difficult parts of parenting.

Let’s see…

1. This moment is from last [name_u]Christmas[/name_u]. [name_f]My[/name_f] son was just shy of his second birthday and that was the first [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] season he could actually get in to. He was a baby his first [name_u]Christmas[/name_u]. Anyway, with everything going on in the world, we decided to be silly and put our tree up on Halloween, instead of like the second week of [name_u]November[/name_u] as usual. Oh, it raised all of our spirits!! I remember one night was somewhat stressful. I can’t remember exactly what was going on but I was a bit upset. A quiet toddler is a suspicious toddler, so I went to find him… I found him on his back, laying under the tree, looking up at the lights and giggling. Not only was it super cute and warmed my heart but it made me think of how my sisters and I used to do the very same thing, what seems like so long ago… It was such a pure moment and one that I look back on frequently when I get jaded in how life can be.

2. This one is a silly [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] memory from his first [name_u]Christmas[/name_u]. At this time, he was a bit less from a month away from walking on his own. We got him one of those push toy walkers that is shaped like a puppy, plays music and all of that. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband and I had set it up and then got distracted taking another gift out of its packaging. Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly saw our son go whooooosh about a foot, holding onto the toy he wasn’t hurt at all. He’d just grabbed onto it and the wheels obviously worked… it was hilarious.

3. He loves his daddy. Absolutely adores him. He talks about him all the time when his daddy is at work, he hangs around him all the time when he’s home…he just loves his dad! They look similar (as if I had nothing to do with creating this child) and it can be cute to watch them because their mannerisms are often very similar. This was back when E was maybe around one? Maybe under that. Anyway, him and my husband were sitting on one couch and I was sitting on the other. I looked over and saw they were watching tv in the same exact position: leaning back, legs crossed, arm bent up/hand behind the head… I got a picture of it. It was adorable!

[Camelia]

Being a nanny absolutely counts! You get to share so many special moments with those children. I was so touched by your story This little girl was lucky to talk it out with you.

[Camelia]

Each story is sooooo sweet Your little boy is lucky to have a mom that notices those amazing little moments.

Thanks for sharing!

[LibelluleClaire]

I love this all this positive talk about parenting!

The first thing that comes to mind is my oldest (whose 2) has really started to show off her personality and says the absolutely most adorable/hilarious things. For example just earlier today I was telling my mom (grandma) what a good helper she was and she walked over to grandma and said ‘I’m a good helper, and I’m good looking too!’ Where she learned that phrase we have no idea but it was pretty cute A few other recent things she’s said include ‘Mama I need some funny looking candy canes! Why? To hold up my bed!’ and while looking in her toy chest after I finished cleaning and putting all her toys away ‘Oh! Mama look! My Elephant appeared. It did? Yeah! (our puppy) licked the toy chest and it magically appeared!’ I just love hearing the way her little mind works, I could listen to her talking and telling stories all day

[Luminen]

The best moment was on the day I gave birth to my son - [name_u]Robin[/name_u] ended up arriving by emergency c-section, and I lost quite a lot of blood. I saw a couple of glimpses of him before he was whisked away to be checked, and then we were rolled over to the recovery room. That part is all a bit of a blur to me - he was fine but I was really nauseous and shaking uncontrollably. Because I was in such a bad way, I wasn’t able to do skin to skin with him or hold him, so he was in my wife’s arms next to my bed. [name_m]Even[/name_m] though I was quite out of it, I realised he was crying and I turned around towards him and started chatting to him. And the second he heard my voice, he stopped crying. That was the moment that it sunk in that the baby over there was my son, and the power I had to sooth him just with my voice struck me as really overwhelming and awe inspiring.

[name_u]Day[/name_u] to day, my favourite moments are when all three of us are just hanging out. [name_u]Robin[/name_u] on the floor examining his hands or chewing on a toy while me and my wife are sitting nearby chatting and joking around, and occasionally [name_u]Robin[/name_u] will chime in with some babbles or laugh at us. We’re just all together in the living room spending some time together because we’re a family.

[Rosebeth]

I have so many, but I’ll try to select a few.

