Milestone Moments

Well, as things have gotten started here in our house this morning, it has come to my attention that my youngest son, Ian, has finally gotten his first tooth! This particular milestone is an important happening in his young life because he will be 9 months old tomorrow! My oldest son's first tooth appeared at only 4 months old, while my daughter was considered a slow-starter at the age of 7 months! As you can imagine, I was beginning to think that Ian might not ever have teeth, and would be forced to eat strained foods without lumps for the rest of his life! OK, so maybe I'm exaggerating just a tad, but you mothers can understand my point, right?

Another milestone occurred for Ian just last week - he's finally sitting up on his own! I know what you must be thinking, because I've had the same thoughts from time to time...and, yes, I'll have to agree with you until he proves me wrong...Ian is definitely my Late Bloomer! Being the youngest of 3, he doesn't seem to be riled by much, as his older brother, and specifically his older sister, tend to do what I refer to as 'torchering him'. He's already learning how to defend himself, as anytime they get near him, he starts flailing his arms and yelling for my help! This occurs even when they only want to kiss or hug him - which then causes them to cry (always loudly - and I mean at the top of their lungs - so that everyone on the block knows that they're upset about something), as they have now gotten their feelings hurt - by an 8 month old! (This would be one of the more mild, noisy, chaotic moments in my house that I was referring to in yesterday's posting). At any rate, since he's the youngest, he has no reason to be in a hurry to do much since he ends up being the last on the totem pole of 'those that have a say in what we're doing at that moment in time'. I guess this layed back attitude has spilled-over into his abilities (or maybe desires) to try his hand at learning new tasks. After all, most of us tend to be content doing what we can already do, and see no reason to risk injury to life & limb so as to learn something new! I think that's what is commonly referred to as "Human Nature".

That being said, Ian's curiosity seems to be growing and his ability to get from room to room using his Inch-Worming skills doesn't seem to be enough for him any longer! I can see him stretching up to see what might be on the living room coffee table - "hmmm, what's up there that might fit nicely inside my mouth, that I can later choke on and eventually vomit back up?". And, yes, having 2 other siblings in the house - one that loves to play with leggos and army men, the other that loves to rip or cut paper into microscopic pieces - can be detrimental to any infant that explores mouth-first! Even I, a very careful mother, find myself racing to thrust my finger down his little bitty throat to retrieve whatever might be down there! It's a never-ending task, and one that doesn't allow me to stray too far away from him.

If I go upstairs, Ian goes with me! Uuuggghhh! Stairs! Guess his curiosity will eventually lead him to wonder if he's capable of maneuvering up those 18 steps of terror. Maybe it's time to go to Babies-R-Us for a safety gate :)