Photo courtesy of Sarah Harris
A couple weeks ago, we took our baby to the pediatrician for her nine month check-up. It was a routine exam: height and weight, peering into the baby’s mouth and nose. Our daughter, who is the type of kid who likes to show off her new tricks, decided it was the perfect moment to debut a new milestone. She grinned and put her hands together — her first-ever round of applause. “You can clap!” the doctor exclaimed. “Good job!” Her dad and I looked at each other, mildly stunned. She’d never done that before.
Our baby now claps multiple times a day, for anything that pleases her: the cat, Christmas music, dinner, her dad and me. She clapped when I danced goofily across the kitchen. She clapped when I changed her diaper this morning at 5:30 a.m. I confess that I love the applause. This first year of parenting can be so grueling. The baby’s claps are pure dopamine.
I know our daughter won’t applaud me forever – that’s not how this goes. So each time she brings her hands together, I savor it. She claps, I clap. We smile, suspended in joy, delighting in each other.
— Sarah Harris is digital editor at the Addison Independent.