the-toddler-gorilla is 3 Today
I find that birthdays and new years are a great time to reflect upon the year that has passed with the rest of the year being an opportunity to look forwards. With today being the-toddler-gorilla's 3rd birthday, it's one of those moments that I'd like to look back upon his life so far.
From our 1st baby scan in which the-toddler appeared to be lounging back, legs crossed and arms behind his head, I thought we'd have a chilled out little gorilla - his posture very much reflecting mine. And compared to the human babies that our friends had at around the same time, we had created an angel. He slept through the night fairly quickly, he fed well and napped well - only screaming when he was hungry, tired or needed burping.
Despite the comparative goodness of our little one, the-mrs-gorilla and I still found things incredibly difficult. It's frightening what sleep deprivation can do to somebody, even a great ape like me and there were many tearful times. You're always told how wonderful having a baby is, you're not warned about how incredibly hard it is too.
Fast forward 8 months and we spent a week in hospital after the-toddler-gorilla contracted parechovirus - the doctor's took a very long to diagnose it and even tried sending us home at one point. I refused and made it clear we were staying until they knew what was wrong. I'm glad we did as a couple of days later, it was diagnosed and treatment administered. Without doubt the most frightening time of our lives and that time was a stark reminder of how important life is with our little toddler-gorilla.
So since then, the joy of weening and solid food. His first word "more" and pointing to his empty food bowl will always make me smile. Refusing to walk until lockdown began and then loving it, taking to it like he'd been walking all of his life.
The most difficult thing though is the fear that you're doing wrong by him. That other children are developing faster and that lockdown has really stunted his development. How will an entire year being locked up, without play groups and the social groups we'd taken for granted being taken away from us. We used to go swimming every week - how will he feel now about going into water?
You'll hear every parent say that it goes so fast. 3 years ago today we were in hospital wondering when the baby would come. It feels like yesterday yet life before the-toddler feels like a lifetime ago, a distant memory that will never come again. And in just a few weeks time, our little toddler will be a big brother and the-baby-gorilla will be joining us. We'll get to do it all over again, just with a little bit more experience and an extra pair of (small) hands to help.
So, here's to taking the time to remember on a special day with so many more special days to come.
Happy birthday toddler-gorilla