A Terrifying Milestone
Late in the afternoon on Friday, Beanie rolled over for the first time. I was playing with him on the floor in our living room, forcing him to have tummy time. He was reaching for a toy and somehow managed to get himself up on his side and then – woop! – he rolled over on his back.
I know I was supposed to yell and scream and jump up and down and be so excited. Its our first real milestone.
But it was kind of a dud.
“That doesn’t count,” I thought. “That was an accident.”
So, I flipped him back over to see if he’d do it again. And he did. THREE MORE TIMES!! It was amazing! And each time it looked like an accident. Beanie would flip himself on his back and look more shocked than me.
But Saturday morning, it was a pretty regular occurrence. You’d put him on his back and he would flip himself right over. Still looked a little wobbly. But he was definitely doing it intentionally.
At first we were so excited. Beanie is on his way to being independently mobile!!
And that quickly turned to panic. OH, MY GOD! BEANIE IS ON HIS WAY TO BEING INDEPENDENTLY MOBILE!!
Up until now, life’s been pretty easy, all things considered. I mean, we put him in one place and he stayed there. We’d move into a different room, put him somewhere, and he stayed there. We could go out to restaurants and grocery stores and Target, and he’d ride in his little stroller, and he stayed there.
It was grand.
And seeing Beanie flip himself over sent visions of mobility running through my head. And it reminded me that Beanie is an independent person. He has free will. He will make decisions. Granted, right now these decisions involve whether or not to lay on his tummy or back, but this is just the beginning.
Today its flipping over. Tomorrow its underage drinking.
I CAN’T HANDLE THIS!
What if I don’t want my child to be free range? Do I have a choice? Can I take away his freedom? Can I keep him from free will? Can I choose to keep him in a play pin until he’s 18?
No?
Are you sure?
Okay, fine.
But for the record, I am not happy about this.
24 Comments
Dana
You are so much more on the ball than I was in the freaking out category. When baby #1 was rolling over, crawling, walking, I was so happy and proud and overjoyed – which quickly evaporated when she was playing the the toilet. When baby #2 came around, I was more aware of what I was losing. When the babies gain freedom, we lose it! Ha!
And I love the free range comparison. I am picturing Beanie in a chicken coop.
Megan E
The Bug just rolled over for the first three times the other day. Since then, he seems to have forgotten that he knows how. That’s fine with me. . . the thought of an ambulatory baby is terrifying.
Pam
I’m a regular reader of your blog (and fan), but as a non-parent, heck a single young adult, often don’t feel that I have much to comment on. However, to this post, I can tell you that “free range”, when it comes to the meat we eat, just means that the animals are given the option to leave their pen for a certain number of hours a day. So I suppose if you wanted to, you could contain the Bean and just give him the occasional option to move about as he pleases.
Katie
LOL!!!! I’ll take it!!
Laura
Ohhhh goodness! I wish Cameron would do that… sort of. I just like it when he does new things. I don’t want him to be mobile for real yet. Haha!
Earthtone
How about coming in from the other side? It’ll be much more terrifying if he doesn’t roll over at 18.
Now, go pop a champagne!
Way to go Bean!
whitney
I’m with ya. Each mile stone makes me want to burst in tears and go hide in a closet and not face reality. Not to mention, stuff my face with oreos to help ease my sorrows. But YAY BEANIE!!!! 🙂
Danimezza
Aidan’s started babbling… pretty soon he’ll be talking back!
Kate
Exciting! Go Beanie!
It must be scary, but at least you know he’s developing 🙂
Jess
Oh my God that video was soooo adorable! Good job Beanie… hang in there Katie!!!
I don’t have kids yet but that Bean of yours tugs on my heart strings and makes me feel ready. Shh, don’t tell my husband!
Katie
Dude. Change of few of his staaaanky diapers and you’re cravings will be cured. 🙂
Lori @ I Can Grow People
Porter rolled over just over a week ago and I can already see his little limbs starting to move as if he is crawling. He hasn’t gotten his torso off of the floor yet, but when he does we’re in trouble!
Are you freaked out that Bean will roll over in the middle of the night? I am totally freaked out that P will be rolling all over his crib at night!
Katie
Beanie has always been a mover and a shaker in his crib. Every night I lay him down between his two little bumpers so he can’t roll over. Half an hour later, he has managed to not only wiggle himself out of the bumpers, but across the crib. I don’t know how he does it. He prefers this one tiny corner of his crib and he curls up there like a cat every night. I guess maybe because of that I’m sort of used to nighttime shinanigans, so I haven’t worried about the rolling over thing…yet…
naomi
My best friend Beth, her son just recently took his first independent steps – I had to laugh because with that came his first independent face plant.
Donna
Just wait within the next year, he will be running away from you laughing. It is very cute, at least for the first 30 to 45 mins 🙂 I hope you have fun over the next year!
BFF, Em-ly
I’d like to borrow your baby please. He makes me smile. 🙂
Jes the Bes
And so it begins… You will have put the door locks 5 ft above the ground, put baby locks on every cabinet door, and lock all the neighborhood girls up cause the cute little bean is on the loose.
Heather
it’s all uphill now. Who is wearing those awesome pajama pants?? I think you are doing the video but I can’t tell.
Katie
That’s me in the stylish pj pants. Chris is video taping. 🙂
Heather
Yeah, but have you ever changed an 18-year-old’s diaper? I have. Many a time. It is NOT fun.
This is one of those necessary evil things.
And besides- baby moving independently means baby will soon learn to give you a kiss, or a hug. And baby talking means he can say more than the repeated “No,” he will also learn to say “I love you.” For every scary thing that comes with his increased freedom,there is an equal and opposite possibility for him to touch your heart (and others’) with the good he can now do.
whitney
The rolling over part is the easiest. He wont move far but Presley just started crawling. THE WORST! everything has to be off the floor. Everything has to be baby proofed now.
Jayme
Time to think about baby gates and outlet covers and all the other fun things that go with baby proofing!
TeamHaynes
Oh he’s just so cute! He’s at what I call, “The Perfect Age.” Right before crawling! Haha. I know he’s been teething for a while but does he have teeth?
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