Caleb is 13 months old, and he has become a major CLIMBER. He has been climbing on things for a few months now, but over the past few days, he's become a pro. We can't leave him in a room at all anymore without coming back to find him on top of something or climbing over a barricade. It's cute sometimes, but it's so incredibly frustrating at times too! I know injuries and a bumped head are inevitable, but with how he's climbing and diving into the things, I'm so afraid he's going to really get hurt!
This evening, Austin went to work, and Caleb turned into a monster. He was whiny and crying and clinging to me. He was so mad that I wouldn't let him climb on chairs. He got so mad that he threw himself backward from a standing position, all the way to the floor. He hit his head pretty hard on the living room floor. I'm sure it hurt, but he was fine. I told him he was fine and consoled him at the same time. As I was holding my screaming child who was exhausted and just being terrible, I was flooded with frustration. He was in the middle of a tantrum. He had just hit his head. He still wanted to climb on the chair. He wouldn't eat. He wouldn't drink. I felt helpless.
Finally I decided to just put him to bed a little early. The whole time I got him ready for bed, he cried. I put him on the changing table. He screamed. I tried to hand him a tube of diaper rash cream because he likes to play with something as I change him. He threw the tube across the room. I took his pants off him, and he straightened his legs and wouldn't bend them. At all. I tried to get a pair of footed pjs on him, but he wouldn't cooperate. The pjs were a bit small, so I couldn't get his leg in them with how he was behaving. I tossed them to the side and grabbed a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. I finally got clothes on him, and I picked him up. He threw his head back because he was STILL screaming and crying, and I nearly dropped him. I turned on his music box, handed him his cup of milk, told him I loved him and goodnight, and I put him in his bed and walked out.
Two minutes later, he was asleep, and I was sitting in the living room in complete silence. I thought to myself, "This phase needs to end."
This phase of not eating anything. The phase of temper tantrums. The phase of climbing on everything. The phase of scratching.
But then another thought hit me, and I know it was from the Lord. "All the phases have faded without you even realizing it."
The phase of baby coos.
The phase of being held like a newborn.
The phase of smiles in his sleep.
The phase of sleeping on me quietly in church.
The phase of sweet smelling Dreft detergent.
The phase of trying sooo hard to utter his first words.
The phase of coaching him on how to roll, crawl, and walk.
The hard ones faded as well. The multiple nighttime feedings. The spit up. The heavy carseat carrier being lugged around. The constant bottles to wash. The screaming for the pacifier.
They all faded slowly, without me even realizing it. Suddenly it just hit me one day that my baby didn't like being held like a baby anymore and his baby coos had turned to words and yells! I just suddenly looked back and noticed certain things had stopped.
The same will be true for the current phase. One day he'll learn that climbing on furniture has consequences, whether it be an injury or discipline. One day he'll understand that he either eats his food or goes hungry. One day he'll learn to use words instead of tantrums when he's upset.
But one day he'll stop hurrying to mommy when he bumps his head. One day he won't need the music box to fall asleep. One day he'll put pajamas on by himself. It will all fade over time, the good, the bad, the hard, and everything in between. My baby has already faded into a toddler, and one day my toddler will fade into a big kid, who will then fade into a teen, and eventually an adult. It will happen gradually and quickly at the same time, and I pray I savor it all. Yes, nights like tonight will leave me frustrated and tired, and that's okay. As tired as I am, I'm so beyond grateful for each and every phase.
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