Happy 9-Month Birthday, Babykins!

Babykins is 9 months old today, which means that she has been out in the world for as long as she spent baking.  This got me to thinking about which is a more amazing developmental period: the 9 months she spent getting ready for the world, or the 9 months she's been in it.

On the one hand, during the 9 months of pregnancy, Babykins went from the combination of 2 little cells to a gummy bear to a tad pole to a vaguely human looking fetus to a fully formed, 7 lb 2 oz, 20 inch baby.  To go from not existing to full-fledged human in 270 days is a staggering feat.

On the other hand, during the last 9 months, Babykins has gone from a tiny baby who could barely see, couldn't move on her own, and did little beyond eat, sleep, and poop, to an amazing big baby who can crawl, stand, laugh, smile, and devise a plan to climb over the baby gate.  Once again, an absolutely awe-inspiring transition in 270 days.

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to decide which is the greater achievement.  So for now, I'll just say, Happy 9-month birthday, Babykins!  And congratulations on all you've accomplished in the last 18 months.

On Your Mark...Get Set...Go!

In the ongoing quest for a good night's sleep, Hubbykins and I are on a daily mission to thoroughly tire out Babykins.  This has led to a nightly post-dinner, pre-bath "race" up and down the hallway of our apartment building.

One of us goes down to the end of the hallway to clap, cheer, and call Babykins' name.  Since Babykins prefers to walk, the other person holds her hands and helps her make her way.  This always results in a huge smile, and each night Babykins get a little faster.  When she makes it down the hall, Hubbykins and I switch places and help her walk back to the apartment.

I'm sure it sounds odd to the neighbors - clapping, cheering, and high-pitched baby giggles going up and down the hall - but so far they've all been polite enough not to peek outside.

By the end of the race, Babykins is sweaty and tired, Hubbykins and I have sore backs, and we're all ready for bedtime.

One day, when Babykins is preparing to run the 100-yard-dash in the Olympics, we'll be able to tell her how it all began - in a hallway in Hawaii.

Babykins' Hallway Racetrack

Babyzilla

Along with crawling and pulling herself up on furniture (and walls and tubs and pantlegs),  Babykins started to "cruise" yesterday.  This is where she holds onto furniture to be able to walk by herself.  It's fabulous, but it has re-confirmed her status as Babyzilla.

Whether she's crawling or cruising, when Babykins encounters an obstacle she doesn't go around it, she goes over.  And if she can't get over, she pushes and shoves until it's out of her way.  Occasionally, even when something isn't directly in her path, she'll move over a bit just so that she can step on it.  This goes for books, toys, and mommy and daddy.  She's even been known to crawl over other mommies and babies at her play group.

At times you can practially hear her thinking, "ROAR," as she smashes her way through piles of toys and stomps down on magazine pages (which inevitably stick to her foot and follow her on her quest).  She may be a cute, tiny baby, but in her head, she's Babyzilla!

Einstein + Edison = Babykins Mischief

In an effort to keep Babykins from wreaking havoc and destruction on our electronics equipment, Hubbykins recently erected a baby gate in front of the TV stand.  He then placed a large box of diapers in front of the gate to keep it from being easily pulled over by Babykins.

It was safe for approximately 5 seconds.  First, Babykins realized that if she pushed on the baby gate from the side, it would slide over and give her access to her second favorite electronic, the DVD player.  This was easily remedied by moving the baby gate over far enough that she couldn't shift it.  This didn't stop our intrepid Babykins, though.

The next time I looked over, our 8-month-old genius had grabbed my yoga block, placed it in front of the diaper box, and had climbed onto it like a step.  She was in the process of pulling herself up onto the diapers so that she could reach over the baby gate when I ran across the living room and swooped her up.

She didn't get ahold of any TV equipment, but I was once again reminded that Babykins is not to be underestimated.



Babykins' ingenious step stool



Babykins and Mama Discuss the Wireless Router

Babykins (Pulling herself up on the TV stand): I know Mama told me yesterday I couldn't play with the wireless router, but maybe today it'll be OK. (Reaches hand toward router.)

Me: Babykins, don't touch that.

Babykins (Sitting down):  I guess I still can't play with it.  (Waits 3 seconds.)  Maybe she's forgotten.  (Stands back up and reaches for router.)

Me: Babykins, no.  You can't play with the router.

Babykins (Pulls hand back): She remembered!  Darn.  (Waits 3 seconds.)  Maybe if I smile cute while I reach for it, she'll let me have the router.  (Reaches hand out.)

Me (In firm mommy voice):  Babykins, I said no.  No playing with the router.

Babykins (Sitting down):  Hmmm...Mama sounded serious that time.  But she's all the way in the kitchen, and I'm right here.  I bet I can get the router before she gets me.  (Stands up and reaches for wireless router.)

Me (Sprinting across the room):  Babykins, no!

Who was faster?  Babykins or Mama?  Does the Babykins household still have wireless internet?  Tune in next week to find out!

Bye-Bye Infant Seat, Hello Big Girl Stroller

After having a few fights with Babykins in Walmart (what is it about that store that brings out the bad behavior in children?) over whether she was allowed to kneel in her infant stroller and hang her head over the side, I decided it was time to retire her infant seat and move on to her big girl stroller.

Aside from the emotional aspect of realizing Babykins is no longer a tiny baby, there have been some definite pros and cons to the change.

Cons

• Now that Babykins is facing forward, we can't interact on our walks like we used to.  No more songs, and stories, and funny faces.
• It is now impossible to keep all of Babykins guarded from the sun.  At any given time, there's an arm or leg outside the shade her hood provides.  This has led us to daily applications of sun block :(
• There's no way to keep her toys safely contained in the stroller, greatly increasing the amount of time we spend playing the "Pick Up Babykins' Toys from the Sidewalk" game.

Pros

• Babykins gets a much better view of the world during our walks.
• Safety, safety, safety.  There's no way for Babykins to escape from her big girl stroller.

And, the absolute, number one benefit of the big girl stroller: When I buy a junky snack to eat on an especially long walk, Babykins can't stare accusingly at me when I don't share.

Apologies to Mommies of Messy Faces

I remember a time, in my younger and more foolish years, when I would see women out and about with small children who had messy faces and think, "Come on.  How hard can it be to wash a kid's face?  Make an effort."  I know better, now.

I recently found myself at the mall staring at Babykins, trying to figure out how she got a purple bruise on her forehead.  As I leaned closer to inspect it, I realized that it was actually purple baby food, left over from what was apparently an unsuccessful attempt to wash her face after lunch.  And yesterday, as we sang in playgroup, I realized belatedly that Babykins had stored part of her breakfast banana on her chin.  I swear I had taken a cloth to her face after breakfast, but wiping up a squirming, fussy baby as she shakes her head and waves her hands is a task on par with bathing a cat.

So as I find myself recently in the ranks of women with messy-faced babies, allow me to extend this apology.  I know now that what looks to others like a messy face is the victory badge of squirmy babies everywhere.