Category Archives: Crawling
Electrical Cords – Let ‘Em Rip
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You can childproof all you like, but when it comes to Maddie, “Resistance is Futile!” Sure the stairs are blocked off and the electrical outlets are plugged up, but Maddie comes with a few extra amenities in her magical bag of tricks.
If you follow any of Maddie’s exploits, you know that she is definitely wired for sound. And now that she is racing around the house, the games are absolutely underway.
The baby’s newest trick is what’s known as, “Grip it and Rip it!” Maddie is now constantly on the hunt for electrical cords. Once she sees one, all bets are off – “Go marine, GO!!” Her little knees spring into action and merge into a blur as she closes in on that cord du jour.
You race to intercept Maddie, but she strikes swiftly and without mercy. The cord is hers now and she is more than happy to show you her fresh kill. That’s actually the funniest part of any Maddie misadventure; she loves to display whatever forbidden item she has taken captive.
I have become a hunter!
In just the past week, Maddie has stalked cords belonging to phones, computers and fans. But this weekend, Maddie’s mischievous nature soared to new heights. We were watching the baby on the monitor when everything suddenly went blank? Good lord, what happened?
We burst into the room only to discover that little Miss Mission Impossible had somehow reached behind the crib and torn out the cord to the camera. She was sitting in her crib with an ear-to-ear smile triumphantly waving the plug at me. My little minx is obviously destined for the world of espionage because she CUT HER FIRST VIDEO FEED before she was even 10-months-old.
I can only imagine the places she will take me once she’s a year old.
Baby Unleashes Carnage in the Kitchen
My work is done here!
If it doesn’t involve stairs, Maddie is now more than happy to prove that she can basically access any part of the house that we can. Her ability to motor from point A to point B increases with great efficiency just about every day.
Her new trick is to actually follow me into the kitchen to see what I’m up to and what she might be able accomplish in there. The childproofing has gone pretty well so far, but Maddie is intent on covering every inch of the house, grid-by-grid.
Before launching her latest assault on the kitchen, Maddie confronted a very large package of toilet tissue. With 18 rolls to work on, her hands were full. She thrashed the bag with criminal intent but was unable to punch through the plastic. After about five minutes, it became apparent that the plastic would not yield the paper treasures that were so close, yet so far away.
Now it was time for Maddie to begin her assault on her father who was rummaging around the kitchen. Maddie is by no means stealthy; you can hear those hands slapping the floors several moments before she makes her grand entrance. Yet once she rounds the corner, she is on you.
Her first order of business was to pull the kitchen trashcan down on top of her. With that task out of the way, her next assignment was to gain access to the dishwasher. Much to her disappointment, Maddie was turned away before she could unlock the mysteries hidden deep behind the dishwasher walls.
The baby then proceeded to yank on various cabinet doors to she if could yank them open. Each one held firm, but Maddie vowed that these doors would not be safe for long and she would be back. It was then that we whisked her to her high chair where she could enjoy some nice lasagna.
Maddie enjoyed the taste, but was locked into a moral dilemma. Should she enjoy her meal, spread it all over her face or redecorate the kitchen with it? The answer hit her like a ton of bricks, why not do all three?
Maddie started firing food off the tray and onto the floor. When her Mom tried to clean it up, she got popped as well. The little terrorista was on a roll and didn’t let up until her masterpiece was complete.
Winds of Change Taxing the Baby
I’m going to need a moment before you speak to me.
With so many developmental changes assaulting the Mad Madster, it’s no wonder she’s feeling just a bit overwhelmed right now. Today she launched a full frontal assault aimed at none other than her dear old dad.
We seemed to be having a grand old time this morning. Maddie was tearing up a magazine with great vigor and right or wrong, I was letting her pursue this course of action. However, when she tore out a page and tried to stuff it in her mouth, I had to intervene.
I grabbed the offending page as it was going into Maddie’s mouth. At the time, this seemed to be a reasonable course of action, but Maddie did not see it that way. Taking that piece of paper away from her was apparently a capital offense.
She screamed, she fussed, she pouted – and that was just the beginning. For the better part of an hour, Maddie let her dad have it and then some. She was about as angry as I have ever seen her.
It didn’t take long for me to understand that this wasn’t about the non-edible paper, but something much more complicated. I think Maddie’s rapid development is temporarily getting the best of her.
The baby is trying desperately to communicate with us. She’s working on her standing, crawling and eating skills and is meeting new people everyday. All of this stimulation has to confusing, exhausting and probably downright frightening. Maddie is also craving the one thing I obviously can’t provide for her, more female interaction.
