MAMA...

My son has just started calling me MAMA!

It was very exciting to hear his first tiny sounds but nothing as exciting as hearing him call me MAMA when I walk into a room or when he wakes up in the morning and yells "MAMA" for me to come and rescue him from his crib. It makes me feel like I'm his own superwoman :-)

The first sounds of a baby can be a bit frightening or even overwhelming.

It still feels like yesterday when I was in that delivery room pushing and waiting anxiously to hear my baby cry out loud as if he was saying: " Hey! I'm here! I finally made it out of that tiny warm prison I've been in for my entire existence and now I need to rest!"

When I heard that first cry was precisely the moment I started to cry. I couldn't believe I was becoming a MAMA. Right after crying for the joy and happiness I was feeling, the tears that followed were tears of fear. He was so tiny that it made me incredibly scared. All I could do was pray to God that I wouldn't break him; But the moment they gave him to me and put him on my chest all the fear magically disappeared. I simply knew God had given us the most precious gift of love.

So innocent, so pure, so helpless, so dependent of us.

The days that followed, the slightest sound would excite my husband. I remember the first time my son squeaked out a tiny "eee". He would do it from time to time and with every single "eee" my husband would jump up, look at me and celebrate that our son had said "eee". It was so beautiful to see and feel how lucky I am to have a wonderful husband that is also an amazing daddy.

When we were still at the hospital hearing those first "eee's" my husband bribed me by telling me if I made our sons first word be PAPA he would buy me a purse. I had read in many books that many babies say Papa first because it's easier; So I immediately took the deal :-) And being the fashion victim that I am I told everyone to say Papa to my son so that his first word would be Papa for sure. My mother, my mother in law, my friends, my husband and everyone that came in contact with our son would repeat Papa over and over.

When he was about seven months he suddenly, out of the blue said in a very low tone: "PAPA". I couldn't believe it but neither could my husband because he would never say it in front of him. He said Papa so many times I can't even count but never in front of my husband. More that two months went by and my poor husband waited patiently for our son to say Papa in front of him or whenever he was around. He didn't even care if the "Papa" was directed to him, he just wanted to hear "Papa" in that sweet little voice.

One day, one morning to be precise, he woke up and started calling "Papa".

My husband was sleeping so I immediately woke him up. When he heard the "Papa" coming from the speaker of the little monitor his eyes filled up with tears. That moment I realized it was so worth it to sacrifice not hearing Mama first (with or without my purse) :-)

Followed by the tears of joy that came out of my husbands eyes... He said: "Baby, you did it! He said Papa." Then he laughed out loud and said: "You can have any purse you want". We both cracked up and kissed like the proud parents we are without knowing that my smart, sweet, loving son had planned everything :-)

After my husband heard him say Papa he has never (not once) said it again.

He immediately started saying "MAMA" which was honestly crazy and surprising because other than hearing it a few times in his dvd, no one taught him how to say Mama. I swear I only taught him Papa but all he says is MAMA. He loves saying it over and over and I LOVE-LOVE hearing it!

Ever since then my husband calls our son his beautiful "con artist". He totally conned Papa into buying a purse for his Mama.

Sounds great to me :-)