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When Charlotte first began pulling herself up to a standing position, I could barely contain my excitement. What I did not realize then was that learning to stand was not the milestone I should have been thrilled about; learning to SIT DOWN was.
It took my daughter nearly two months to master the art of sitting down from a standing position. TWO MONTHS. Those two months alone – filled with all manners of ker-plops and splats and bonks on the noggin – probably shaved ten years off my life.
Alright, maybe not TEN years. Maybe more like nine and a half.
At any rate, my point is that if you see me running down the street naked, pulling out my hair, and twitching uncontrollably, it is not my fault. Blame Charlotte. If she could have just sat down without banging her [insert vital body part here] on [insert exceedingly sharp and pointy object of doom and danger here], I may have maintained my sanity for another few weeks.
The thing about this whole learning-to-sit business is that unlike most milestones of babyhood, it happens quite slowly. And when I say “slowly,” I do mean SLOWLY. Agonizingly slowly. You could entice a sloth to trek around the globe in less time than it took my baby to learn to sit.
In our household, learning to sit began as soon as Charlotte realized she could pull herself up on the windowsill. Within a minute or two, her legs would begin to wobble and she would look at me completely panicked. Then she shrieked until I helped her ease into a sitting position.
I’ll tell you what: my kid has a good pair of lungs on her.
Next, as soon as her legs began to wobble, she tried to sit down on her own. She would look at me AND JUST LET GO of whatever she was using to steady herself. So suddenly I found myself hovering around Charlotte, hands going in seven directions at once, ever aware that as soon as I blinked she would topple.
Not exactly ker-plopping, but isn’t the tip-toeing ludicrously adorable?!
Isn’t that the rule of parenthood? Things that require your attention only really happen when you shut your eyes for a millisecond.
But then she figured it out. These days, Charlotte lowers herself from a standing position into a sitting position like a pro. She’s like the Tiger Woods of sitting down. Just, you know, without the hookers.
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Yay! Good job, Charlotte!!
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i LOVE the tip toes photo! what a great angle!
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Thank goodness without the hookers! ha! And, we have hard wood floors throughout the entire house, so ker-plunking is scary here as well.
And, my newest gray-hair creator?? The fact that Finnley has become a total pro at going UP the stairs. And, because of that, now she is imagining ways of getting down them. All the wrong ways. Mostly head first. HEEEELLLLPPPP!
How soon until she is stable and I don’t have to hover??? Right…not until, oh, FOREVER!
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Megan - I cannot tell you how glad I am that we don’t have stairs. I saw a photo of a friend’s baby backing down stairs at Charlotte’s age and it just about killed me.
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We’re not parents for baby-proofing. If Isla gets into something she’s not allowed to get into, we tell her “No.“ She listens, for the most part.
Having said that, I made Luke baby-proof the oven. She loves to stand, holding onto the oven handle and all I can see is that over door falling down on top of her and breaking her head.
Oh, we have stairs too… and Isla learned to to scale a step before she learned how to pull herself up. Heart attack.
And tippy-toes are the sweetest!!! Isla tippy-toes when she’s looking out the window, that’s a little bit too tall for her, to loving stare and coo at her daddy.
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My husband wanted to get my son a helmet when he was learning to crawl, pull up, sit, walk, run and climb….he was constantly hurting himself. Now he’s 3 1/2 and it’s a whole new level of gray hairs from his stunts and ways he can get injured
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I love reading your blog, your love of your baby and to notice the small details keep your posts interesting!
And sometimes a bit too real (why has no mother ever told me about blistering nipples before?!?)
Hope to enjoy motherhood one day soon (!!!) and to experience some of the sincere and amazing things that you write about.
thanks for sharing!
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It is the way of parenting… Stuff happens the second you look away. But, GO CHARLOTTE with standing and sitting!
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Cynthia - We’re pretty minimal on the babyproofing too. I moved the dangerous stuff away, so I figure what she gets into, she gets into. How is she going to learn otherwise? Like Isla, she generally listens when we tell her no. Generally.
Also, we have two bathroom cabinets that open like oven doors. They’re hell to babyproof.
Erin - Thank you! When your shot at motherhood comes around, you’ll love it =)
Cambria - IT IS SO TRUE. If it’s going to be painful or dangerous, it only happens when I blink.
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I’m taking notes.
Also, thank you for reminding me… I’d almost forgotten there was a Tiger Woods without the hookers.
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2 months!!! You mean I have the next 2 months to look forward to responding to my son’s desperate cries to be helped down from standing in his crib even though he is totally exhausted and all he wants to do is sleep. Fabulous. Just wish he had spent more than 2 days between FINALLY crawling and suddenly pulling up on everything. Hopefully his twin sister will take a little more time….....:)
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That is funny, I kind of forgot about that stage. My good friend told me I should pull Ava up to a standing position and then make a game out of pushing her back down to sitting. I did this over and over a million times. She caught on pretty fast and could do it on her own in no time. I think that was one of the best parenting tips I got. I am glad you posted this, now I will remember to re-implement for the next baby.
By C @ Kid Things on May 27, 2010
She’s like the Tiger Woods of sitting down. Just, you know, without the hookers.
Nothing like a Tiger Woods joke to brighten my day. Love the tippy-toes. I guess because we have carpeting I didn’t notice all the kerplunks. I was more concerned with my kids whacking themselves with the side of the table when they were first walking. And even today, I still wince every time they run around a table.