Archive for January 29th, 2006
And The Little One Said
I’ve become rather accustomed to the idea that if I turn my backs, the girls will still be where I left them when I turn back. But it won’t be that way for long. Evie was the first to start learning to roll over but her sisters are also now hard at work figuring out how to get from back to front. And from there it’s just one short step to crawling.
Like so many of these things, it’s hard to imagine how difficult such a process could be until you watch someone working it out for themselves. First they’ve needed to develop enough strength to jacknife their legs, then the coordination to swing the newfound leverage this gives them to the side. Next they need to make sure the correct leg is on top and, finally, work out how to get the arm on the side they’ve rolled to underneath their body. It’s this last step that has the girls flummoxed. Getting sideways is no problem; all the way over, impossible. Not for long, though, I’m sure. A week or so ago, their friends Maddie and Harriet came over and Maddie (or was it Harriet? – sorry Jane) rolled over for the first time but despite such a clear demonstration none of them have managed to copy her move.
All of which presents one of those parenting paradoxes I’m becoming so familiar with; I want them to stay the way they are forever yet also to help them grow to their full potential. While it’s so much safer and easier if they’re immobile, they obviously can’t stay that way forever, yet the thought of them running in three different directions, towards three different dangers terrifies me.Not that that matters to them. They’ll learn these things whether I’m terrified or not. And I’ll have to learn to deal with it.
How though. Our house may not be nearly babyproofed enough but that’s fixable. The outside world, howver, is awash with dangers for three curious young explorers. I’ve seen parents in the park running around behind just one baby, hovering over them as they throw themselves into exploring their environment, ready to leap to snatch them to safety. But how do you do that with three, short of tying them together with bungee cord?
Hm. Bungee cord? As tempting as that is, I just know it would lead to two girls twanging the other round like a catapult which, as entertaining as it might be, does pose certain dangers of its own.
No. Just like with so many other parenting situations, I’ll just have to acccept that I don’t have the answers right now and make something up as the necessity demands. Still, might invest in some bungee cord. After all, it always pays to have a Plan B.