milestone

How many milestones have we crossed in the last three and a half years of parenthood?  Oh, about a million, give or take.  It's been an unbelievably amazing ride.  And just last week, there was another.  And this one is quite significant, when I think about it.  For the first time, ever, N came to me and told me he was hungry and wanted something to eat.  Someone who is not a parent of a little child might immediately think - "Huh?".  But yes, its true.  For three and a half years, N was unable to articulate hunger, even though that, really, was his most basic need.  We would always need to feed him when it was time to feed him.  Read the signs, know when he ate last, what he ate, and how much, and how much time has passed since he ate, how active he'd been, etc.  If he got hungry, it would manifest itself in crankiness and hyperactivity (although those can also be signs of exhaustion).  But he was never able to recognize that what he was feeling was hunger, and that if he just told me or his dad or whoever was with him, he would be fed.  Amazing.  He began to articulate all sorts of things when he learnt to express himself and also when he learnt to talk, but never was he able to articulate his need for food.  Until last week. 

Well, I guess now I can look forward to years of "Mommmm! What's there to eat???" .  I feel like I should start a fund for feeding him when he's a teenager.  Gosh, I remember how much my brother and cousin brothers, etc used to eat when we were kids.  :-)  There are some stories which I think I need permission to publicly report. :-)