Parenting life lesson #37

Mr. Asher is almost 10 months old and still not crawling. Not even close, from what I see. I think I get asked this question probably once every couple of days, by someone or another. And I guess that's just the mom syndrome, we all compare whose baby is doing what, mostly in hopes of affirming that our baby is doing okay or to help us prepare for that next big milestone.

If I'm being honest here, I'm actually struggling with the fact that he isn't crawling yet. The average age most babies begin to crawl: 8 months old. Asher isn't even interested in getting up on all fours, and he is not able to get from laying down to sitting position by himself yet. I think the "Early Interventionist" in me, the lady who worked with at-risk and developmentally delayed young children, is trained to be a bit more sensitive to noticing possible red flags than most people would be. And so, I began my work at trying to help Asher along.

The past few weeks I've been researching and reading whatever I can get my hands on that has to do with helping babies learn to crawl. We're trying different programs and different exercises. We've always done a ton of tummy and floor time, but we're doing even more now. I've even gotten into some Occupational and Physical Therapy info and am trying some of those tricks. I've encouraged Asher with a toy just out of his reach (100 times a day), I've modeled for him (which usually makes him just laugh), we've used tubes and blankets and my hands to help him learn how to use his muscles to stay on all fours. Asher is just not interested. At all.

And then one day last week, in the midst of one of our little learn-to-crawl sessions, Asher just got so frustrated with what we were doing. He always fusses a little when I'm trying to get him to do something he doesn't want to, and to a certain extent I think he just has to learn that this will happen in life. But it was getting to be more than just a little frustration. I could tell he was really upset and fed up with me pushing him as much as I have been. And I thought to myself, "What are you trying to prove, Mandi? So what if you're an "Early Interventionist" and your almost 10-month old isn't crawling?" I also know that Asher's emotional well-being is just as important as how he's doing physically, and I need to respect and nurture that equally as much. And I wasn't doing that.

So I'm backing off a bit, and letting Asher learn at his own pace. Of course I'm providing lots of opportunity for crawling to happen, but I'm not challenging him to the point of him losing interest. And I'm also reminding myself that just because he isn't crawling, doesn't mean there's a problem. Aside from some of the gross motor skills, he is doing all the rest of the developmental milestone's we'd look for in a baby his age, and even a couple more advanced skills (most of these have to do with problem-solving abilities or fine motor skills). And he does continue to grow with his gross motor skills, just maybe not as fast as I'd like to see happen. I guess in the end I'm reminded that my baby will grow into and be who he was meant to be in his own time. It's my job as his mama to be there to support and encourage him in a way that's helpful.

I'm sure in a few months from now when he is finally crawling, I'll look back at these days and say "What was I in such a hurry for?"

the most productive nap time ever

Today during Asher's nap, I spent about 2 hours and cleaned my fridge. I've been wanting (and needing) to do this for a little while now (and by little while I really mean, "OH MY GOSH how could I have let this go for so long?!?!")

I feel so proud to open my fridge and see nice shiny shelves and not one little crumb or dried up something-or-other floating around anywhere. Check it out!

The life of a stay-at-home-mom is really exciting huh? I bet you're really glad you stopped by! :P

... more exciting posts to come soon, I promise

story time

Greg and I have always made it a point to read books to Asher because we believe it's important. We even read to Asher when he was still in my belly! As a baby, he hasn't always been really interested in books, and so the past few months, we maybe haven't given it as much priority as we would have liked. The past couple weeks though, Asher is totally into books! He loves looking at them, touching and turning the pages, and of course, tasting a few too! Here are a couple of pictures from our reading time last night before bed.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day

No, just joking. Here, this one's better.

And speaking of Valentine's Day, look what Greg got me:

I'm VERY excited about this! I already have my first "me thing" lined up for Greg to do; watch American Idol with me. I love that show and for some reason always want him to watch it with me, even though he hates it. So we've made a little amendment to the contract, and that is he can't complain, not even once, about what I pick.

So, I'm interested in knowing, if you got a similar contract from your spouse, what would you pick to do?

and the addiction starts early

Somebody got to play with his Papa's blackberry yesterday!

Is it just me, or are the both of them a little too excited about this?

here's to much more of this...

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love. ~Mildred B. Vermont

The days are long, but the years are short. ~Unknown

So here's the big announcement, for those of you who don't already know. It's official. Asher is now permanently my full-time job. I resigned from my position a couple of weeks ago and our family made the decision that I will be staying home to care for Asher. I'm super duper excited about this, but I must admit, there is a bit of sadness as well.

I grew a lot in my job. I gave a lot and it was my career for over 5 years. I loved what I did and took pride in my work. It is bittersweet that that phase of my life is done, for now. But the second I look at Asher, I know this is the right decision.

In my heart I always thought having a parent raise a child at home was the best thing. I realize that this decision is not for everyone, but I've always longed to do it. I'm so grateful to have the opportunity and I hope to make the best of our time together. It will certainly be an adjustment for our family financially, but at the end of my life, I don't think it will matter how many times a month we ate out, or what brand of clothes Asher wore. That's not the Important Stuff Of Life. I think it will matter though that I was there to enjoy all the big and little moments with Asher. That I was there to be able to help him develop into the person God created him to be.

So here's to many more playing-in-the-snow days, and many more blog posts (how exciting for you!)

Still more Kai's

I just received an email with the top 100 Canadian baby names for 2008. Despite the fact that I've been hearing of more and more Asher's, his name still doesn't make the list. THANK GOD. As long as there is still more Kai's than Asher's, I'm happy.

Check it out...

http://www.babycenter.ca/pregnancy/naming/top1002008/

another first...

We have something to show you...

Oh, just a sec. Let's try that again...

It's so hard to get a picture these days!

Ahh, there we go. Asher has his first ever runny nose and cold. Poor guy. I'm thankful that he hasn't been sick at all up to date, but I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. The good news is, he is just a tad bit more cranky, but nothing really major. The bad news... I think I'm getting it too!