It must be all the sleep we're getting

I don't know if it's the warmer weather and sunshine, all the sleep that we're getting now that Kaylin regularly sleeps though the night, or the fact that she is just growing up--but life with my toddler has been pretty wonderful lately.

I can't even remember the last time Kaylin had a full-blown tantrum. Most of the time she is a happy, smiling, singing cutie-pie who just makes my heart glow. She says the funniest things like "Mom, can you do me a favourite?" or wishes me a "happy birthday" even though my birthday is months away. She spends hours singing her favourite songs and nursery rhymes, pretending to be Strawberry Shortcake or Dora the Explorer, reading "Handsome and Gretel" with me, and having picnics complete with "watermelon soup" on the living room floor.

When Kaylin was an infant, learning to talk and walk, I used to look at her and get an overwhelming feeling of pride and love that would wash over me and take my breath away. Everytime the feeling struck, it almost brought me to tears. That's the only way I can describe it. But I haven't had the feeling for many months. I thought maybe it was something you only feel when you're a new mom, like the first months of falling in love. The overpowering sensations you feel when you see that person fade to a deep love over time. It's not that you love them any less. Just that the "newness" has worn off. I thought maybe the "newness" of my baby had warn off.

But lately, I'm having that feeling again. The things Kaylin says and does astound me and move me. I'm so proud of the person she's becoming--her incredible and witty sense of humour, her compassion for other people, especially babies, and her creative imagination. I still can't believe this amazing person calls me "mom". How lucky am I?

Bye bye sooder

As a parent, you want your child to always feel as safe and secure as possible--especially when you can't be there every single moment of the day to hug and soothe them. That's why we've always been comfortable with letting Kaylin have a soother.

As a newborn, Kaylin wouldn't even take a soother. It took a couple of months before she began using one regularly, and by regularly I mean at nap and bedtime. As the months passed, we also let her use it if she was very upset and needed additional comfort beyond what our hugs and kisses could provide, whether it was after a bump on a table corner or a particularly terrible temper tantrum.

I knew one day the soother (or "sooder" as we all called it) would have to leave us, but I wasn't sure how or when. In fact, I really dreaded it. How on earth was I going to wrangle that piece of plastic and rubber away from my child's death grip? And how would she ever fall asleep again? All I knew was that it was not going to be a pretty sight.

Thankfully and remarkably, Kaylin gave up her soother all by herself.

It started with the biting. She began gnawing on the soother, piercing the tip and rendering it useless. I frantically replaced the first few broken soothers because I didn't have a "soother withdrawal plan" in place yet. But soon she was biting through them within minutes of getting a new one.

So we moved to plan B. We let her live with her broken soother. She wasn't biting the end off completely, so there was no danger. She even willingly threw one of her soothers away, telling us she was a big girl (but then quickly asked for her other soother a while later.) Soon, the true purpose of the soother was lost and she was asking for it and we were giving it to her out of habit.

Then, while on a weekend trip, we were away from our normal routine just enough that she didn't ask for her soother one night. I grasped the opportunity and ran with it! Nights became weeks and suddenly Kaylin no longer asked for her soother. Amazing. Problem solved!

Who knew it would be so easy? No tears, no bribes or rewards. No tantrums or pleading. Just a little girl, growing up and moving on.

I think I'll miss you the most, "sooder"!