Mr. Independent

Vash came out of the womb declaring his independence. The nurses lay him down to weigh and measure him and he instantly began lifting his torso off the table. They couldn't believe how strong he was. Looking back now, and knowing him as well as I do, I see that he wasn't trying to display his strength. He was trying to prove his independence. I can imagine, all too well, his baby thoughts screaming out, "I don't need your help. I'll weigh and measure myself. I'll clean myself off AND get myself to my mom. Oh, and I don't need her help to eat either. I'll latch all by myself." Yep, and he weaned himself too once he realized he could hold a bottle by himself. Loved that. Sitting in his bouncy seat, feeding himself. And when he learned how to crawl and then walk? That boy was in hog heaven. "You mean I don't need Mom and Dad to get from here to there? This is AWESOME!" Relatives   used to say trying to snuggle Vash was like trying to cuddle a board. He did NOT want to lean into you or have any help supporting his head. And he really didn't like anyone trying to interfere with his sleeping habits. "No way am I sleeping in my crib. You're going to hold me Mom, so I know I'm not missing anything while I take my nap." I remember rocking him to sleep, the deep sleep where you can lift up and drop an arm and they don't budge, but the second I set him in his crib, his eyes would flash open and he'd wail till I picked him up again. (Found out later that was because he had Reflux and laying flat in the crib hurt his tummy.) No one could tell him when to go to sleep either. Even when I was pregnant with him, if we went for a walk, I could feel him inside trying to brace himself to stop me from rocking him to sleep. Couldn't win that battle though. He only had so much room to fight. So on and so on, Mr. Independent about everything from insisting on feeding himself solids and with big boy utensils to trying to change his own diapers now. I love that little guy. And all his stubborn energy. Deep down inside, I know he's a love bug. I know this because now that he's getting big enough to have a real amount of independence, he wants me to hold him when I read his bedtime story, and rests his head on Daddy's shoulder when he's ready for a nap, and gives baby sister big kisses when  he's sorry for stealing her binky.