Like Herding Cats

My 7 month old is now on the move, crawling all over the place. I feel like I need a refresher on Baby Proofing 101 and need to sign up for Looking in Two Directions at the Same Time.

Before Kelsey came along, my step-brother, his wife and two girls came for a visit. The younger one made a bee line for some plastic containers and a big container of oatmeal we had on a bottom shelf in the kitchen. Guess what I found a new to walking Kelsey trying to walk off with one day? Yep, those same containers. They pretty much lived behind a baby gate from then on.

I have gotten a little lazy with the baby proofing as Kelsey has gotten older – outlets are covered, door knobs are proofed, and refrigerator and pantry doors are latched but we’ve relaxed in other areas. Aubrey has now started pulling things off a bottom shelf, loves chewing on cords and has already pulled the runner off the coffee table along with everything on it on her way down to the ground. She just sat up and grabbed something to gum on like nothing happened.

She has been pulling herself up for a couple weeks already and should be cruising any day now. I let her down on the floor at the play area at the mall for the first time the other day and she quickly followed big sister through the tunnel. It was early so it wasn’t busy.

The second time I let her down to play at a play space, it was a little more crowded. I kept looking back and forth from Aubrey in front of me to Kelsey running around playing with other kids. Of course, every time I looked back up she was on the complete other end from where she was before. Finally, as I was looking at Aubrey, out of the side of my vision, I saw Kelsey go down and she started crying. I thought she had just fallen but then another girl started crying. They had bonked foreheads and both fallen. As I was trying to console her (she ended up with a lovely bruise to show for it) Aubrey sat on the edge of a raised surface and fell off backwards on to the floor. I now had two crying kids, each fighting for cuddle space on my lap.

Around the house, Aubrey likes to crawl around following everyone. She especially likes to look out the front and back door windows. Every now and then, however, I lose track of her. Thankfully, Kelsey usually comes along to announce where Aubrey is or what she is doing. She is usually pulling magnetic letters of the refrigerator but we also found her with her hand in the cat food bowl and on the steps trying to head upstairs.

This kid is going to give me even more grey hairs! She’s not even walking yet. Now, if I could just train one eye to go one way and the other the other way.