Da-da

So, after months of listening to baby say “Ma-ma,” repeatedly, and telling myself that baby was bound to say “Da-da” on her own eventually (without coaching, that is), I had a moment of clarity. Most parents probably coach away, without waiting for “nature” to push the favored syllables from their munchkins lips. So, for a few minutes a day over the last few days, I “helped” baby say “Da-da” – a little more clearly, and a little more meaningfully, than she had so far managed on her own. The result has been spectacular, and sad. Baby says “Da-da” or, more often, “Da-da-da-da-da,” quite a bit now. The sad part? When mommy drove into the driveway at the end of the day, I held baby up to the window to see her beloved friend and hero and out of baby’s mouth tumbled the magical sounds “Da-da.” All of which is to say my mission now is to coach the poor thing back into saying “Ma-ma” all hours of the day, and then leave her to nature once more. As best I can.