Attachment

The emotional attachment we feel to our babies and children is an interesting thing to contemplate.  We often see and hear in movies, TV, books, and in discussion all the varying degrees of attachment to newborns, and until/unless one has experienced it, it can be hard to really understand how it's possible to instantly fall in love with a new creature like a newborn.

I know I didn't really believe it at first either, but as Lori's pregnancy with Henry progressed and all the things we went through with it, I was ready to meet Henry.

The delivery itself was a nightmare (if you haven't heard it already, it's another long story for a different day), so when I finally saw Lori and Henry being wheeled back into the room, I was already an emotional wreck with what was going through my head.

The nurses handed Henry to me.


and almost immediately, he opened his eyes.  I saw a little Asian kid that I knew instantly was My Son.  And I completely lost it.  And of course, the nurse wanted to take a picture of that moment which was not exactly at my best, but I tried to keep it together as best as I could.  I felt like I bonded instantly with Henry.

With Evie, it was different.

I don't know if it was because her delivery wasn't as emotionally fraught as with Henry so I wasn't as bought-in to the stakes or what.  But when she came into the world and I held her, I didn't feel that instant connection like I did with Henry.

Sure, she's cute, tiny, and helpless, so naturally, I'm going to take care of her.  But it felt strange even at the time that I didn't have the immediate bond with her.

Of course, that took care of itself over time, and the phrase "daddy's little girl" is a very apt description of not just her but our relationship.
       
 

Henry was "My Buddy" since Day 1 -- hell, since Minute 1, really.  With Evie, it took a little longer to warm up.  I honestly don't recall anymore when that moment was, if there was any particularly defining moment or whether it was just a gradual build-up over time.

We didn't bond right away, but I think it's safe to say that it's not a concern anymore!

Language Development

On the one hand, it's thrilling to watch language and vocabulary developing in a kid. On the other, there's a bit of sadness to the loss of the cute baby language.

Evie's words were always very cute, but as her language skills develop, the Evienese starts fading away.

Instead of "duckfries," she can now articulate "butterflies." Her old "woppen" is now clearly "what happened?" Now her "eppepant" has clearly become "elephant."

We're thrilled for her language and speech development. We mourn the loss of her adorable baby-speak, though.

(She still has "applebus" for "octopus," however)