He calls me mom

 I finished writing part 3 of the baby wearing, sensory integration, and NDT series, complete with links and photos...but somehow lost it.  Blogger posted a blank page.  I don't know how it happened, but I'm so frustrated.  I guess blogging has a learning curve.  I'm posting this one because it was already written.  The other post took days to write.  Ugh!!

My son first called me "uhm-mah", when he was 4 months old.  I was kissing him and making the exaggerated kissing sounds, "um-muah".  He thought I was trying to get him to imitate me...I guess.  He started to frown, so I stopped.  Then with apparent stress and difficulty, he said "uhm-mah".  It just happens to mean mom in Korean.  Fortuitous?  Maybe.

From that point on, whenever he was distressed and wanted my attention immediately, he shouted "uhm-mah".  But I don't speak Korean to him.  It's not my first language.  So I continued to call myself "mommy".

Well one day, around month 6, I heard a very loud distressed, "maaaa  uhm".  From that point, he has called me mom.  Yup.  He calls me mom.  Sometimes, he calls me mom with all the angst and irritation of a teenager.

I try hard not to laugh, but sometimes it cracks me up.  He's intonations are spot on.  Especially, when he's upset, irritated, or bored.

The little guy is his own person.  He knows what he wants.  He won't usually compromise.  Though he's pretty good at walking away from something he's not allowed to do.  I think he figures he'll wait until I'm not paying attention.  So when it's suddenly very quiet, I know it's time to go looking for him.  He's probably trying to do something crazy.

In a way, I might savor these moments more because I didn't expect them.  When I found out he had suffered a stroke, I just assumed I wouldn't be suffering these antics until much later, if ever.  So I'm grateful...even though sometimes I'm flustered.

My son may have suffered a stroke, but he is like any other kid, he has personality...the good, the bad, and the ugly...like any other kid.