• The first time Hjörtur showed me what he had learned at his African dance class. I’m always worried he’ll experience negative things in life because of his heritage and skin color (his dad, my ex-husband, is half Ugandese). But when he showed me what he had learned that day, after looking forward to his first lesson for months, he was so proud of his background, his looks and that part of his heritage. I hope that even if he experiences racism, and he does even at his age, he’ll always deep down be proud of that part of himself.
• [name_f]My[/name_f] second son, [name_m]Barnabas[/name_m], is such a daddy’s boy. If I’m completely honest I’m sometimes a bit jealous of the bond he has with my husband, but seeing them together is also the sweetest thing and it warms my heart. Recently my husband had to stay at the hospital for a couple of days, he came home yesterday, and seeing Barnabas’ reaction when he was reunited with his dad was absolutely precious.
• [name_f]My[/name_f] twin boys interacting with each other is the cutest thing. They’re now almost 18 months old and so completely different from each other, but they’re inseparable. They’ve developed their own language and giggle and “talk” to each other for ages. [name_m]Leonid[/name_m] has a hearing problem, which means he understands hand gestures better than speech most of the time, and his twin brother [name_m]Endymion[/name_m] is very well aware of that, even at his age. He also often helps [name_m]Leonid[/name_m] or gets his attention whenever he notices that his brother hasn’t picked up on something because he didn’t hear it.
• Watching [name_m]Barnabas[/name_m] interact with our pets is one of my favorite things to do. We have two dogs, an axolotl and two rabbits, and [name_m]Barnabas[/name_m] absolutely adores them. We sometimes joke he talks to them much more than he talks to us.
• When my twin brother and I were children, my dad had the habit of coming to our room before we went to sleep and talk to us about our day, how we felt etc. Whenever we had something difficult to talk about, or if we wanted to talk to a loved one that was no longer there, he’d light a special candle, we’d sit together and talk. [name_f]My[/name_f] dad unexpectedly passed away last summer. Whenever Hjörtur misses him and wants to talk to him, I now a light a candle and we talk to him together. These moments are difficult for me, because my grief is still very raw and I miss my dad so much, but sharing these moments with Hjörtur is also beautiful and healing.

[Camelia]

This is so adorable! You must have little moments like this everyday

[Camelia]

That story is do touching What a beautiful memory. I remember reading the birth announcement of your son. [name_u]Robin[/name_u] Ilmari, what a wonderful name for a lucky little boy with two caring moms

[Camelia]

Wow, your stories are so detailed, it feels like I’m there watching it! Your four sons seems delightful

[Luminen]

@Camelia

Robin Ilmari, what a wonderful name for a lucky little boy with two caring moms

Aww thank you so much

[snowmaiden]

Time for me to bring this gorgeous thread back, because I’ve got some writing to do tonight…

So, as I’m sure some are already aware, I work as a nanny. The family I nanny for most regularly has two daughters—Marg0t and N0elle—aged 2 years and 6 months old.

Tonight, before bedtime, N (aged 6 months) was so distraught. She cried, cried, and cried some more. So, naturally, I held her, bounced her, rocked her, changed her, kissed her, sang to her, and dried her tears… all the things. And cry she did. Still. I felt so stuck between wanting her to feel comfort again and also knowing that there wasn’t any way for her to be more clear about what she wanted than what she was already doing: screeching to communicate with me. I sat down, and I prayed. I don’t often do that in the moment. But I did tonight. So, I prayed. I prayed for peace for her, peace to come, for [name_m]Jesus[/name_m] to help… and He sent her older sister.

M (aged 2 years) stuck with me. She didn’t complain about her sister’s tears, as she sometimes—understandably—does. She didn’t add to the fuss. She played with her folded paper and cut it into scraps on the couch. She brought toys from her room to play with, and she kept them close enough to me so that I could play, too, even with N bawling as we petted her. M brought a blanket from her bed and covered her sister’s and my legs. She sang Twinkle Twinkle while she rubbed her baby sister’s chest. M is 2. She is, of course, not patient by nature. But tonight… she brought some truly astounding peace.

Now, I must digress. M is not patient by nature, and she is also not a physical person. By that I mean, touch is not her favorite of love languages. She often declines kisses and hugs, favoring gift-giving and joke-telling instead. But, berries, not tonight! Oh, not tonight. Tonight, when her parents came home and it was time for me to leave, M refused to let me go without a gifted rose (which smells divine), a grand total of, like, five hugs, and these words: “Goodnight! I love you!” Oh. [name_m]God[/name_m]. I nearly cried right then and there; my knees buckled over on the spot. She’d never said that to me before!!! But tonight, waving her tiny hand and scampering to bid me goodnight, she told me she loves me. Then, she ran to the door for one last hug. Cue the waterworks the second I got out to my car. Bah!

[name_u]Peace[/name_u]. That little blessing… she was heaven-sent. Tonight, kismet brought something to her as a big sister that I’ll never quite forget. Watching her interact with her sister, watching them grow, and watching M learn about personhood is the most crazy, confusing, completely great thing.

I love my nanny kids desperately. The rose M gave me is hanging up to dry. I’ll be keeping it until it crumbles away. “I love you,” she said. I’ll treasure those three seconds for my whole life!

