Well, Doodle is officially on the move. He is now fully capable of getting from here to there. And though he’s still working out the finer details of getting around and moves at a snail’s pace, he nonetheless is moving himself where he wants to go and I couldn’t be more delighted!
I’ve spent (what feels like) months waiting for him to “finally get it!” In that time many people have told me “you don’t want to encourage him to crawl, then he’ll be into everything!” Which makes me laugh that people think I don’t know what I’m in for (baby number 3, remember?!?!) but it also irritates me that people think we should stifle a child’s abilities and desires for parental ease. I am more than aware of what a crawling baby means and how it will change my life. I know I will have to keep a closer eye on him and find ways to keep him contained where I want him to be and that we’ll have to keep things tidier but I don’t care.
I’m the type of mommy that wants to promote my children’s development, not slow it down for my own sake. When Honeybun was 9 months and on the cusp of walking, many (well-intentioned) people told me “knock her legs out from under her” and “no one wants a baby who’s already walking at 9 months!” But I did. I wanted her to do what she was going to do whenever she was ready. I encouraged her to walk because it was a skill she was interested in and working hard at and I wanted to be a supporter and a part of her cheering crowd when she finally achieved it. And the first time she took steps unassisted, you better believe I scooped her up in my arms, screamed yay and gave her but biggest cuddle you could ever imagine.
This doesn’t mean though that I’m a pushy mommy. I never taught my “baby to read” nor did I start my kids in soccer and piano as soon as they could walk. I don’t sit around doing flash cards or run around taking them to every activity available to babies. I take my cues from them, I assist and support them in what their interests are and it’s no problem if their interests change (I do however, expect them to continue with any activities I have already paid for until the portion we paid for is done).
I’ve always taken cues from my children and taken action to help them achieve whatever skill they were working on whenever it happened. I want my children to know that I support their interest and will help them achieve their goals. When Honeybun showed an interest in letters, I made and hung an alphabet in our kitchen (see “Letter Learning”). When Sugarplum wouldn’t stop doing flips on the couch and climbing the walls (literally), I signed her up for gymnastics. When Doodle showed an interest in sitting and standing at only 6 weeks old, I started putting him in the Bumbo chair, propped up with pillows and a few weeks later in the exersaucer.
So, I’m excited that Doodle is finally moving around (especially after months of worry over why he wasn’t rolling what I might have done to “mess him up”). I’m glad he is doing something new and continuing to develop as he should be and mostly I’m looking forward to a reduction in frustration and fussing. The past few weeks have been unbearable at times as Doodle has tried and tried to crawl and become overly frustrated. He has spent countless hours flailing on the floor screaming in frustration and I know as he masters this new skill, he will find joy in getting around and exploring his little world!
(Despite all of our predictions, Doodle is our latest crawler. He is a week shy of 8 months. Honeybun was 7 1/2 months and Sugarplum was just under 7!)
