When I look at my newly twelve month old daughter, I am reminded of how fearless young children can be.
Little One has been taking baths in the "big" bath tub for the past few weeks. I've retired her baby bath tub because she's getting too big for it. She just LOVES swimming in the big bath tub! I was shocked to see her just embrace the whole experience. The smiles, laughs and grins she gave when swimming in the tub were just adorable. She tries to catch her bath toys as they float away from her. She scoots from one end of the tub to the other. My baby is growing up.
I took her swimming in a pool for the first time yesterday, and she seemed so "at home" in the water. She didn't flinch, cry, wince or anything. All she wanted to do was swim and play in the water.
It made me think of a friend of mine who is afraid of the water. I remember when we were kids, we tried to get him to swim with us, but he screamed, cried, and threw a fit. He had a life jacket AND arm floaters on and still freaked out.
Little One is also fearless when it comes to the animals on our farm. She plays with the dog and the cats and watches the cattle with curiosity. Some of my friends who are adults are afraid of the cats, the dog and the cattle. It amazes me to see that babies can be so daring and brave. I guess it's because they don't know what fear is yet.
When Little One pulls herself up on her toys and on the couch and lets go, I get so nervous and worried that she'll lose balance and hit her head on the floor when she falls. She doesn't seem to mind and lets go anyway. I don't want to be one of those moms who "hover". I know Little One needs to learn things on her own. It's just hard sometimes. I don't know which is harder...letting her learn that she sometimes needs to fall and get a few scrapes and scratches or letting her go and be an independent person. This Mommy business isn't an easy thing!
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{{{{{{{{{{{{{lol}}}}}}}}}}}}} you've just seen the begginning of it! its only just begun chris! wait til she's the age my kids are!
Oh for sure they are. But on the other hand they can, as there will be always someone around taking care.
Agree with the above comment. Stefan is now two and it is much fun to spend a day with him and all his climbing, jumping and having fun.
A wonderful Wednesday for you all.
Enjoy every second! Before you know it you'll have a pre teen on your hands like me! It seems like just yesterday when my babies were little like your precious little one!
Peace!
HM:
Oh, I know your kids are pretty fearless! I've seen it! LOL! This new stage in LO's development makes me excited for her, yet sad at the same time. She's just getting so gosh darn independent! I keep wanting to tell her to SLOW DOWN! Stop growing up so quickly! Mommy can't take it! LOL!
Robert:
You are so right! :)
BTW, I had bookmarked Stefan's site when you sent me the link before, but don't know what happened and haven't been able to find it since. What an adorable boy you've got!
Barb:
I've been thinking of you! Hope you guys are doing well over there.
*sigh* Pre teens! I had a nightmare the other night. Little One was a teenager. I think I've got a few strands of gray hair now...and it was only a dream! LOL!
C you are too funny! I have a head of gray hairs...have to color them or I'd look like old mother hubbard! LOL....
Thanks for thinking of us. We're holding our own.
Peace!
If she stands on her own and let's go, she'll only fall as far as her own height. Unless she falls onto concrete or ceramic, she'll cry a bit and be up again in no time. Watch for sharp table corners too! Babies are pretty resiliant, look how much she's been through already! Cmon! She came out 3 months before her body was naturally ready to and is happily thriving! Tough cookie u have there! Must be good parenting! ;)
Barbara:
:) Thinking of you guys.
I am convinced that I have gray hair (I swear I saw ONE the other day) just thinking of Little One becoming a teenager. Our two nieces on Hubby's side were kids just yesterday and all of a sudden, they're teenagers!!! The eldest just started high school this year! I feel soooo old! LOL!
Lara:
You are so right. I need to listen to you more often! :) I kept worrying that she'd fall because she ALWAYS lets go! She does this "testing her limits" thing all the time now...and I'm sooooo not cool with that! I need to chill. I know. She needs to learn. I know. She needs to learn that she will fall and that she will be okay.
Tee hee! You are right about kids being resilient! So true!
I AM proud of one thing though. When she does fall, I don't freak. I just smile at her and say "Bonk! You bonked your head" and then she smiles and laughs. I've been in the presence of other people who have freaked out (like totally spazzed out) when their kids fall and I noticed that all the yelling and fussing makes the kids actually react in a way they probably wouldn't have. They end up screaming their heads off. Of course, everyone reacts differently and parents their own way, but that was just an observation I made. Many times, if we make a huge deal about them falling, they tend to cry. My friend's son fell off his chair and hit his head, and my friend just said, "Oh, you're okay" and his son just got up and smiled and was fine.