Tonight the kids shared a moment in history which may never repeat itself in the months to come.

Nat, at 14 months, is finally drinking his milk from the bottle. Not much, but 10ml is good enough for a mother who has been trying to bottle-feed him since Day 1.

And so, we lined all three of them up for a photo to remember. Because soon enough, somebody’s gotta start drinking milk from the cup, or not even have the night milk feed at all (especially when it’s time to start toilet training for the night).

Soon enough, each of them would go on to reach their age-appropriate developmental milestones as they grow in the days and months ahead.

They might not be holding the bottle like they did today – together, at the same time.

And tonight, for the first time in my life, I allowed my mind to wander yonder to think about the moments in history which would only happen once. Like…

…2015 is the only year all three children would be preschoolers. Nat would be 3 (pre-nursery), Becks 5 (Kindergarten 1) and Ben 6 (Kindergarten 2).

…2019 will be the first of the three years to follow that they would all be primary schoolers.

…2025 will be the year that they will share a moment in history again. That would be the only year all three would be in Secondary school.

As I counted their ages with each progressive year, I began to feel a lump growing in my throat.

By the time I reached 2025, the lump in my throat got way too huge to swallow.

In the short span of time thinking, I also started to have a headache. The numbers 2015, 2019 and 2025 made my head throb. It’s crazy enough to be doing those mental sums and then imagining what life would be like with my children all grown up, and having to deal with that lump that’s still growing in the throat.

So for now, in 2013 – every day this year – they will still be my babies.

Now that helped me gulp the lump away.