So, my son's first birthday was a week ago.
Let me repeat that. MY SON'S. FIRST BIRTHday was a week ago.
Can you feel the incredulity in my voice?
Is this why he can no longer wear the cute tiny outfits from Target's Newborn section?
My son was born 3 months early. When he arrived so impatiently, he weighed 1 pound, 9 ounces; that's 711 grams for any metric-based readers. Just over a pound and a half. He was the size of a shoe, about the weight of a loaf of bread. I realize newborns are small, but they're not supposed to be that small.
Given the daily prayers for growth, the celebratory texts and eMails going out to family and friends announcing every gram put on, and the steak dinner in honor of reaching the two pound mark, I thought I would be immune to a Mom's wish for her child to stay small. The Carter's tagline on some hand-me-down outfits was, in fact, "If they could just stay little." When I first read it, I snorted. I literally snorted with contempt for those moms who *don't* want their child to grow.
He grew. He continues to grow. On his first birthday, he weighed 20 pounds, 12 ounces. He is now the weight of a car tire, an obese cat or a record-breaking fish. HE'S HUGE!
I recently, carefully and thoughtfully, went through Ollie's wardrobe. It was a daunting process. We waited for two months for him to be BIG ENOUGH to wear a PREEMIE onesie, and now that same outfit looks like it would clothe a cross-dressing Barbie doll. I unfolded a favorite froggy outfit from his first days at home and thought, "AWWW....where did my little tiny baby go?"
I wander through the Newborn department and sigh with mixed emotions. I couldn't wait for Ollie to fit in Newborn clothes. When he graduated to 3 month size, we celebrated; another happy text to update those who were there for the NICU journey. Now I miss the cuddles of a newborn, the tiny mittens he wore, the being able to lift him without a groan and "putting my back into it."
It brought tears to my eyes. I cried because my son has grown.
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