He also thinks he can walk. He can't, of course, but he likes to try and just get up and go. It nearly always ends with me clutching my pounding heart in one hand and his round little bottom in the other. My guess is that he'll be walking by the middle of next month.
So, SO screwed.
I was flipping through WTE the other day and looked at the section on 10 month-olds. It includes a subsection on discipline and how to go about teaching your baby limits early-on. And I realized that this is how everything is going to change.
Up until now just about everything my baby does has been viewed as progress and we have accomodated HIM accordingly. I wasn't going to try and "teach" my baby that outlets are dangerous once he started tooling around in his walker - so we installed tamper-proof plugs in the entire first floor. Problem solved. There are tons of examples just like this. We've all been on Team D, running the same race, holding hands and singing Kumbaya together.
But soon, very soon, D is going to be starting his own team. And A and I will be his opposition. And so begins the next 18+ years of our life until he grows up and we find ourselves in non-competing divisions. (I'm really not that into sports for the most part, I swear!)
Pretty soon I'm going to have to drop "No"'s like they're hot. I'm going to have to designate a time-out spot. He is going to throw tantrums and say "I hate you, Mommy!" And this.......this is what I think is going to make me want another baby.
Because it's only that first year that everyone gets to play on the same team, with the same goals. And I think I'm really going to miss that when it's gone.
5 comments:
Oh, this post is making me want to cry a little, but also smile. Monkey has started rolling over back and forth, and I'm sure he'll be crawling before we know it. Everything seems to be moving in warp speed right now, which (I think) is why I'm starting to think about #2. I can't believe how quickly it all goes by!!
My little guy is now fully capable of understanding "no". And of giving me the *sternest* little look, pointing one finger and saying "NO!" to me VERY earnestly.
It A) makes me laugh my ass off and B) makes me terribly sad at how much I must say it to him.
But he ruined my laptop with my dissertation on it. So I probably don't say it *enough*.
You can't win.
I find myself going between being fascinated by how much Evan is changing and being saddened by it. It's hard to constantly be putting away the clothes he's grown out of - how was he that small?
Good luck with this next cruising/walking stage!
I wish I could tell you it isn't that bad...Actually...it isn't that bad. Just try to not react when he falls down by looking worried (unless, obviously, he falls down the stairs or something). We used to clap when Lila fell down and yell "YAAAAY" and then she wouldn't cry.
We decided not to go crazy with the childproofing and to let Lila fall down a little and she never got really hurt and DID learn what "NO" meant pretty quickly. The fun begins when they start ignoring your "no's" and thinking it's funny to make you mad.
It's a f**king adventure, that's for sure.
Just wait until you can't take him out in public anymore because he takes off running....I never would have thought I would support putting kids on leashes, but I TOTALLY understand why parents do that now. You will too.
Good Luck! :-)
How cute, this post is so heart-warming, don't you think?
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