Baby's got wheels
Shortly before noon PST today, life in The Hamilton Zone got a lot more complicated, as Zienna officially entered the Age of Crawling. As in, oops, I'd better not leave my shoes laying around on the floor any more. Or dog toys. Or plastic shopping bags I've brought in from the car. Because those are the things I found her chewing on shortly after she'd discovered her new-found talent. Oops.
Just a few days ago, it looked like Zienna might not crawl for a while yet. At her six-month check on Tuesday (Weight: 20 pounds, 9 ounces--97th percentile; Height: 27 inches--97th+ percentile), she was a mishmash of milestones. Any teeth yet? Nope, but drooling enough to convince Mom and Dad she's teething. Rolling over yet? Nope again, but starting to pull herself to and from a seated position. Crawling yet? Still nope, but pulling herself up into a full standing position and staying there for extended periods (even if it means occasionally banging her forhead as she did in the photo at left). Wait a minute--that's not supposed to happen until the nine-month checkup! Oh, well. Clearly, this girl is progressing on her own schedule, not anyone else's!
Our pediatrician, Dr. Braemer, wasn't concerned that Zienna wasn't rolling over, given the overall picture. Nor was he concerned about Zienna's weight--although, as he's pointed out in the past, she's obviously not starving. Which is probably why, when Kelly asked if we should be giving Zienna solids throughout the day instead of just for dinner, he told us to make the call ourselves. Indeed.
Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten up until now to mention that Zienna started solids, hadn't I? Yep, for almost three weeks now. See, I had video and pictures I was going to post, but when I went to, Blogger...oh, never mind. You don't want to hear it, and I don't want to say it. But suffice to say Z Baby is now using Stage 2 Diaper Genie refills and howling at dinnertime. All over a bit of flavorless rice cereal and near-flavorless pureed vegetables. Yummy.
Anyway, this morning, Zienna was in a particularly good mood, and I had her playing on the floor beside me as I did some things online. As she struggled to grasp a toy and looked to me for help, I decided to try an experiment. Lining up several of her favorite playthings, including the one she'd been reaching for, I placed them roughly four feet from her on the floor and then knelt behind them. At first, Zienna just looked at me, banged on the ground, and whined. Then she got down on her stomach. Then she floundered about a bit before starting to whine again, with no apparent signs of locomotion.
Just as I began to think I was asking for too much too soon, Zienna raised herself back up on all fours--way up--and began pumping those big legs of hers. And then she moved a hand. Then she looked at me, and as I cheered her on, she moved the other hand. And then she moved the first one again. And with a few rests mixed in, she continued, until she had reached the toys. Which I proceeded to move another few feet away. And she proceeded to crawl to again. At which point she deftly swooped into a sitting position, with no struggle involved, to claim her prizes. After such a performance, I had to let her claim her prize. At least for the moment.
Considering I'd not caught many of the other kids' "firsts," which tended to occur either at daycare or when I wasn't looking or around, I got pretty darned excited over this development. And then I made her do it a few more times, until her arms were showing signs of fatigue--which of course meant she couldn't repeat her feat when Mom came home for lunch. Oops again. But there'll be plenty of other opportunities, now that baby's got wheels.
Guess I've got a house to go childproof. Just in time for a Christmas tree--DOH!
Just a few days ago, it looked like Zienna might not crawl for a while yet. At her six-month check on Tuesday (Weight: 20 pounds, 9 ounces--97th percentile; Height: 27 inches--97th+ percentile), she was a mishmash of milestones. Any teeth yet? Nope, but drooling enough to convince Mom and Dad she's teething. Rolling over yet? Nope again, but starting to pull herself to and from a seated position. Crawling yet? Still nope, but pulling herself up into a full standing position and staying there for extended periods (even if it means occasionally banging her forhead as she did in the photo at left). Wait a minute--that's not supposed to happen until the nine-month checkup! Oh, well. Clearly, this girl is progressing on her own schedule, not anyone else's!Our pediatrician, Dr. Braemer, wasn't concerned that Zienna wasn't rolling over, given the overall picture. Nor was he concerned about Zienna's weight--although, as he's pointed out in the past, she's obviously not starving. Which is probably why, when Kelly asked if we should be giving Zienna solids throughout the day instead of just for dinner, he told us to make the call ourselves. Indeed.
Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten up until now to mention that Zienna started solids, hadn't I? Yep, for almost three weeks now. See, I had video and pictures I was going to post, but when I went to, Blogger...oh, never mind. You don't want to hear it, and I don't want to say it. But suffice to say Z Baby is now using Stage 2 Diaper Genie refills and howling at dinnertime. All over a bit of flavorless rice cereal and near-flavorless pureed vegetables. Yummy.
Anyway, this morning, Zienna was in a particularly good mood, and I had her playing on the floor beside me as I did some things online. As she struggled to grasp a toy and looked to me for help, I decided to try an experiment. Lining up several of her favorite playthings, including the one she'd been reaching for, I placed them roughly four feet from her on the floor and then knelt behind them. At first, Zienna just looked at me, banged on the ground, and whined. Then she got down on her stomach. Then she floundered about a bit before starting to whine again, with no apparent signs of locomotion.Just as I began to think I was asking for too much too soon, Zienna raised herself back up on all fours--way up--and began pumping those big legs of hers. And then she moved a hand. Then she looked at me, and as I cheered her on, she moved the other hand. And then she moved the first one again. And with a few rests mixed in, she continued, until she had reached the toys. Which I proceeded to move another few feet away. And she proceeded to crawl to again. At which point she deftly swooped into a sitting position, with no struggle involved, to claim her prizes. After such a performance, I had to let her claim her prize. At least for the moment.
Considering I'd not caught many of the other kids' "firsts," which tended to occur either at daycare or when I wasn't looking or around, I got pretty darned excited over this development. And then I made her do it a few more times, until her arms were showing signs of fatigue--which of course meant she couldn't repeat her feat when Mom came home for lunch. Oops again. But there'll be plenty of other opportunities, now that baby's got wheels.
Guess I've got a house to go childproof. Just in time for a Christmas tree--DOH!
posted by Scott at
12:25:00 PM
1 Comments:
I did the same thing to get one of the boys - Aidan or Cole, I can't remember - to crawl for the first time. We were having ice cream, and I tempted him with the spoon a few feet away. Sure enough, he figured out how to crawl real quick.
And yeah, we opted not to get a tree this year. Grant scoots around with his walker so much, he'd be liable to crash into it. We'll put a small artificial one outside the picture window on the balcony so they can still enjoy it but not destroy it. There's always next year.
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