Good-Bye, Baby Hello, Toddler!

When Savannah was just a few months old Jim made a comment about how she wasn't a baby anymore.  I said to him "Of course she's still a baby!  Don't rush her into growing up - she'll do that fast enough all on her own!"  And she did.

At 11 months old my little baby is not quite so little anymore, much less a baby.  As I sit here watching her walk around the house on her wobbly,chubby legs, clutching a baby doll in one hand while she points to random things with the other & asks "What's that?" I can't deny how close she is to becoming a toddler.

Over the weekend I realized that she no longer needs to drink 4 bottles of formula per day now that she's eating 3 well balanced meals every day.  The time has come to wean her off of at least 2 of the 4 bottles.  Much like I expected, the transition from bottle to sippy cup is going smoothly.  I eliminated 1 of her formula feedings today and I also replaced 1 formula feeding with her cup instead of the bottle.  I admit that I became a bit teary eyed while I sat with her during her bedtime feeding.  She laid across my lap, drinking her formula from her cup while holding it with both hands, and it was at that very moment when it hit me; Good-Bye, Baby  Hello, Toddler!

I'm not quite sure why all of this is coming as such a surprise to me.  Maybe it's because she slept through the night so early on?   Maybe it's because she hit her milestones faster than the others - going from crawling to standing to walking in a blink of an eye - but she just seems so advanced  to me!

The other day she was playing in the sand at the park.  It was time for us to go home, so I stood her up & tried to get her to hold my hand while we walked to the car.  Immediately she got "noodle legs" - where her legs went completely limp & she downright refused to stand up on her own.  While it's true that both Kyle & Bella went through the "noodle legs" stage, I don't recall them doing that at 11 months old!!

This morning I watched her playing "Peek-A-Boos" by herself.  She had pulled a blanket from off of the couch & put it over her head.  She kept pulling it off of her head & then putting it on again.  Then she would clap & giggle to herself.

With the exception of her sleeping in a crib & wearing a diaper there are very few visible signs that she's still a baby.  Of course, she'll always be my baby, but I sure do wish she could stay smaller for just a little while longer.

I remember her newborn months like they were yesterday.  She had colic & was nothing short of miserable for her first few months.  She cried & cried & there was little anyone could do to console her or comfort her.  Then, seemingly overnight, she outgrew the colic.  And also seemingly overnight, she developed her own little personality.  Right now she seems to be a mixture of both Kyle & Isabella.  When I watch her playing with the baby dolls, babbling away in a language that only babies can understand, I see her imagination going wild like Kyle's.  If I don't have her food ready for her when I put her into the highchair she freaks out, screaming like a crazy girl & it's then that I see Bella's stubborn, demanding streak running through her.  When she walks around the house blowing "raspberries" at everyone I can't help but laugh over seeing her comical side.

I'm not ready to be the owner of another toddler yet, but something tells me that (unfortunately) it's not up to me.  All I can do is sit back & watch yet another one of my babies grow up right before my eyes.  It's one of the most bitter-sweet feelings I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

Good-Bye, Baby!  Hello, Toddler!