Change

Recently, I talked with a good friend about our kids leaving the baby stage and entering the next phase of life.  This is the time when many women (and men, even) consider having another kid.  Even those of us how prefer the toddler stage miss things about having a newborn or little infant. 

I don't particularly miss the helplessness that a newborn has while learning how to move and eat and do everything else besides lying there, making noise, and pooping.  However, when that goes out the window, the cuddles and dependency often does, too.  My kids are that type, no doubt.  Bella cherishes her independence and wants to do everything on her own.  Jude is making his way there. 

So, I can see that I probably would have gone through massive baby fever around this time with Bella, but I ended up not missing a beat.  Jude was here by the time Bella started running away from me.  Now that Jude is hitting that phase, I have a much appreciated calm about the situation.  These will never stop needing me. I know that.  I love that.  They will get older, though, and do more and more on their own and need me for different things.  My role as mommy will always be changing and I'm ready to fill that role in whatever way I can. 

For now, the mommy in me is very settled into this phase of life.  I don't have the baby fever that other parents might when their first is moving past being a baby and becoming a toddler.  Will I ever be in that phase again?  I don't know.  Things are always changing here and plans to have another child (no matter what I might want them to look like) will change, too.  Right now, it's all about appreciating what I have and the life I've been given.  I try to spend a little time everyday thinking about that, because you never know when your life will change, for better or for worse.