Layla Kayleigh’s Blog: A Month of Milestones
America’s Best Dance Crew co-host Layla Kayleigh is letting readers follow along as she tackles first-time motherhood — daughter Melody Rain is now 9 months old. Read her latest blog — and see some exclusive photos — in the extended post!
 Melody in her new walker – Courtesy Layla Kayleigh |
It’s amazing how excited I get over seeing my Melody experience the world for the first time. That feeling is like nothing I can describe or have ever experienced … until now. What’s even more crazy is that I didn’t realize how much babies pick up and absorb overnight, then suddenly they do something new out of the blue!
Steven and I had started singing, “If You’re Happy and You Know It” to Melody a few weeks ago. She’d flap her arms all over the place and laugh — I could tell she really liked the song, so we began singing it to her frequently.
A few days ago I was in the kitchen making dinner and she was hanging with her daddy when I started singing the song to her again. Lo and behold, she began clapping her hands on her own with no suggestion from us! I couldn’t believe it! How did she know? She’d been watching us this whole time and had figured it out on her own.
I was ecstatic! I jumped around like a madwoman, saying, “Melody let me see you clap your hands again!” I couldn’t believe that the whole time she had been taking it all in, figuring it out until she learned how to clap her hands.
 Clapping on the bed – Courtesy Layla Kayleigh |
Then it hit me and the thought made me a little sad: No matter how much I want to be a perfect mom, I’m bound to make mistakes. The things I do and say today and in the future will shape the person Melody becomes when she’s older. While I was singing that song to her — not thinking anything of it — she was watching and absorbing, only to emulate me a few weeks later. She’s a sponge taking it all in, and I became super aware of this after she clapped her hands for the first time.
It got me thinking about my relationship with my own mother. Growing up, she was the type of mom that believed in tough love. For example, I remember when I’d get in a fight at school she’d immediately say, “What did you do to deserve it?” When I’d get straight As and that one C she’d say, “What’s wrong with you, how could you mess up your perfect grades with a C?”
I know she meant well, but those words always stayed with me. Although it always pushed me to be better, I never felt good enough for her. She may not remember the things she said to me, but I always have.
 Crawling in the grass – Courtesy Layla Kayleigh |
Getting back to Melody, something really clicked in my head when I saw her clap. I’m going to make mistakes, but as long as I am aware of them — and catch myself when I’m tempted to tell her off or scold her when she’s older — then hopefully it won’t be so bad.
I want to make it a point to choose my words wisely, because clearly everything we do and say as mothers stays in their brains even when they’re not so little anymore. What we say today shapes their tomorrow. So I’ve made a vow to myself as a mom: I’ll hold back before I say something that may emotionally scar Melody. Even if Steven and I are having a heated lover’s quarrel, we’ll make sure we do it away from her.
In theory I already knew all of this, but to see it — to see her act out something I had done like clapping my hands — really put things in perspective for me. I know I will most definitely screw up many times in the years to come, but I hope that being much more aware of the things I do and say will lessen the magnitude of my mistakes!
On a lighter note, Melody has had a lot of firsts this month! She learned how to clap her hands, how to walk in her brand-new walker, crawled in grass for the first time and she finally got her first tooth!
What firsts do you get most excited about?
 Melody’s first tooth! – Courtesy Layla Kayleigh |
Much Love,
– Layla Kayleigh
