Thursday, June 14, 2012

adventures in motherhood: pushing + letting go.

Do you actively push your child towards the next developmental leap, or do you tend to sit back and enjoy the ride?

Lorelei's favorite activity recently: looking longingly at the big world outside her door 
(p.s. don't you love that baby mullet? It kills me.)

I've had this on the brain lately because Lorelei isn't walking yet. I'm not concerned -- she's barely over a year and is a fantastic crawler who doesn't seem to need another method of locomotion -- but it's a milestone that everyone asks about once they find out how old she is. I didn't walk until I was over 15 months old and clearly turned out just fine, but there's a little bit of pressure for Lorelei to get her feet moving in time to be the flower girl for my brother's wedding next month. So I sometimes, just a little bit, try to encourage her to take some steps by herself. And she promptly sits her butt right down onto the carpet and goes back to poking her baby doll's eyes with her fingers.

When I see other moms on the playground, I sense that a lot of them are eager to share what amazing new tricks their babies and toddlers are mastering, and I certainly love sharing Lorelei's exploits, too. But when and where do you draw the line between encouraging their development and dropping them into the deep end before they're ready? I'd like a toddler who can put on her own shoes, use the potty, and feed herself without making a mess as much as the next mom. But I'm trying really, really hard to enjoy our current stage instead of rushing into the next one.

I'm going to keep right on offering a hand when Lorelei wants to take a few steps, repeating simple words and phrases over and over when she points at her favorite objects or new ones that have just grabbed her attention, playing stimulating music and taking her on "educational" outings and planning playdates for her social development. But I'm also not going to worry that her playmates are doing things she isn't quite ready for -- the girl's gotta set her own pace, because (as my old principal used to say) this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Instead, here's a list of unique-to-her talents Lorelei has mastered at this point:

insisting on having the milk carton on the table in front of her at breakfast so she can "mooo" at the picture of the cow on it to her heart's content

shaking her money-maker with wild abandon if you utter the phrase "wiggle butt" in her general vicinity

waving furiously at anything she sees that she likes -- a squirrel outside, a picture of a baby in a book -- in a way that tugs at your heartstrings because it is so sweet ("Hello! I like you! I hope you might like me too!")

using her pretend bank as a cup and laughing hysterically when the "coins" fall out onto her face (or, better yet, into her mouth)

"reading" Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes  by pointing to all of the babies' fingers and toes and then pointing to her own...on pretty much every single page

What amazing and unique milestones is your little one working on right now?

16 comments:

  1. I feel like we're on the same page with encouraging but not pushing the milestones. Noah is THIS close to standing on his own, and will occasionally let go of whatever he's holding onto for a brief second before landing on his little bum. I think providing the opportunity to learn, explore, and grow is what's important. They'll do things when they're ready. (Maybe I should keep telling myself that regarding sleeping through the night...sigh.)

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    1. I know -- it's hardest for me to deal with the sleeping/milestone issue, too! Noah has to be done teething SOMETIME soon, right? How many teeth can one little boy get?

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  2. We like to encourage Chloe too instead of pushing her into the next milestone. I want Chloe to grow at her own pace and I want to enjoy each stage of her life!

    lol to the line shaking her money-maker with wild abandon!

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  3. I love this. She'll get there, and then there will be no stopping the constant movement! : ) All kids are different...and that is perfectly ok!

    Avery is working on writing her name (she's pretty good!) and learning to recognize all her letters. Fun times!

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  4. I definitely feel like there's a fine line between encouraging support and pushing them to do things they're just not ready for or interested in. I love your take on the subject and your approach with Lorelei. Those recent milestones are heartbreakingly sweet, too!

    Annabelle has been walking around with various pieces of paper, usually receipts, and "reading" from them by naming things she walks past: mommy, toys, daddy, box..." It kills me!

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    1. That is SO darling, Melissa! I love how imaginative Annabelle seems to be lately, based on your posts :)

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  5. E isn't walking yet either and I'm not bothered. She's nearly 14 months and we encourage but don't push. Like I will spend ages holding her hands and walking her around the house, but I wont try and let go of her hands to make her do it alone.

    Her newest trick is crawling to the mirror in my bedroom, pulling herself up and blinking very purposefully at her reflection (blink, laugh, repeat). It's like she has just realised that the baby in the mirror is her and does everything she does.

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    1. That is so cute -- we call Lorelei's reflection "mirror baby." :)

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  6. I love mooing at the milk carton-- so funny.

    Liam's still not walking either. Every time someone asks, I say "soon." I've been saying that Liam's going to walk "soon" for over two months now. I walked at 9 months. Now, I'm uncoordinated to the point of complete embarrassment whenever I'm asked to do anything remotely athletic, so I keep telling myself to let Liam develop at his own pace.

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    1. I like that answer -- "soon." Too soon in some ways, right?

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  7. I seriously worried and stressed because Ellie took so long to hit each milestone. The older she got, and the more her "personality" came through, I realized that she is just the type of kid that wants to do everything on her own darn time. I freaked out because she didn't roll over until almost 8 months...EVERY other baby I knew rolled over between 4-6 months. She refused a sippy cup and drank out of a bottle until 18 months. It seriously stressed me out. I remember her Dr. telling me that these days mom's are so caught up in milestones, it almost becomes a competition. Now that she is older, I can totally see that she excels in some things, and just doesn't care about others, so she just doesn't try. I am finally okay with that, and I totally get why the 2nd time around, Mom's just don't care! lol!! It's exhausting to try to "compete" with all the other mom's out there! :-)
    ♥ Kyna

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    1. So glad to know your daughter refused the sippy cup too -- maybe I can stop stressing about Lorelei's boycott :)

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  8. Oh she sounds so fun. Never a dull moment! I have a little bit of an advantage with twins...I can say they were early! They're just starting to crawl at 11 1/2 months, I feel like they've been working on it for the past two months. But, good crawlers make good readers, so I'd like them to crawl as long as possible! :)

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    1. I can't even imagine chasing two babies around, Megan!

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