Florence at Ten Months

It’s ten whole months of loving our cherubic Florence now and how time has flown by on wings. So fast. Not the nights, never the nights, they’ve dragged and dragged but the weeks, wow, and soon she’ll be one!

Fierce, strong, energetic and stubborn, Florence favourite pasttimes are playing peekaboo and laughing at her brothers, beaming her gummy grin at us (4 teeth are finally on their way).  Caring and tender, reassuringly tapping our backs when we cuddle her close, mirroring and reciprocating the comfort we give her, she really is a special baby (says every mother, ever).

A bright-eyed, sleep-avoiding (never wants to miss a minute), inquisitive, crawling, standing almost walking little girl who wakes up and asks where the birds are. Our room is enveloped with trees and she opens her eyes then starts to jab and point her chubby hands towards their nests yelping ‘birdies’, ‘up’ and ‘dere’ (which recently evolved to ‘there’) and sometimes, just sometimes I feel like we live in a treehouse.

Here’s a list of Florence’s vocab so far in order of first words:

Mama

Mum

Mummy

Dad

Birdie

Up

There

Yum

gone

got

I wonder what she might say next and importantly which lessons of her’s will follow. Like my sons, she’s teaching us as much as we’re teaching her. I’ve become stronger in a million different ways since her birth. I’m more anxious, yes, as with love times three, comes greater fear. That all-consuming love makes you worry for their wellbeing and yours. It’s the pact that comes with maternal love. It’s so deeply precious and reminds you of the fragility of life.

I have however become distinctly fearless in other areas: exercising boundaries to protecting myself and my family. Respecting and loving myself in a way I’d only dreamed of in my twenties. Being strict about my workload and time. Seeing the world anew through Florence’s eyes and juggling, never not juggling, my love and time and endless to-do lists for my kids, my world.

What a job it is to be a mother. What a privilege. What a tiring, wondrous, demanding, joyful, rollercoaster of a ride.

Thank you Florence for bringing so much joy into our lives!