The more readers Mommy Shorts gets, the more I start to question posting my more personal baby diary stuff. Does anyone really care about Harlow's latest milestone? Are people gonna be like— wait, a second. I thought I was following a humorous parenting site. Not some mom bragging about her baby picking up a spoon!
Well, sorry, new followers, because at the heart of Mommy Shorts is just some mom bragging about her baby picking up a spoon.
But forget lame milestones like picking up spoons because my six-month-old is FULLY CRAWLING. Did I mention Harlow's crawling? I think I mentioned the belly shimmy but now she's stepped it up a notch. Legs and hands working, chest up off the ground, beelining for Mazzy's toys like she could GIVE A FUCK if Big Sis gets PISSED.
Oh shit! I'm not supposed to be cursing in a milestone post! These are the ones I'm going to let my kids read!
Not only is Harlow crawling, she's pulling herself up to standing, pulling herself up to sitting (which oddly, came after the standing thing) and clapping for herself just to drive the whole Superbaby thing home. As if to say, "What? You didnt see my impressive Superbaby feat? Allow me to puncuate with my own applause."
That's what we've started to call her. Superbaby. It's most fun when you address her casually, as in, "'Sup, Superbaby" with a subtle acknowledging headnod.
All this milestone sailing is AMAZING, but it has also created quite a few issues at home.
Have you ever been at a movie and you want so badly to stay awake but nod off in spite of yourself? That's Harlow at night in her crib. Except instead of trying to stay awake, she's trying to go to sleep and instead of nodding off, she can't stop herself from standing up. Then she gets really upset and starts crying, "But I paid $12 to see The Great Gatsby and I NEVER get to go to the movies!!!" Oh wait, no. That was me.
Once Harlow pulled herself up in the bassinet in our room, we immediately had to get rid of the thing and put her in the crib in Mazzy's room. We had one great night and then the next night, Harlow was crying so much from the continual standing, we set up a Pack 'n Play back in our bedroom so she didn't wake Mazzy.
One night we got without a baby in our room. ONE NIGHT.
The other annoying thing about crossing all your milestones off at once is we skipped over the "sitting unassisted phase" which is THE BEST BABY PHASE. That's the phase where you can sit the baby down with a toy, he/she will be totally engrossed in it for hours because they can't move from that spot even if they tried.
Harlow will play with a toy for half a second before realizing she'd much rather crawl over to the wall and check out the outlets. (I think the shot above was captured the same day a unicorn cooked us dinner.)
Also, Harlow doesn't just use furniture to pull to standing. She uses people. If she climbs up on me while I'm on the ground playing with her, it's fine, but if I bend over to pick up a toy and she quickly mounts my back like a poodle in a dog park, we've got problems.
Harlow's been climbing up Mazzy too which does not always make for the safest of activities. You never know when Big Sis will laugh it off with a "Silly, Harlow!" or have a brief fit of BABY SISTER RAGE and throw her to the ground.
Last night, I THINK she tried to cruise around the coffee table but once I aimed the camera at her, she froze like a character from Toy Story that only comes alive when the humans leave the room.
All this mobility does not mean Harlow is content to explore on her own. She has also reached a phase where she wants attention and holding at all times. Gone are the days I could stick her in the jumperoo and go to the bathroom. Now, she spends that whole time shrieking like I've abandoned her for good.
Even though Harlow has been more than holding her own, Mazzy still runs the show around here.
But she better watch her back because if Harlow continues advancing at this pace, she won't just be walking in a couple months, she'll be flying by Christmas.
My first two boys were early walkers. Although it seems awesome that they advance so quickly, it does kinda suck for them to be mobile when they have no sense of reason! Now, my third is in that phase of sitting and playing peacefully alone. My other two both skipped that phase so this seems magical!
By the way, what toy is Harlow playing with in the 4th picture?
Well, the good thing about early walkers is… oh wait, nothing. Sorry (says the mother of 2 kids that were running at 9 months).
Never stop posting Mazzy and Harlow stories! They are hands down my favorite, and I think, your funniest posts. I have watched/read ‘How to sell poop in a box’ no less than 25 times (it really helps get you out of a bad mood – as does Shit my 2 year old says), I have read and re-read the day Mazzy and Harlow were born, and I still laugh out loud every time. So thanks for being my source of entertainment and my go to for when I’m procrastinating.
This is so cute! Babies are funny. My nephew (who also has an older sibling around Mazzy’s age) did a similar thing, I think in attempt to keep up with his older brother. What my sister in law realized quickly was that his visual-spatial reasoning wasn’t quite developing at the rate of the motor skills, and thus a total clutz was born. A fearless one at that! So good luck to you! And I was a nanny in my grad school days, and I remember this funny time you speak of, when the baby could stand up in the crib but couldn’t get back down. We didn’t have a video monitor, but every time he would wake up from a nap he would have this red mark on his forehead. I couldn’t figure out what it was from, until one day I caught him sitting Indian style in the crib, face down, asleep. Oh yes, that was his solution to the I can get up and can’t get down situation. Just remember… you may be able to take the hair, but you cannot tame the spirit! Good luck!
Flying by Christmas. Love it.
posts like this make me almost want to have another kid…..almost.
My daughter is 7 1/2 months. She started crawling a month ago. A week BEFORE she could sit unassisted. She started pulling herself up to standing a week later. The late night fits because she wants to crawl/sit up/stand up haven’t ended. It’s been A MONTH! But I’m really hoping this means it will end soon and I will only have to go through it one more time when she starts walking for real. That’s the plus side to our babies knocking out all the milestones at once: only one period of up all nights instead of brief periods of respite in between! She is my first, so I don’t REALLY know how that goes. And if I’m wrong, please don’t burst my bubble! Lol
First of all, that last picture of Harlow is too dang cute for words. She looks like she is actually enjoying wearing that hat. My son would rip that off in seconds.
