crib

How is the climbing stage going?

I guess it depends on who you ask.

As far as Maddie’s parents are concerned, the climbing stage isn’t too cool.

Ask Maddie and I’m sure she thinks it going GREAT!

“No crib can hold me,” exclaimed the 18-month-old girl as she prepared to vault into the great abyss.

This is to be expected when you have a toddler that can throw her legs as high as her head and has toes capable of gripping any smooth surface like a gecko lizard.

Maddie vaults on top of tables and chairs with reckless abandon now. This high-risk behavior is on the verge of becoming a serious problem.

Watching my baby, it’s easy to understand the pure folly of human nature.

Like scientists and politicians, Maddie often decides plunges ahead with a course of action rather than pondering the aftermath of what she does. Of course she is only 18-months-old and has time to resolve this risky behavior issue.

This entry was posted in Childproofing, Escape, Family, Parenting and tagged baby, Climbing, crib, escape, family, family time, Great Crib Escape, great escape, napping, naps, naptime, Parenting, toes.

Baby Schools Grandfather on Evasion Tactics

Posted on May 7, 2012 Updated on May 7, 2012

You can fool some babies some of the time – but you can’t fool Maddie. Maddie and I play a good deal of peek-a-boo and sneak up games with each other. This is due to the fact that Maddie was born observant and loves to catch people in the act of doing whatever it is that they do.

Because she is only 9-months-old, its very easy for people underestimate her heightened awareness level. Ninety percent of the time she’s like a hawk all hyped up on Mountain Dew ready for whatever life may throw her way. Last night, Maddie’s grandparents watched the baby for a few hours and got a front row seat to some of those mad skills.

Maddie’s grandfather had just rocked Maddie to sleep and lowered her into the crib. As soon as the baby made contact with the mattress, her eyes popped open. Making a radical split-second decision, her grandfather decided to hit the deck trying to hide from the baby.

So grandpa is hiding on the floor when he notices that Maddie has pulled herself to the edge of the crib and is staring at him with great curiosity. BUSTED! Then as if to drive the point home, Maddie decided to initiate a game of fetch with grandpa. She began firing her pacifier out of the crib so she could watch her grandfather pick it up and return it to her.

We’re not sure how long this exercise lasted, but we strongly suspect that Maddie was having the time of her life. We’re not sure what grandpa did for an encore, but Maddie assured us that it was worth the price of admission.

This entry was posted in Baby, Bedtime, Child Development, Children, Family, Parenting and tagged baby, bedtime, Children, crib, family, grandfather, grandparents, Parenting, parents.

Uncovering Baby’s Nighttime Spinning Secrets

Posted on February 27, 2012 Updated on March 14, 2012

Black hole — A mystery deeper than a back hole

So how is it that a baby who can’t crawl and has her legs secured is ripping around the crib in circles at night? It’s no secret that Maddie’s parents are baffled by this cosmic mystery.

What seemed like a normal Saturday morning this weekend turned upside down when Maddie’s parents arrived at the baby’s crib. That’s because they discovered that Maddie was upside down. Well sort of. Somehow during the night, Maddie had spun around a full 180 degrees.

There she was smiling and gurgling in her crib, despite the fact that it appeared as if someone had crept in during the middle of the night, picked Maddie up and turned her around.

The next night, we could actually hear Maddie on the move. I took a careful look into the crib and saw that she had gently wedged herself across the width of the crib. Her headband was butted up against the side of the crib, which was making a scratching noise. I picked her up and moved back to the bottom the mattress.

However, the next morning, the baby had accomplished her 180-degree spin maneuver for the second night in a row. What makes this even more impressive is the fact that she is doing this inside her sleep sack. So my little human whirlybird is accomplishing these feats of strength without the use of her legs.

So what’s deal? Is she just trying things out? Attempting an escape? Moving your entire torso around the crib while your legs are stuck in a full-body sleeping bag seems like a great deal of work.

These nocturnal exercise routines don’t seem to be impacting her sleep. She’s been in a great mood and besides the obvious confusion that she is causing for her parents, there doesn’t appear to be any ill effects.

We have some concerns about the wedging issue, but we fully expect her to complain if she runs into a problem. She is a very vocal young lady who is always ready to voice concerns at the drop of a hat.

This entry was posted in Bedtime, Child Development, Crawling, Family, Parenting, Sleep Habits, Sleep Sack and tagged baby, crib, family, Maddie, New baby, Parenting, sleep, sleeping habits.