Every day, Caroline and I try to get out of the house and do something. Some days it is a playdate with other mamas and babies, others a nice walk outside, maybe storytime at the library, or a shopping trip. When we do get together or meet other mamas and babies, I love seeing the unique differences and strengths of each baby!
We’ve all read the list of milestones our baby should have reached at each month, etc. In fact, nowadays we get email updates sent to our inbox reminding us of where our baby should be! Sometimes our baby is behind those predictions, sometimes ahead and sometimes right on “schedule”. These are just estimates. I see and hear so often that parents are worried when their baby is not adhering to this perfect schedule of events that is “supposed” to occur. I have fallen into this trap as well. The reality is it is just a guideline and nothing to seriously worry about!
In the past week, I’ve met babies that are close in age to Caroline: 4 months, 7 months, 3 months, 5.5 months, and another 4 month old baby. Caroline is 6 months old. It was interesting to me when watching all of these babies. They all had their unique strengths and things they had been focusing on. One of the 4 month old babies was attempting to crawl , head down, but she was getting places! She hated the idea of sitting! She was also a fantastic roller! The 7 month old baby was sitting and reaching far in front of her body to grasp toys, she wasn’t interested much in the other babies. The 5 month old is a great roller, but totally content to lay or lean against mama and observe (while he gets 4 teeth)…yes 4 teeth! The 3 month old baby loved her tummy time.
When Caroline was 2 months old, she started sitting with support and practicing her standing legs. These were her favorite things to do! Caroline has rolled once in each direction, and it was very purposeful. She was trying hard and succeeded! She hasn’t cared to roll since. This was when she turned 5 months old. So, she can roll if she really wanted to, but she just doesn’t care to. In the last week, however, she has learned how to sit…all on her own and isn’t wobbly at this point at all! This is now her favorite thing to do! She also loves storytime. This is probably one of her favorite activities. She smiles and talks and laughs the WHOLE time. She sits in the beginning while others are walking in. She watches them intently. When storytime starts, however, she wants to be up on those standing legs of hers and bouncing around! She makes eye contact with the storyteller the entire time and just has a BLAST! I seriously wish they had these every week. I also wish I could record her somehow, because it is just the cutest thing in the world. I love seeing how engaged she is.
As I looked around at the babies at storytime, I noticed they were all doing something different. Some were focused on their parents, or their toys, or in their own little world. Some had a hold of their mamas keys, and some were looking at babies near to them. And some, like Caroline were ready to be running around like the toddlers! It is just so amazing to me to see the different personalities that are already shining through.
Babies choose to focus on certain skills and they put all of their energy into learning that one thing. It is so amazing to see how they do this, and what they choose to focus on! With all of the information at our hands, it is hard for parents to not be reading up on where their child should be and start comparing and worrying. I have definitely had some moments of worrying that Caroline isn’t rolling yet. Then I look at all she is learning, though, and I can clearly see that she will get around to it when she feels like it.