And it really does seem like a superpower to me. How is it that this little girl can all of the sudden get around of her own accord?
It also brings up a question. What do you do with a crawling baby? Do you let her loose? It just feels so strange to not be entertaining her constantly. Josh and I are used to either being on the floor with or carrying Zoë during all of her waking hours.
If you are a mother, do you ever wish you could see a minute by minute schedule of what other moms (and/or dads) do with their baby/ies? I know that it takes a while for babies to realize they are separate human beings from their mothers, but I think I'm having to make the same realization. Does your baby play and explore alone in safe places? How much time you devote to cleaning the house or cooking and what do your kids do during that time? Do you pick up your kids the second they make an unhappy noise or give them some time?
Also, how far do you go with baby proofing? Are there areas of the house you just train a baby to stay away from (is that even possible)?
Who knew that a superpower could elicit so many questions.
8 comments:
I chuckled all the way through your post. Good luck with the answers.
You'll both figure it out. And you may start loving the freedom of having 2 hands available at any given time. You may not enjoy the destruction quite as much. . .
I'm a fan of letting them figure things out for themselves (safely of course). I think its healthy for both baby and mother to have some time not glued to each other. That's just my opinion.
oh boy...things will get exciting for you soon. :-)
I'm a big fan of children learning to be independent and entertain themselves, simply because it's absolutely impossible to be sane otherwise, especially as they get older. So when they're very small, I try to get them to entertain themselves for short periods of time (gradually increasing as they become more capable of amusing themselves) while I'm doing other things, like cleaning, cooking, etc. With very young children, I keep them in the same room--for instance, when Abigail was first crawling, I had a low drawer in the kitchen full of toys that she could play with while I made dinner. Right now, I have an empty cabinet that Juliet likes to hide in while I cook. I also have toy stashes around the house--a bookcase in the study so the girls will read and play if I need to work on the computer, tons of CDs to dance to if we're in the living room, etc. So I would start out with small segments of time--5 to 10 minutes--where you let Zoe entertain herself with toys, books, etc. AS they get older, it gets easier--for instance, my kids have been playing by themselves for about twenty minutes while I answer emails and return phone calls (but it's also easier when there's two because they entertain each other). This has also paid off to the point where Abigail will happily play in her room for two hours while Juliet and I both nap in the afternoons.
As far as child-proofing goes, we put all the really dangerous stuff out of reach--chemicals, knives, etc--but pretty much left everything else alone. I have done a bit of redecorating so that breakable things are displayed on high shelves rather than low tables, but we decided we'd rather teach the kids not to pull all the books out of the bookcases (and deal with it for the three months that they were learning not to do it) than completely remove all the books until they were four. So that's our child-proofing strategy. The only "device" we bought was a child lock on our door when Abigail started running out to the street (and we only kept it on for about six months until she grew out of that phase).
I don't go to my kids as soon as they start crying--I usually just judge by the cry whether it's an "I'm stuck and can't move myself!" or a "I bit my finger and I'll come running in for you to kiss it better." A lot of cries or yells fade away pretty fast when you don't answer every single one.
All in all, I think a lot of it is just training them, whether it's to play by themselves or to leave the pictures on the end table alone. Yes, there's definitely a learning curve, but it's totally worth it not to have a crying child attached to your hip 24/7 or to live in a house devoid of anything other than foam pillows. However, they're definitely more trainable as they get older, so probably no miracles right now, but I think it's important to start the pattern while they're still young.
How's that for the longest comment ever? :-)
so I just reread my comment and I sound like a very uninvolved parent. Hmm...maybe I should also say that I do make it a point to have time every day devoted to nothing but floor play/stories/etc. I just think it's easier to get them playing by themselves while I work on my to-do list and have other times where I focus my full attention on them than to try to do both simultaneously all day long.
I agree with everything Rachael said! She saved me from having to write my own longest comment ever, because I would've basically said everything that she did. :)
Wow, where to start. I let Mabel play alone in her playroom for as long as she will. I figure it's good to let her entertain herself and I like to think that it helps with creativity. She can play for long periods of time with her toys. I usually pick her up when I catch her exploring other parts of the house that aren't exactly baby-proofed yet. I still haven't figured out how to baby-proof the entertainment center and media/bookshelves.
Asher is at a fun stage right now because he'll play on the floor by himself for a little while, but he can't crawl yet. It's been nice to have a bit more time with two hands free. We haven't baby-proofed anything yet, but I know that's coming soon.
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