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Countdown to Crawling

One of the strangest things about parenting for me has been the way things change. I imagined that, because I would be home with Soren, all the changing would seem slow and gradual. That’s true for his size - when, precisely, did he become so heavy?? But not for anything else!
Every few weeks you wake up expecting the same routine as yesterday, only to find you have an entirely new baby. These are commonly called “leaps” thanks to the Wonder Week’s franchise, though like most baby books the content isn’t a perfect fit. We’ve had nursing strikes and feeding frenzies. Boredom days and stranger danger phases. Days where he will only sleep if he’s held, and days where he refuses to sleep if he’s held. It’s the baby lottery!

This last week has been monumental. It’s like a new skill appears every day!
First, he had a language burst. No longer content to just do “mamama” he has added g, k, b, and the occasional p to his repertoire. Mostly, this becomes “booka booka booka.” I love it! Especially because mama is a more exclusive word now 😍

Next, he suddenly wants to move! Finally! But how? We have reached the age of constant frustration.
First he started reaching over while he was sitting, almost starting to crawl. 

This phase lasted about two days, but ended abruptly after one too many fall and he got scared ☹️
Next he started pushing up on tummy time, and not rolling. This is a game changer for us - ever since he learned how to roll, we have been unable to keep him on his tummy for more than a minute or two. Now he refuses to roll!
He knows what it's like to be up on his hands and knees (because we put him in that position to build strength) but he can't figure out how to get there. We've been propping his feet to encourage him to push, and it's been helping! He has finally started raising his butt and scooting. Unfortunately, he can only go backwards at the moment!
It's fair to say this has been an exhausting week for all of us.
On a different note, we got a beautiful 20cm (~8in) snowfall, so we had some great sledding opportunities this week. The water outside our apartment is frozen solid, and is now home to some ski trails and a network of ice fishers. I even saw some sort of hovercraft on the ice - I wish I'd caught a picture, because I could have sworn it was a police boat! A whole new landscape for entertainment!





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