Speaking of Late Bloomers...

... Someone just took his first knee-steps. Yup, that's right. The anti-crawler has joined the party and he's getting there like this:



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Or, if you prefer:



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I think I just learned a very important lesson in parenting. If you stop keeping track of what should be happening at what age and who should be doing what according to charts and graphs and "experts" and averages, then parenting is so much more enjoyable and I have a feeling childhood is too.

I think a lot of what turns me off to the Moms I meet is the whole, "my child must be a genius because she can read at 6 months," or "my child must be slow because he STILL hasn't rolled over and according to the book..." I can't say I have not done the same thing. It's near impossible not to worry or take notice of the fact your child is in the 3rd percentile for this and 96th for that.



The minute I stopped with the tummy time and the "come on follow me, dude!" crawl around the house was the minute Archer decided to crawl. On his own. When he felt like it. And now he can't stop.

And of course it would be so! Do I remember nothing from my youth? When a parent says yes, the child says no. Always. Pushing leads to pulling back, so this is me telling you, Archer to do what you need to when you need to do it. This is your life after all.

GGC

20 comments:

Mel | 3:51 PM

My mantra when the girls were small (ah, those were the days) and now whenever someone agonizes over some stage of development with their babies is just this: "No two children are alike."
Not said out loud, but definitely in my own head, is this: "So f*ck those jerks that made up the percentile charts."
It's awesome that you figured it out years in advance of when I did. That would put you in, like, the 90th percentile!
(kidding.)

Karen | 4:02 PM

All in our own time. Now if only I could remember that, every day.

Anonymous | 5:10 PM

Aint that the truth.

Anonymous | 6:48 PM

The fun really starts now! No longer will he be there where you last left him. And they get fast...fast!

You are way ahead of the game if you have learned to tune out the static of incessant parenting "advice". Listen to your heart and trust your child. I have to remind myself every day that it is their journey. They are as much my teacher as as I am there's.

Anonymous | 7:00 PM

Oh! Watch out girlfriends! Archer's on the loose! How exciting!

*Tanyetta* | 1:14 AM

Bravo! I couldn't have said it better than that.

I would cringe would someone would say: He doesn't have teeth yet? Isn't he ONE? He's not walking yet? Isn't he ONE? Well, My kid had teeth, walked, discovered the moon at age 4 months old...Blah Blah Blah....

My response: Really? That's great but, can Junior do a serious spit bubble like this on command? yeah, I didn't think so! Hee Hee....

Hope that made your day!

You're doing a great job mom. Enjoy Archer he's a sweetie pie!

It's all good!!!!--I looove the videos. My living room looks just like that times 5 million! Urrgh! is right :)

Anonymous | 7:20 AM

If you stop keeping track of what should be happening at what age and who should be doing what according to charts and graphs and "experts" and averages, then parenting is so much more enjoyable

Amen. Kudos to you for learning that lesson on child #1. And congrats to Archer on his increased mobility!

Her Bad Mother | 7:23 AM

WonderBaby has decided to skip the crawling and work on standing, which I find alarming (and exhausting, as she still requires some assistance). But I'm going to take your words to heart.

It's her life.

MrsFortune | 11:51 AM

Yah, but he's in the 99th percentile for cuteness!!!! Okay, how cheesy am I, I know, but I'm feelin ya on that whole "supposed to do this at this age" and so on and so forth. And my kid's not even 6 weeks.

Angel Baby | 12:51 PM

"do what you need to when you need to do it. This is your life after all."

- Such a nice sentiment from a mom to her son... and yet it seems like such a GGC thing to say. It was a great reminder for me this week. Annabelle seems to plateau for long periods and then explodes developmentally and then slows down again. It's not easy pacing myself with her, but you are right: it's her life. My job is to protect, support, love, cheer...

Chris | 8:01 PM

Yeah. Forget about the "your child should be doing x by the time he's y months old." I learned that bit of information as well. Unfortunately, it took me until my SECOND child was a year old to come to that conclusion.

And Dude? A bone?

jaxmom | 9:06 PM

Hey lady! I just want to give shout out after months of reading (new mom, moving, working, blah, blah, blah). My 9 month old is leaps ahead and way behind all a the same time. Lucky for me, I actually packed up the books about 3 months ago for the move and now just found them again. Whoops. Also, wanted to let you know I'm a SD native (still living here) and loved your post about your hometown. So true.

Unknown | 10:27 PM

After a certain point, I just got sick of worrying about whether or not Leah was behind- and I just said "Hey, she's doing everything whenever she's ready" to myself. The doctor agreed, and I haven't looked back since.

Mom101 | 8:18 AM

Yay for Archer! and smart move, tossing all those charts. I stopped reading my babycenter weekly emails long ago.

Blog Antagonist | 6:29 PM

First, he is absolutely adorable. Second, anyone can tell by that gleam in his eye that he's got it going on upstairs. Third, good for you!! Those charts are evil.

Lena | 6:57 PM

See what this teaches us? THE WATCHED CHILD NEVER BOILS. Or, er, whatever.

Congrats! He's a doll.

Christina | 6:19 AM

True that. Congrats to Archer for crawling! I bet walking is only a short time away.

Anonymous | 9:12 AM

I love the Silent Archer Films. Keep 'em comin'!

Sharon L. Holland | 11:51 AM

I agree completely. And your videos are adorable. And where do you find the time to paint your toenails?

Stacy | 12:22 PM

Way to go Archer - take your time buddy! Oh and I love the toe wiggle!