You get used to being needed after a while. There is an absolute dependence when your baby needs you to pick her up, feed her, burp her, change her or bathe her.

But slowly, you’re needed less. And you don’t realise it.

Even from months old, your baby won’t need you to help her sit up or to roll over.

We celebrate these achievements but quietly, in the back of our minds, we know they’re learning independence.

It’s scary.

When they’re born you put them down and you know where they’re going to be (unless your spouse picks them up). I love just how far my babies have come along in their development, but I know I’m going to miss these days when they are still so small and vulnerable.

It’s the paradox of parenthood. You are training the people you love the most, to eventually leave you. Wait … I’m really thinking about this too hard, aren’t I? I should just relax and take everything one day at a time. The neighbourhood I live in has multiple nursery schools and playgrounds, so it’s hard not to see children learning to ride bikes or toddlers ambling slowly with their parents outside. You realise after a while that what is scary is the loss of control you have over your child.

So what can I do to help these feelings of anxiety? I think trusting in your own parenting skills should come first. I know that eventually my babies will have conversations with me and that I’ll be trying my best, along with their mom, to give them the best guidance and advice we can. After that, I’ve just got to be detached from the outcomes.

Easier said than done, I know.

And with the world looking increasingly dark with protests, climate change, disease outbreaks, etc, it’s not unreasonable to be a concerned parent. There is a lot happening to be worried about. But that shouldn’t stop us from developing the capacity within our children to trust their natural optimism.

If we help our children to remain positive and upbeat in spite of all the challenges our world faces, how much more can we do as parents to prepare them for the future?

So I guess as my babies take their first steps (which I’m predicting will be at around 9-10 months old) I will be savouring the moment and hopefully capturing it all on video. No time for poignancy, no time for bittersweetness. I’ll just take the sweetness and be thankful I was there to witness such special moments.