Thursday, July 28, 2011

Patience in Parenting...crawling

By: Laura

When you're a new mom, every milestone is vital, I mean every one; including smiles, laughs, rolls, crawling and the creme de la creme, walking.  So, let's just say, I've been monitoring each and every one of these milestones carefully.  I have faithfully recorded each new moment in Ella's baby book, but alas, these last few months have been a bit of a bummer in the momentous occasions category.  Not to say Ella hasn't improved on anything, heck, she can say cracker, quack, and she even barks like a dog, but I have been waiting and waiting for her to crawl.

As a new mother, you also get a lot of advice.  I know I give it too, but sometimes it can be overwhelming and down right stupid.  For instance, when I told other people that Ella wasn't crawling, they'd say, "did you try to put something tempting in front of her?" or "do you put things just out of reach?"  Well, of course I did, but to no avail.  Ella just sat and pondered.  She was completely content to stay in her little corner of the living room and talk to each one of her toys.

I loved that she was content in any situation, but there was the new mom adrenaline pumping through my veins.  CRAWL, JUST CRAWL, little girl.  But, Ella sat and then teased me with her almost crawling moments.  It wasn't until about a month ago that I had an epiphany.  Why was I getting so crazy about this?  Who cares if my friend's friend's kid was crawling at six months, my daughter is who she is and I love her for it.

The funny thing is that once I stopped worrying about it, that's just about the time when it happened (11 months!). Ella started to crawl.  It was an interesting drag your leg crawl, but it was a definitely a crawl.  And this eventually evolved into the real deal as well as standing up and walking beside furniture. This literally all happened in about a week's time.  Babies are amazing!

Now, as I watch every move this little lady makes, I reminded of the old days when she used to sit.  Do I miss them? A little, but this time is so incredible that it's hard to think back.  Ella is discovering new things each day and though the bumps and bruises come along the way; I love it!

So, if you're a new mom thinking, when is my child going to get to where my neighbor's cousin's baby is, just stop and take a moment to realize that your baby is one of a kind and he or she will make a milestone when it is the right time for them.  Until then, look back at the baby book, watch videos or flip through pictures of the night your little one was born and remember that time goes way too fast to worry so much about milestones. Just remember what he or she has done up to this point and you'll want to slow down a bit and take it all in.

Ella getting ready to climb the stairs.

2 comments:

  1. Crawling was not a fun time for us with Moanna. She was mobile but it still frustrated her. She would pull everything off of the tables and destroy everything in her path. She was frustrated because she still couldn't reach or or see everything she wanted. We were frustrated because she was tearing the place apart. When she started walking things got much easier for all parties involved. Moanna no longer felt the need to tear everything apart, and she could move as quickly as she wanted to. We no longer had to chase her down and save our things from her destruction.

    ReplyDelete
  2. She is so cute!!

    Kelli Busssey

    ReplyDelete

Leave us a message! Tell us what you think!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Patience in Parenting...crawling

By: Laura

When you're a new mom, every milestone is vital, I mean every one; including smiles, laughs, rolls, crawling and the creme de la creme, walking.  So, let's just say, I've been monitoring each and every one of these milestones carefully.  I have faithfully recorded each new moment in Ella's baby book, but alas, these last few months have been a bit of a bummer in the momentous occasions category.  Not to say Ella hasn't improved on anything, heck, she can say cracker, quack, and she even barks like a dog, but I have been waiting and waiting for her to crawl.

As a new mother, you also get a lot of advice.  I know I give it too, but sometimes it can be overwhelming and down right stupid.  For instance, when I told other people that Ella wasn't crawling, they'd say, "did you try to put something tempting in front of her?" or "do you put things just out of reach?"  Well, of course I did, but to no avail.  Ella just sat and pondered.  She was completely content to stay in her little corner of the living room and talk to each one of her toys.

I loved that she was content in any situation, but there was the new mom adrenaline pumping through my veins.  CRAWL, JUST CRAWL, little girl.  But, Ella sat and then teased me with her almost crawling moments.  It wasn't until about a month ago that I had an epiphany.  Why was I getting so crazy about this?  Who cares if my friend's friend's kid was crawling at six months, my daughter is who she is and I love her for it.

The funny thing is that once I stopped worrying about it, that's just about the time when it happened (11 months!). Ella started to crawl.  It was an interesting drag your leg crawl, but it was a definitely a crawl.  And this eventually evolved into the real deal as well as standing up and walking beside furniture. This literally all happened in about a week's time.  Babies are amazing!

Now, as I watch every move this little lady makes, I reminded of the old days when she used to sit.  Do I miss them? A little, but this time is so incredible that it's hard to think back.  Ella is discovering new things each day and though the bumps and bruises come along the way; I love it!

So, if you're a new mom thinking, when is my child going to get to where my neighbor's cousin's baby is, just stop and take a moment to realize that your baby is one of a kind and he or she will make a milestone when it is the right time for them.  Until then, look back at the baby book, watch videos or flip through pictures of the night your little one was born and remember that time goes way too fast to worry so much about milestones. Just remember what he or she has done up to this point and you'll want to slow down a bit and take it all in.

Ella getting ready to climb the stairs.

2 comments:

  1. Crawling was not a fun time for us with Moanna. She was mobile but it still frustrated her. She would pull everything off of the tables and destroy everything in her path. She was frustrated because she still couldn't reach or or see everything she wanted. We were frustrated because she was tearing the place apart. When she started walking things got much easier for all parties involved. Moanna no longer felt the need to tear everything apart, and she could move as quickly as she wanted to. We no longer had to chase her down and save our things from her destruction.

    ReplyDelete
  2. She is so cute!!

    Kelli Busssey

    ReplyDelete

Leave us a message! Tell us what you think!