When reading this book as a young tot, I'm sure all of us thought, "Really, bird? You can't recognise that your mother is the other bird in the neighbourhood? Obviously, it's not the cat or dog. Come on, bird." But for baby humans, to differentiate between their mothers, it must be just as difficult. Jackson is almost a year old and I thought he could pick me out of a crowd just as easily as I could find him, but that wasn't the case this past week when he had a horrible case of mistaken identity that ended in inconsolable sobbing.
On Thursday, when I entered Jackson's room at nursery, I heard him crying and saw him being held by his key worker with his blanket. She said, "There's your mum, Jackson," to which he reached for me and started to crawl towards me. He started settling down and I listened as they explained that when Lilianna's mom came in to pick her up, Jackson thought that it was me because we both have thick-framed glasses and shoulder-length dark brown hair. He crawled to her and when she didn't pick him up, and instead picked up her own daughter, he started screaming and crying. Then, he reached for her legs and started pulling on her trousers for attention. Lilianna's mom and I exchanged smiles and I said, "I guess I'll have to get a new look."
I was happy that I arrived shortly after this incident so that Jackson wasn't crying for too long. Also, so that he would know that his mother actually does love him and wasn't ignoring him. The torment that must have been running through his mind and the hurt in his heart was probably agonising for him. Poor little guy! I'm also glad that I arrived while Lilianna's mom was still there or else he would have thought that his mom not only chose another child over him, but left without him as well. I'm sure that would be a little baby's worst nightmare!
Every day, it is so good to pick him up and be reunited after a long day of work, but on that day, it was especially good because we were both reminded how much we need each other. We are bonded for life and he will always be my little baby no matter how big he gets.
Playing with his new toy today--a Fisher Price Ballapalooza!
He loves his new toy and feels like a big boy when he can move all of the pieces and parts on his own.
Developmental updates: Jackson is back on track with his eating and tried chocolate mousse this week at nursery. Apparently, he held his hands up in the air when they were serving the mousse out to all of the children because he was so excited. He has made his best friend at nursery and his name is Arthur. Whenever Jackson is upset, Arthur will pat his head and find Jackson's starred blanket for him and bring it to him so he calms down. Something that he definitely didn't inherit from me is his love of playing in the puddles and dirt. His key worker at nursery said that every time they go outside, Jackson has to be dressed head-to-toe in his 'waterproofs' because he goes straight for any water he sees and reaches through the fence to dig in the dirt. Jackson is feeling a lot better now and his cough has almost completely disappeared. He even started singing in the car along with the Shania Twain CD we listen to every day on our way to Preston. (It was only £3 at Tesco for an album of her greatest hits! I couldn't pass it up.) The newest activity at home that he's taught himself to do is to climb under the coffee table and exit carefully so that he doesn't hit his head while crawling through.
If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.
