First Steps out of Babyhood
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Friday, February 05, 2010 11:38 PM
This weekend we’re back in our hometown, visiting family, and I can’t help thinking about Thanksgiving 2007.
We’ve come here dozens of times since then, but that visit was special because Camilla started walking. She was thirteen months old at the time, just taking tentative steps when we left home on Wednesday. By the time we returned on Sunday she was moving quite well on her feet.
This time, it’s Blaise, twelve and a half months old, who is just on the cusp of walking. He can take a number of steps unassisted, can push up to a standing position in the middle of the floor without assistance, and can stop after taking a few steps without losing his balance. But he doesn’t yet have the confidence he needs to be a real walker. This weekend, with both parents and grandparents around to devote time to him, I have a feeling he’ll take big strides toward that goal.
I’m excited about it. I love the toddler stage, and I think a baby who’s just learned to move on his own two feet is unbelievably adorable.
However. When Camilla first learned to walk we took a video, and just today I watched it. Part of me couldn’t believe that the baby wobbling across our living room in the video is the same long-limbed child who carefully arranges her feet in each position during ballet class. How did that happen? Pretty soon she’ll be running so fast I won’t be able to keep up.
This is going to happen to my son too. (Except maybe the ballet part.)
Crawling is such a short stage, like all the stages in a baby’s first year. My little guy has not even been doing it for four months. Very soon he’ll be walking, and he won’t go back to crawling. Every day for years and years to come, God willing, he’ll walk. Crawling will be a thing of the past.
And then in no time, he’ll be a kid. His first steps are going to take him right out of babyhood.
So just for this next week or so, just while my little guy still does his fast, coordinated hands-and-knees movement across the floor, I’m going to relish the sight of his diapered bottom and the lingering babyhood it symbolizes. In truth, I’m going to have even more fun with Blaise once he’s walking. Like I said, I love the toddler stage! But I might as well enjoy each one while it lasts.
Print Blog
Email a FriendPost a Comment
By submitting this form, you give Faith And Family Magazine permission to publish this comment. Comments will be published at our discretion, and may be edited for clarity and length. For best formatting, please limit your response to one paragraph and don't hit "enter" to force line breaks.
