Baby On the Go

My little girl started crawling this week! For the past month she has gotten herself up into the crawling position, rocking herself back and forth, pushing up onto her tippy-toes, and moving herself backwards. She would get stuck in corners and under furniture. But, as funny as this stage was, I just wanted her to crawl! We were visiting friends this weekend and promised them that she was going to crawl. This weekend was going into the baby book! Then one evening, we were all hanging out in the living room and baby was on the floor. She was full of energy so I put her slipper just in front of her and sure enough out reached her hand, fingers spread and ready to grab. I brought the slipper back a little farther and forward slid her knees, one by one. Her other hand reached out and onto the floor. It was cheers all around as my baby had just made her first crawling step! I continued holding the slipper just out of her reach as she slowly and cautiously she began to crawl across the floor. Out came the digital cameras to snap pictures and take videos. The look on her face told me that she was enjoying the challenge of this new skill. That was less than a week ago and we've been practising every day since. Today, I laid out a trail of toys for her to follow; of course she came to the first one and was so infatuated with it that she never carried on to the rest. And, although her crawl is at a turtle pace, I am so excited and proud of her. I tell her every day! I know some fear the day their baby becomes mobile. They are worried about the added workload of a baby on the go. I view it a different way. Crawling adds a whole new dimension to a baby's world and you can see it when you watch them play. As an Early Childhood Educator, I've always loved watching children explore. I look forward to seeing what adventures my baby will encounter while exploring her world in a whole new way.