[elleplume]

@Luminen

And the second he heard my voice, he stopped crying.

A bit of a late reply but I just read this and teared up!! My daughter was born by emergency c-section and was put on a ventilator due to severe meconium aspiration… I was also in a very bad way but once I finally got up to nicu to see her she was sedated but when she heard my voice for the first time she opened her eyes to look at me that was the moment for me too, until then I could barely register what had happened and who she was but suddenly I knew I was her world and needed to do everything I could to get her off that machine and get her home safely.

Day to day she is the most delightful creature. Clever, cheeky, wilfull, sly and hilarious. She’s just started associating objects with their purpose, like shoes go on feet and hair brushes are for hair and pens are for writing. She toddles around and finds these items and will spend minutes just mimicking their purpose (putting my big shoes on her feet, pretending to brush her hair or write with a pen). She’s not quite 13 months old so she doesn’t have the motor function to actually do these things yet, but realising how much she’s observing and taking things in pre-language is amazing!!

[Luminen]

@elleplume

but when she heard my voice for the first time she opened her eyes to look at me

That’s so beautiful I’m tearing up, too. There’s so much magic to it all, no matter how your baby enters the world.

Also I’m sorry to hear about the NICU stay - that must have been hard for you all. So great that Flora is safely home with you now. Can’t believe she’s almost 13 months already! (We’re only two months away from Robin turning 1 and that’s blowing my mind!)

[leafsgirl44]

Oh I love this thread!

• Rhett’s first smile! He was with S/O and they were cuddling, and out of nowhere Rhett looked up at S/O, cooed and had the biggest smile on his face He was about 4-6 weeks old, he started smiling just before my birthday!

• Rhett and I have established a routine that he now expects. In the morning after his first bottle and my first round of pumping, I’ll take him down to the living room and get him changed and dressed, and put him in his baby swing/rocker for a few minutes so I can wash up the bottles for the day. I put on the same show every morning for background noise while I do housework, and now in his swing, he likes to sit and watch it, and even smiles at it. Funnily enough, it’s the show he’s named after

• On Thursday, I was playing with him after changing him and some tummy time, and he was grinning at me for sticking my tongue out at him, and cooing/babbling at me. Out of nowhere he started trying to laugh! He half has it, it’ll start out but then fizzle, but he’s so close!!

• At night and naptime, he’ll only fall asleep if he’s being cuddled and/or sung to. Rhett’s favourites are:
  All Too Well (10 Minute Version) - Taylor Swift,
  Unchained Melody - The Everly Brothers
  Lost Together - Blue Rodeo
  Forever - Lewis Capaldi
  Hero - Mariah Carey
  I Will Always Love You - Dolly Parton (he also likes Whitney Houston’s version).
  Can’t Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley
  Making Love Out of Nothing At All - Air Supply

• When he was first born, maybe a week or so old, I started watching movies while cuddling him/rocking him to sleep. We watched When Harry Met Sally a few times over the first month or so before one day I decided to watch Monsters Inc. while snuggling him. He heard Billy Crystal (Mike Wazowski in Monsters Inc, and Harry in When Harry Met Sally)’s voice and his entire face lit right up, and he started grinning when he happened to look over and see Mike Wazowski on tv. We ended up buying him a Monsters Inc book while I was pregnant, since it was one of my favourites as a kid, and when I read it to him a couple days later, I showed him the pictures and got his happy little cooing at a picture of Mike lol. Now if he’s fussing with my mom or I can’t settle him - Monsters Inc/Monsters University/Monsters at Work goes on Disney+ and he gets very excited listening to it.

[clair.de.lune]

That is so very beautiful! I’m all emotional now

[findemaxa13]

That is so, so cute and special about him recognizing [name_u]Billy[/name_u] Crystal’s voice! His youngest fan!

[Camelia]

I don’t have enough time lately to answer to all of you, but please continue to add stories of your lovely children

[name_m]Bastien[/name_m] is now 1 yo and he had severe pneumonia recently. He was hospitalized for almost a week, which was very hard for our little family. He is back home now and we are all resting.

Here is a little anecdote: When he was hospitalized, he was unable to eat solid food or breastfeed for a couple of days. After a difficult night at the hospital, spent almost entirely on my laps in the rocking chair, he woke up and I had a strange feeling, like I could tell he was able to breastfeed again. I sat comfortably with him and he just did it. The way he drank, you could have thought he was having the best meal of his whole life. Poor baby… Too young to be that sick.

[Luminen]

I’m sorry to hear you went through that. What a lovely moment you shared in the midst of it all.