Individuation...

It's happened...Aiden has realized that Mommy is her own person and that she sometimes LEAVES the room!

It actually happened a couple weeks ago. One day, almost every time I stepped out of Aiden's view, even for just a second, he immediately started crying. Crying as in basically screaming -until I returned to his view and then came and retrieved him to comfort.

We knew the time was coming soon. He's right on track developmentally with this. Next up - stranger anxiety. We haven't seen anything about this yet. He's around different people from time to time, but he isn't showing any discomfort or fears about meeting new people. Of course, he's also never been LEFT with anyone he doesn't know. And to be honest, he's never really been away from Mom. (Yes, it's true, and I won't apologize.) We'll see how that part plays out.

For now, I just have to keep him within my vision most of the day, which...ummmm...I kind of do anyway. Obviously I don't leave him in a room on his own. So, it's not really a big deal. He is having a bit of a harder time going down for naps and all, but it just takes standing by his crib a little longer and reassuring him that I'm there close by. And when I move around the apartment doing things, he will sometimes keep a close watch on me, as if to remind me that he is quite aware that I COULD go somewhere at any time. And then again, sometimes he's perfectly fine with me being out of eyesight for a moment or two. You never really know which one you're going to get!