The Yo-Yo Theory

I read something last night that perfectly describes how Lucas is right now. This theory says that "The farther the toddler ventures out for his quest for independence, the closer they need to come back to baby things to make sure everything is okay. Both the venturing out and coming back are necessary for growing up. And, like a yo-yo, they do gradually come back less and less urgently."

When we are at home Lucas is somewhat of a velcro baby. He's gotten better since he's been walking and can entertain himself with all of the fun stuff around the house, but he still has his moments of being quite clingy. He is especially clingy at night, now wanting to sleep on top of me most of the night. When we're at the pool, however, he almost wants nothing to do with me! He gets in and out of the baby pool by himself and explores the surrounding - his favorite things at the pool are the wood chips. Sometimes I even feel like I'm cramping his style by following closely behind him. He's probably thinking, "gosh mom, all these kids are going to think I'm a mama's boy".

At the mall last week he demonstrated the yo-yo theory perfectly. He'd squirm in my arms until I let him down, then he'd have a blast checking out everything in the store... until someone talked to him. Then he'd run back to "home-base-mama" and bury his head in my legs. I love it that he feels such safety with us.

So I feel the 13+ months of nearly constant attachment to Lucas is working out well. He's developing confidence and starting to spread his wings a little bit. When I'm burned out from being a mommy (only moments at a time) I remind myself that this is only the beginning and soon Lucas will only be checking in during meal times, no longer needing constant mommy attention. I'll savor it while I can.