Once again I am surprised and shocked that my eight month old daughter has acquired yet another mobile skill. Gone are the days of quiet and relative stillness. My daughter is rapidly learning to move and her newest stunt is climbing.
It started out innocently enough. My daughter would climb into my lap if I was sitting on the floor. Soon she was climbing into the laps of just about anyone who was sitting on the same plane as her. She easily transitioned into climbing onto pillows and cushions that her brother would throw on the floor. She would climb into laundry baskets and boxes as well that her brother generously tipped over for her playing fun. She would climb into her bumbo. Scarier still, should would attempt to climb out of her bumbo with some success. She has attempted to climb up the backs of chairs with no success … yet.
Then she learned how to climb while pulling herself up with her arms. Usually this involved some help from mommy, which led to climbing up mommy. If I lean down to grab her hands, her little feet scamper up my legs and tummy while she holds on as tightly as possible. She also has learned to cling when I try to put her down; using her little legs and feet to squeeze my waist or legs.
Of course my biggest fear and an inevitable mobile reality recently came to pass. My daughter started climbing the stairs. At first she would just climb one or two steps and contently play with what ever random object she managed to drag with her. The stairs climbing quickly evolved to climbing five or six stairs. Then one morning while I was cooking breakfast while my husband slept and the kids played in the living room, all of a sudden I heard my husband call down to me, “did you leave the baby upstairs” …
(To be continued …)