There are all the parenting milestones people talk about – the first time your baby rolls over, her first steps, his first words. Those are all nice and exciting to talk about in polite conversation. Let’s be honest, there are other milestones which are just as important.
When your baby can hold his own bottle
There’s nothing better than holding your little bundle in your arms and feeding him. Watching that little sucking motion is hypnotic while you smell him and hold him close. Except, he needs to eat ALL THE TIME. Literally, that’s all you do – over and over – for months.
If you’re pumping to feed or a formula Mom (no judgment here – if your baby is fed, you’re killing it) the minute that your little baby reaches up and grips that bottle so he can hold it himself feels like a breath of freedom. This doesn’t prevent you from still holding your little bundle while he eats, it just means that you finally have a choice. Finally.
The first time your baby blows when you hold a tissue up to her face and say “blow”
No matter if you’re part of the “Nose Frida,” (which – I am not making this up – is an apparatus where you literally use your mouth to suck your child’s boogers from her head) group or the bulb booger sucker group – your baby probably hates when you have to clear her nostrils.
The first time you hold a tissue up to her face and say “blow” and she does it? Life changing.
When your baby can spit on command
If it’s the age-old terrifying toddler question, “What’s in your mouth?” or the end of a tooth-brushing session where you’re trying to teach your child not to swallow all the paste – getting them to expel whatever is in their mouth voluntarily is a huge step. Not having to pin your child like a pro-wrestler and physically remove whatever it is from their mouth is such a relief.
Who told you when you were pregnant that you would be thrilled when you could finally get your child to spit at you? No one. We’ll add this to the long list of “things you didn’t think you would ever have to actually teach a person.”
Once your walking/running baby learns what “sit” means
Is your daughter a dog? No . . . mostly . . . not really . . . but some of the principles are similar. One day though, as she’s tearing away from you in a way where you wonder if you’ll catch her, or she stands up on her changing table and makes your heart stop, and you say “SIT” and she does it? It’s the best.
When your child can wipe
Everyone talks about potty training – and that’s great. It’s SO gratifying when you hear the tinkle in the potty after years of diaper changes. Do you know what else is a huge deal though? Wiping. The day your child can do the entire process of a bathroom routine – soup to nuts (pun intended) – is the day you’re finally free.
Another one is when your child can buckle themselves (safely) into their car seat. When you can say to the child “get int he car” and she can just go get in the car, its a hallelujah moment.
I am looking forward to this day!