This daughter of mine turns 14 today.
There are babies that you can put in swings and they stay there, perfectly content, swinging for hours. Or ones you can lay on a playmat and will entertain themselves. Or babies that will lay down easily and rest their weary bodies without protest.
Sophie was not one of those babies. From day one, Sophie was her own person and she made sure the world (me) knew it. The trusty Graco swing we received as a gift? It wasn’t used once. She screamed her way through the first few months in a rear-facing carseat and the stroller was met with the same hysterics.
Sophie was only content if I wore her, front facing, in the Baby Bjorn carrier. Everything I did and everywhere I went — from making dinner to grocery shopping — Sophie had to have a front seat to the world, be involved in life and know what was happening around her.
Once I figured out that was all she needed, life wasn’t bad for me and Sophie (providing the Bjorn never left my side). But that’s Sophie … you give her the space and support she needs and she will soar.
I am immensely proud of the intelligent, talented, brave and beautiful person Sophie has become. She is deep in her convictions and she’s not afraid to voice them. She is so much stronger and braver than I was at her age and I only hope that serves her well in this life.
Happy Birthday, my Sophie. I love you and you make me proud every day. ❤️