I’m curious to see what she’s doing by her 1st birthday! Look out Mazzy.
My son went from crawling to cruising to walking in three short weeks (at just 10 months). Good luck!
Oh man, I feel for you! As excited as you get by those milestones, the sitting baby phase is the best!
Don’t stop posting stories about your babies! That is what drew me into your blog and caused me to spend a month reading every single post from the beginning. Mazzy and Harlow stories are my favorite!
Second babies are notorious for “early” milestones… I don’t know if this is because of the influence of a older sibling or if it is just God’s little joke!?
My ovaries cried at that last picture of Harlow. They want to reproduce immediately. Down ovaries, down.
And no, please don’t stop posting about your kids. Ever.
Love the Mazzy and Harlow stories, never ever stop them. Is it bad to confess that I sometimes sneak a Harlow post when my two kids are in meltdown to stop me freaking out about number three coming? That last picture of her here is going to be my go-to “see how cute babies are” post so thanks. Both mine were early talkers late walkers and to miss the sitting not moving phase would make me weep so I feel for you. But congratulations on being mom to a superbaby! I think she may take over the world one day as I am sure those eyes can see into a persons soul. Add early milestones and world domination’s a given, right?
I love your baby-bragging posts.
And I don’t even read them as bragging.
Just hilarious reporting.
With plenty of humility mixed in.
In other words, the perfect recipe.
(Not bad for someone who can’t stay awake through an entire movie.)
Love this post. We are going through the same thing. My preslie pulled her head up when I gave birth. She’s been standing since I swear 4 months or should I say pulling herself up. She turned over at 2 1/2 months & crawled at prob 6 months. She’s now 10 1/2 months and started walking. She haves up easily but my 3 yr old didn’t walk until 14 months! She also does climb up us it’s hysterical. I think they see their sisters and are like yo what’s up can I do that. Ugh poor us. A parent at dance class told me his 10 month daughter started walking well running and now she never wants to be held. Said she ran all around Hershey park made them nuts. Totally changed my I’m happy she isn’t crawling on the dirty floor that I’m too busy to clean outlook 🙂
So awesome Harlow is up and about on her own. Gaining independence. Even though you now have to keep a closer eye on her. I liked the mobile stage b/c of the independence :). Can’t wait to see her fly ;).
It looks like a bunch of balloons from a birthday cake. 🙂
On the notes of milestones AND children reading your blog…I scored a two-fer. My middle-school figured out my address and started reading it, so I’ve had to block my OWN blog from my OWN computer.
*sigh*
My superbaby walked at 7.5mos, but she didn’t utter a word until 18mos. Trade-offs I guess!
Mazzy and Harlow are both adorable and I’m sure will give each other plenty of grief!
I feel better now as I also have a superbaby on my hands!
I’m pretty sure it’s a HABA Magica Clutching Toy, though Manhattan Toy Classic Baby Beads is similar as well.
I was the placid, content baby that entertained myself and didn’t cry until my mother would send my older brother in to see if I was awake, and he would pinch me, saying “She’s awake!” I didn’t walk until I was 14 months, and then I apparently took off running; but I played quietly, looked at books, and then later always had my nose in a book.
So, imagine what it was like to have a baby that cried night and day unless I was holding her, preferably walking around and showing her things. She would sleep in a baby carrier on my chest while I vacuumed or emptied the dishwasher; but when I tiptoed up the stairs and carefully laid her in her bed, she would be crying in five minutes!
I learned to take the world’s fastest shower, with her in her punkin seat on the floor beside the shower and the door open so she could see me, until I had to rinse; but it didn’t help. I was up with her six times a night until she was 18 mos. old and I finally weaned her, but I couldn’t get her out of my bed until she was four.
I used to keep a folded diaper on the bathroom counter and changed her there, afterward leaning down with my face inches from hers, elbows and forearms on the counter, and we’d talk. She said a fifteen-word sentence when she was a year old and had her dolls all lined up on her grandmother’s couch, lecturing them. Of course, I missed it b/c I had to work!
However, when she was five months old and had been standing in my lap holding on to my fingers, I stood her up at the end of my bed, putting her hands onto the footboard and stepping back. I’ll never for get the look on her face when she took one step sideways and then another!
From that day on, she was a different child! She would cruise around the family room holding on to furniture and was so much happier. I also put her in a walker when I was working in the kitchen, and she would scoot down the hallway to the front door, where I kept sleigh bells attached to the doorknob. She was SO much happier when she could get around.
When she took her first steps at seven months, my mother jumped on me, telling me she would be bowlegged. So, I put her in the floor and tried to teach her to crawl. She did an awkward scoot, one leg under her and one knee on the floor; but she was walking at nine months.
She was one of the sweetest children on the face of the earth, and she was a super achiever in school and then college. One of her jr. h.s. teachers called her “exceptional”, and she took all the honors there. Now, she has a master’s and was the star employee; but she is thrilled with her decision to stay home and be an awesome mother to her two babies. And I couldn’t be prouder or happier for her.
So cherish your babies, whatever their personalities and their internal speedometers. It’s not easy to be a laid-back mother with a hyper baby; but you can’t change them, nor would I want to. The early walking turned out to be a frustration-release valve in my little one’s case.