"...Think about direction, wonder why you haven't..."
The twins love to stand. I think all babies love to stand. Just prop them up with your hands, and a fussy baby will calm down quickly as he realizes he now has a fantastic new perspective on the world. Shortly afterwards he’ll become fussy again as his legs tire, but standing can at least buy a few quiet moments.
Abbie loved to stand as a baby. I stood with her often, as that position along with the feeding position were the two postures least likely to result in her screaming. That may explain why Abbie was walking by her first birthday, which puts her slightly ahead of the curve from other children I’ve seen. I stand with the twins a lot, which may also explain why the boys are pulling themselves up to standing at six-months adjusted age.
Unlike Abbie, the boys are maulers when they stand. The love verticality so much they will dig their hands into whatever nearby parent parts are handy rather than risk being set down. Once attached, they hug tight, even using the suction power from their mouths to fasten onto a shoulder. Abbie was more willing to go with the flow, and simply voice her displeasure with a few screams whenever her handler was foolish enough to return her to horizontal.
The mauling aspect of the boys’ personality emerged within the past month. Before that, they lacked the coordination to intentionally latch onto anything. They would flail randomly while I held them up, and in the event that they found something to grab, I would easily detach myself and let them return to random flailing. Now they can spot and grab onto whatever is handy to steady themselves, whether that’s clothing, skin, or hair. The worst target was before my haircut when they would grab my untrimmed neck hair. If I can wrest my shirt free, a task that becomes harder as they develop a stronger grip, they can intentionally affix themselves right back onto my arm, or just my arm hair if that’s easier. Plus they’re now mobile enough to turn towards their target, so if I face them outward, they can squirm 180-degrees until they find my bright, white, still spit-up free shirt.
Now that they can pull themselves up, I don’t even need to hold them for them to return the favor. I can lie on the floor reading the newspaper and minding my business, when someone will scoot next to me, pull himself up to standing, and stick his mouth on my shoulder. Minutes later, I’ll have a soaked shirt shoulder, irritated arm hair, and feet positioned directly over the story I was trying to read. Sometimes I even get another baby doing the same thing around my legs. Trying to unwind myself from this position is a challenge, especially when I’m trying to do it quickly before Abbie can knock anything off the kitchen countertops that she just climbed onto. Sometimes I wish her standing skills were a little less advanced.
Abbie loved to stand as a baby. I stood with her often, as that position along with the feeding position were the two postures least likely to result in her screaming. That may explain why Abbie was walking by her first birthday, which puts her slightly ahead of the curve from other children I’ve seen. I stand with the twins a lot, which may also explain why the boys are pulling themselves up to standing at six-months adjusted age.
Unlike Abbie, the boys are maulers when they stand. The love verticality so much they will dig their hands into whatever nearby parent parts are handy rather than risk being set down. Once attached, they hug tight, even using the suction power from their mouths to fasten onto a shoulder. Abbie was more willing to go with the flow, and simply voice her displeasure with a few screams whenever her handler was foolish enough to return her to horizontal.
The mauling aspect of the boys’ personality emerged within the past month. Before that, they lacked the coordination to intentionally latch onto anything. They would flail randomly while I held them up, and in the event that they found something to grab, I would easily detach myself and let them return to random flailing. Now they can spot and grab onto whatever is handy to steady themselves, whether that’s clothing, skin, or hair. The worst target was before my haircut when they would grab my untrimmed neck hair. If I can wrest my shirt free, a task that becomes harder as they develop a stronger grip, they can intentionally affix themselves right back onto my arm, or just my arm hair if that’s easier. Plus they’re now mobile enough to turn towards their target, so if I face them outward, they can squirm 180-degrees until they find my bright, white, still spit-up free shirt.
Now that they can pull themselves up, I don’t even need to hold them for them to return the favor. I can lie on the floor reading the newspaper and minding my business, when someone will scoot next to me, pull himself up to standing, and stick his mouth on my shoulder. Minutes later, I’ll have a soaked shirt shoulder, irritated arm hair, and feet positioned directly over the story I was trying to read. Sometimes I even get another baby doing the same thing around my legs. Trying to unwind myself from this position is a challenge, especially when I’m trying to do it quickly before Abbie can knock anything off the kitchen countertops that she just climbed onto. Sometimes I wish her standing skills were a little less advanced.
posted by Matt at
11:46 PM
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