A couple of weeks back, a very good friend of mine from church gave birth to a baby girl. It was a long wait, but one joyous moment when the little one arrived. I was all the more ecstatic because it was a girl! Don’t you think it would be fun watching the little girls play with their dolls while the mommas exchanged some masala news?!!!

Anyways, soon after the baby was shown to us, momma and baby were under observation for an hour and later moved to their room.  K8O couldn’t understand what all the excitement was about as she was sleepy and hungry. But after a few Good Day Biscuits and a bottle of milk, little Miss. Muffet was all charged up. Her Dadda carried her inside the room. I am sure she had no clue on who we were about to see. But the minute she saw that tiny little baby in the cradle, she wriggled down her Dadda’s arms and walked slowly to the cradle. She peeped inside, turned to me, smiled and said, “Amma, baybee!”

Just as she was getting to know her new friend, I realized, not too long before was my little girl a  similar baby, lying beside me in the hospital bed. I remember, those initial days, I used to keep looking at her wondering if it was real. She used to be mostly asleep. Those couple of hours she used to wake up in between her naps, how I used to enjoy watching her looking around exploring her world, throwing her hands and legs in the air and grasping my fingers tight!

It seems like just yesterday, I was waiting for her to turn over. Then I waited for her to sit. A month later, she began to crawl and stand. Soon she began to walk and now she’s trying to talk!

In just a year and a half, where did my baby go? I cannot believe how much she has grown, how much she understands and how much mischief she has learnt in such a short span of time. Ask any parent and they’ll tell you the same about their child!

However, when I sit back and ponder, I come to understand that though a small part of me misses my baby, I am thoroughly enjoying the little girl she has grown into!  The journey just gets better and better by the day. I am sure I am going to be in for a lot more surprises in the coming days, months and years to come. But no matter how old she gets, I want my girl to know that she’ll always be my baby!

Love you, darling!