Babies

Last night, as I read Julia a chapter in her bedtime book, I came to a scene in which one of the main characters was angry to find out her diary had been read by another of the characters.  Julia wanted to know why the character whose diary was violated was so upset, so I explained to her the purpose of a diary and how people often use them to write about their most private feelings, and that those feelings usually aren't meant for anyone else to read about.  Julia still seemed puzzled by the whole ordeal: "Mom, but if she already KNOWS how she's feeling, and she doesn't want anyone else to read it, then why does she NEED to write how she feels?"

Good question.  Since she is not actually able to write yet, and since she currently enjoys chattering away and giving every detail of everything she thinks of through her verbal diarrhea, I didn't think she'd understand the idea that just expressing one's deepest feelings through language, even if those words are not meant for the public eye, can be an emotional release.  Instead, I tried to explain the purpose of a diary by fetching some of my old journals (I kept a diary faithfully from about age ten into early adulthood.  I even resumed for a brief period during my pregnancy and first few months with Julia.)  I read to her from the aforementioned pregnancy diary, reading her the post detailing my elation at learning I was pregnant, as well as the eight-page-long entry about my labor and her birth.  If you're not me, you may very well find my old diary entries boring.  Not Julia.  She was ALL into them.  I couldn't believe how excited she was to hear about my pregnancy; she was literally jumping around all over her bed in her inability to contain her energetic anticipation over what was to come next.  Trying to keep my voice and pace level was difficult with her constant, exhilarated choke-hold hugs and her face smooshing up against mine for kisses and caresses.

Despite the excitement over hearing my account of having her in my belly, it seems she wasn't 100% clear on what was going on.  As I read to her about my trip to the hospital and the labor pains I endured, she suddenly interrupted me to start this conversation:

JULIA: But, wait, Mama?  Is this Madeleine or me you're reading about?
ME: This is you.  This was the day you were born.
JULIA: (puzzled, thoughtful.)  But... if it was your FIRST CHILD, then how did you know what to do to get the baby out of your body?
ME: Well, your body does it for you.  Your body knows what to do.
JULIA: (flabbergasted) But... HOW??

I wonder if she thought I had suddenly fast-forwarded to another entry, in which I was giving birth to Madeleine.  I couldn't understand how she was so confused as to which baby was in my tummy, when I had told her I was about to read the post about the day she was born.  Either that, or she was not truly aware that the births of Julia and Madeleine occurred on two completely separate occasions, rather than being a succession of one after the other within the same day.

As I continued on to the point at which she emerged from my body, Julia was as excited as if she herself had just given birth.  Laying her entire body across my lap and grabbing my face, she began cooing, "My first MOMMY!  I was so excited when I came out because I got to see my FIRST MOMMY!"

Is she expecting to have a second mommy at some point?  Is my daughter a believer in reincarnation, perhaps??

After reading about the actual birth, I then got on to the descriptions of the first few days of newborn care before coming to the end of that entry.  I should have seen this coming, but alas I did not, despite the fact that I'm fully aware of Julia's interest in acting out whatever she's currently into.  ("The Worst Witch," "My Little Pony," "Fresh Beat Band," to name a few.)  Yes, readers, you have probably guessed what became of my reading to Julia from my old diary.  Julia is now a baby.  Complete with baby talk ("Baby Juwia want MAMA!") and crawling all around the house.  (Although she becomes a big kid again when she wants to do "gallop time.")  Given Madeleine's desire to sit in her baby doll bassinet yesterday, it seems that both my children have decided to revert back to their infant glory days.

When they're not being babies, however, they're happily playing all sorts of *other* pretend games together.  Here is some footage from their game of Ariel and Ariel in the bath (I mean ocean) yesterday:



I'm glad to know that whether they are both being babies or both being Ariel, at least they are getting along!