Crawling

Seth recently started crawling and now we have to have eyes in the back of our heads!

Like a torpedo he is off, quick as a flash and seemingly getting quicker every day! And nothing is sacred any more! From trying to chew on my slippers to grabbing at the cat’s tails, he is into everything and anything.

Of course, Seth’s new movability raise the obvious safety concerns and we have had to rethink certain things about our living room decor, namely cables and moving the cat fountain into the hallway. Not to mention the addition of baby proofing items and a stair gate. But this is a discussion for another post.

What I wanted to share with you today was how we helped Seth along in his crawling journey.

Tummy time was of course a big old part of it. And though at first Seth seemed to hate being on his front, with the addition of toys and playtime, he too seemed to look forward to our floor time together.

We started off by encouraging him to lift his head, learning to sit and all the usual sets such as a tummy time roller and floor mirror so he could observe himself. We also purchased him a piano floor mat with a mobile that he could play with both by reaching for the dangling rattles and kicking the musical keys, thus building up his strength.

Later on as he managed to push himself up and sit by himself, we started to encourage him to move. We did the usual things – hold favored toys out a foot away so that he would attempt to reach for it, but we never tried to push him to fast or two far. If he started to get stress, he was engulfed in cuddle time and praised for his hard work.

When he started to show that he could get on his hands and knees I tried to coax him to movement by displaying his favorite thing at the time – the boob – and I tell you something, that kid was eager for it. It only took two days from his very first attempt at getting on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth, to lifting his hand and knee for the very first time and mastering the crawl within a single afternoon. They say that children just suddenly learn to move and they aren’t kidding. Seth was off like a shot and within just two weeks he has also learn to walk with a push walker and how to pull himself up and cruise on the furniture!

And I couldn’t be more pleased that he is crawling. For a short time I was starting to worry that he might skip that stage all together and just take to walking like a duck to water, as he had been displaying all the classic signs and just loved to stand up.

However, I got my wish and am now enjoying the adorable sight of my son crawling, chasing after the cats and playing with his toys. Not to mention that joyous feeling of watching him crawl to me when I say his name. That truly is amazing.