Dear Oliver,

You are now 7 months old. 7 months old. Closer to your first birthday than your birth. It makes me sad to know that you will won't be my little baby boy for much longer. Soon you will be a toddler. Selfishly, I don't want you to grow up, to need me less and less. I just want to hold and cuddle you forever. Breathe in your babyness forever. Hold you on my hip forever.


Before you were born I thought that being a mother was going to be hard and that I might not be very good at it. I was right about one thing. Mothering is hard, but not in the ways I thought it would be. It is physically hard. Too little sleep and constant attention paid to you. However, as it turns out I am actually quite good at being a mama. Your mama.


I never believed in love at first sight until you were born. But, I fell head over heels in love with you the moment you were born. All the exhaustion of labor was gone in an instant when I first held you in my arms. You are a perfect combination of your daddy and me, even if everyone thinks you are carbon copy of him.



Your smile lights ups the room. Literally. Your laugh lifts my heart and makes all my worries disappear. I could tickle your chubby little thighs all day long just to hear you giggle. You have such a sweet spirit. You evoke happiness in everyone around you. The barista at Starbucks, the old man at the park, the grocery store clerk.


You have an insatiable curiosity about the world around you. You commando crawl and scoot around the room, investigating everything. You are especially found of the lab top, remote control, and electrical cords. All things you are not supposed to play with. I fear that you might be a bit of a handful once you are fully mobile.


I love how you look at me with those big blue eyes. Like I am the center of your universe. I am still in awe that you, in all your perfection, grew in my belly for all those months. You will always be my baby, even once you grow into a boy and then a man. Until then I will cherish your chubby baby hands, silky soft skin, and toothless smile.


Love,

Mama