So I have to take my lumps with a smile for now and hope she feels a little better tomorrow. There’s a great deal on her plate and she needs all the support we can offer. It’s not fun to see her struggle like this, but I know she’s a “toughie” and will bounce back happier than ever.
Maddie Stands and Delivers
I’m not sure what the big deal is
It’s all literally happened in the past ten days. We had a 9-month-old with no ambition to really crawl or stand up. In the blink of an eye, it has all changed. Maddie crawls around the house at break-neck speed and stood up for close to five minutes without any assistance this afternoon.
Maddie boycotted crawling for some time. She was transporting herself with scoots and rolls, but the crawling thing just wasn’t clicking. FEAR NOT! The girl is on a roll now and trying to slow down a force of nature is an exercise in futility.
There is no more relaxed sitting for dad unless she in held captive in her pack and play. Her attention span is equal to that of mongoose that just put away a 12-pack of Mountain Dew. So anything that falls into her field of vision pops this powerful machine into fifth gear with a touch of afterburners.
The same thing happened with Maddie and her ability to stand. We propped her up a few times and now it’s her life goal to set some kind of baby-standing endurance record. I set Maddie up on one of her toys this afternoon and she just stood there for about five minutes.
Where did all of this strength and mobility come from? This girl is a wrecking machine from the word go. I am so impressed (I know, I hide it well) but her rapid advancement is something to watch. During the time I tried to write this story, I placed her across the room at least six times – she crawled right back over to me every time.
The only problem is that it’s all happening in the blink of an eye. If anyone has any suggestions on how to slow down this amazing time with Maddie, please speak up now!
Rolling Baby Racking up the Miles
My skills continue to impress
Why Crawl When You Can Scoot?
I choose an alternative mode of transport!
Baby Circumvents Living Room in Reverse
My momentum seems to be carrying me backwards
As Maddie closes in on her 8-month birthday, she is finally on the move. The only problem is that she is only capable of moving away from her intended destination.
Her crawl mechanism is set in reverse. Today she motored more than ten feet, but all of it was backwards. Maddie’s arms are like tiny tree trunks and those muscle-packed pythons constantly overpower her lower body.
Just to prove a point, Maddie snapped off 50 military style pushups while I was making her bottle this morning. That may be a slight exaggeration, but she continuously props herself up very high like an irate chameleon.
It’s one thing to try and anticipate what kind of trouble your baby is headed for when they know where they are going. However, when Maddie is moving backwards or at angle, you never know where she might end up. This afternoon, she ended up under a table literally in the blink of an eye.
Maddie just started lifting her bottom off the floor this week. This new development has really enhanced her mobility. The fascinating aspect of this phenomenon is that she doesn’t appear to be moving at all. The flexing arms and kicking legs distract your eyes from the motion that must be taking place.
It’s really just a matter of time now. Once Maddie conquers the forward motion aspect of crawling, she will be racing around the house like a greyhound.
Wanting to Crawl is Half the Battle
I've been really preoccupied
I often write about the fact that Maddie can’t crawl yet because until today, she has never really showed the slightest interest in that type of activity. Her tummy time is usually spent in the push up position until she complains loudly enough to be picked up.
Today however, there was a distinct change in Maddie’s motivational makeup. I had just placed her on her tummy with her pacifier sitting right in front of her about six inches away. I was just about to retrieve it for her – but for some reason, I decided to just watch for a few moments.
Instead of crying out about the injustice of it all, she actually made a play for the pacifier. This definitely caught my eye because in the past, if it was out of reach, it just wasn’t an option that Maddie cared to worry about.
This time, she wanted that darn thing and was primed to put in the effort to go get it. She started out with some sort of breaststroke variation that only succeeded in turning her around. I pointed her at the pacifier again and those legs started pumping like pistons.
Let me cut the suspense right here – NO, she didn’t crawl to the pacifier and NO, she didn’t get close. But this subtle shift in attitude is monumental.
There was no way Maddie was ever going to learn to crawl unless she found a way to motivate herself. Just the fact that she wanted to transport herself forward is a sharp shift in her standard operating procedure.
Later that afternoon, I set up the same scenario in another room. I put Maddie on her tummy with the pacifier just out of reach. Once she spotted the pacifier, those legs started pumping and her arms began flailing. Again, she never got close to the prize, but I strongly believe that the desire to crawl is ultimately what will make it happen.
