Today my middle munchkin is 3 (or “free” as she prefers) and I cannot wrap my head around it. Even though I now have Doodle, I still see Sugarplum as my little baby. Recently Sugarplum had a major growth spurt and now looks more like a big kid and has had a sudden advancement in her speech and socialization so other than her size, there’s really nothing baby about her anymore (though she’s not much bigger than one, still wearing 12-18 month clothes!).
Sugarplum and I have always had a special mommy-baby relationship. I think it’s because we spent so much time alone when she was in my tummy and when she was a baby and we spent that first year struggling through her screaming, sleeplessness and general hysteria. We had just moved to a foreign country, hubby was travelling a lot, I had no family close by and had not yet made any great friends. It was really just me and the girls and it felt like us against the world most of the time. I never had the support I wanted or needed even though my mommy instincts told me something was wrong so I just cuddled her close and gave her all my love and patience.
Sugarplum has luckily (mostly) grown out of her screaming hysterics and she is so much fun to be around now. She is a funny little girl who idolizes her big sister and adores her baby brother. She is definitely in an independent stage but I love watching her learn to do new things and to take care of herself. I also love how she still likes to cuddle up next to me on the couch after nap and how when I have to go to work she runs over to me and says “Mommy, huggle! Mommy, kisses!”
I am so thankful to have one more full year with her where I can watch her grow and change and help her become who she is going to be. It’s hard for me to see her as a big girl after all the struggles we went through when she was a baby but I’m thankful that if she has to get bigger, at least she is becoming a child I like to be around.
