Another month has passed, which means Judah is another month older. NINE months. That means he’s been out about as long as he was in, which kind of blows my mind. I can’t believe I was pregnant that long. Let’s never speak of it again. Until next time. But I digress.
As you can tell from this month’s photo, this child is on the go. The photo shoots have gotten more difficult each month, so yesterday after we took a few shots in the chair for posterity, we finally let him stand up. He seemed much happier about it.
He’s mastered crawling and standing, and he’s inching closer to those first independent steps every day. I suspect we’ll see them before he’s 10 months, but there’s no telling. In the past week or so, he seems to have discovered that crawling is faster and more efficient, so he prefers to be on all fours unless there’s something up high that he wants to reach.
Now that he seems to be experiencing and interacting with the world, we’re having a blast introducing him to new things. We took him to the park where he thoroughly enjoyed his first time on the swings.
We also spent a day at the zoo. He didn’t really seem to notice the animals yet, but he liked being outdoors in the stroller and watching all the people pass by.
We’ve also introduced Judah to self feeding, which he enjoys more than me. So far he’s tried Cheerios, bite-sized sweet potato, bananas, egg yolks, and rice. I’m working on accepting the fact that my formerly clean floors will likely have crumbs for the next, oh, 10 years. The dog does his part when it comes to cleaning up when I let him, but Howie has never been good about finishing his veggies.
His first two teeth made things pretty difficult for us for a couple weeks last month, and now he’s working on two more on top. I hate to see him so uncomfortable, and I’ve been pretty crabby about the lost sleep, but I suppose I can forgive him when I see that toothy grin.
For me, this phase has not been easy. I love my baby boy, and he’s brought more joy into my life than I ever imagined possible, but things are not as sunshine-y and rosy these days as they were in his first months. I’m dealing with it as best I can and doing my best not to let it steal my joy or affect my ability to be a good mom, but I’m looking forward to the day when he won’t make a beeline for the most dangerous thing he can find and then bite me when I have the audacity to redirect him.
I don’t blame him for a second. I know he’s doing exactly what he’s supposed to be doing, and I want to give him the room he needs to explore and learn and grow no matter how challenging it can be for me. But you guys, crawling and teething and temper tantruming in public and biting are hard on a mom.
I’ve been saying this since the week he was born. The kid just can’t be happy with where he is. He learned to roll over, and he was mad that he couldn’t crawl. He learned to crawl, and he was mad that he couldn’t walk. He learned to stand, and he was mad that he couldn’t climb. He’s in such a hurry to get to the next stage, and he’s so easily frustrated. And when he can’t get exactly what he wants when he wants it, WATCH OUT.
I suppose I should be happy that he’s so ambitious, but I can’t help but feel a little nervous when I see those wheels turning in his head. Let’s just say he’s already learning how to make things very uncomfortable for those who cross him.
He’s happiest when we let him explore, and we love to see how proud he looks when he discovers something new. He seems to think he’s the first baby ever to sit up or crawl or stand. I see so much of his dad in him when he’s focusing on learning something new and when it finally clicks and he flashes that mile-wide grin. I hope he holds on to that enthusiasm for discovery for the rest of his life.
I know that he won’t need me this way forever, and I’m savoring the moments when he reaches for me or climbs up my leg when he wants me to pick him up or squeals when I enter the room and grins as if to say, “There you are!”
I can understand why people want to keep babies small forever, but as much as I love tiny baby Judah, I’m also looking forward to new phases and new discoveries. This past month has shown us just how much fun we’re going to have teaching him about the world. I discovered early on not to underestimate just how much I have to learn from him. As he learns, so do we, and I can’t wait to find out what else he has to teach us.
Related posts:
Comments on this entry are closed.