Remembering Bouncy

Ephram loved his bouncy seat when he was a baby.
Which was good because he spent a lot of time in it every day.
Like Macie, Ephram had pretty bad reflux.
Unlike with Macie, I did not trust my mommy instincts and insist on medication.
So every time he fed for the first four or five months of his life,
I'd love him and hold him and burp him.
And kiss him.
And then I'd put him down -
In his bouncy seat.
For 20 minutes.
It was the only way that I found to prevent the projectile spit up from erupting.
And it was a bonus to watch him kick and giggle at the sight of his little woodland friends.
The kicking would start him bouncing.
And then he'd get really excited.
He was such a cute baby.
Bouncy also provided a convenient napping location in his first months.

We put Bouncy away when Ephram was done with him.
And when Macie came home, we bought a new bouncer.
She was so very tiny and I wanted one that reclined her a little more.
And Bouncy stayed right where I had prepped him for the new baby
Before the new baby decided to change things up.

When I went through my first post-Macie purge,
Bouncy was staring right at me.
My next door neighbors had just had a baby girl,
And I thought that it was time for Bouncy to get some new love.

So I pulled him out.
I washed his cover.
And came around the corner to find this.

Still in love three years later.

I swear he remembered it on sight.
Well, that might not actually be possible.
But he did seem to know that it was his and he felt a definite affinity for his woodland friends.

So I shared my plan with my son.
I told him that a little baby next door could use Bouncy for a friend.
And that she'd talk to his woodland friends, just like he did.

He was very excited,
(Which was a bit of a relief, because this attachment was a surprise to me.)

He carefully said goodbye to each of his friends.

And walked with me next door,
Proudly delivering his friends to a new little baby.
And came home still smiling.

And I'm pretty sure that little Lula loves Bouncy as much as my Ephram did.
He's a good friend,
And takes excellent care of special, sweet babies.