Baby Blog

Baby Nik enjoyed his second baseball game over the Labor Day weekend. It was lots of fun; the free tickets helped too. In attendance were myself baby Nik baby Wyatt (they were born just a day apart)and Wyatt’s baby brother Cactus. The two 18 month olds stood and watched the game as five-month-old Cactus was cradled by his mother. We visited and watched as our growing baby boys interacted.

Wyatt’s mom and I have been working hard at making the two boys best friends.  Not just because they were born less than a day apart in the same maternity ward of the same hospital in the same town, but because we are close friends, our families spend a lot of time together and it only makes sense for the two boys to grow up to be best friends. But I wonder if we are trying to force a relationship that isn’t really there. Sometimes Nik and Wyatt seem to be the best of friends; at least for a second and then mutual animosity seems to take over.

At the baseball game the two boys watched the game in their own little ways, Nik yelling to the baseball players to “Go! Go!” and baby Wyatt stomping his feet and swaying as he danced to the soundtrack of the game. Sometimes they would copy each other, mimicking each other’s movements and actions. Other times they seemed to provoke each other. The provoking was much more telling than the copying or mutual ignoring.

Baby Nik is quiet around other baby boys. Baby Wyatt, around other boys and girls from what I understand, is a little more intense. As baby Cactus watched on in amusement Nik and Wyatt began to hustle over the ownership of a sippy cup resulting in the Nik pushing Wyatt away with fervent cries of “No no” and Wyatt looking bemused continuing to provoke. Both mothers watched and waited to see how this little experiment would end up, laughingly joking that it was the boy’s first ever tussle.

What I’m learning as a parent is however much you want something to happen for your child you can’t always force the situation. Perhaps Wyatt and Nik will end up as best friends once they hit elementary school. Perhaps not. Perhaps they will both find other children their age to get along with. We just can’t know until the time arrives. We need to just let boys be boys and growing babies be growing toddlers and all should just come out in the wash.

Until then we’ll force play dates on them so at least us moms can get in a bit of grown up conversation.