NanaKim

Every stage reached in a child’s development brings a sigh of relief. We can’t help but be anxious to know that this child is growing up to be healthy in every way. Most children do have a happy start to life but we always worry about being the exception. The fact that many families have to deal with difficulties and delays is supported by the data. That’s a reality. It’s sometimes a struggle to focus on the individual baby in front of us and to enjoy the moment when we have access to oh so much information. Enjoy the moment we must. It all happens so quickly!

Sitting up is a big deal! From here we can anticipate crawling and suddenly we want to childproof the whole house in preparation. We can also see that the days of knowing the baby will be in the same spot you left them are coming to an end. This is even more reason to treasure where the baby is now and to support her developing at her own pace.

Of course my back is looking forward to not carrying the baby around quite so much. I am after all old. But this unfolding growth is a real gift that I didn’t have as much time to appreciate when I was a mother who also had so many other things that needed to be done in a day all while caring for young children.

The new skill of being able to sit up has been developing for months and is terrifically tiring! Looking back, at first our attempts to prop our baby up in a sitting position in a nest of pillows only resulted in her slumping and sliding down. Gradually, with muscles growing stronger and attention being paid to developing key muscles during tummy time, she has become strong enough to sit up a little. We are on a breathless kind of stand by to catch her when she topples over. With that in mind, we want to make sure that there are soft surfaces to fall in all directions.

I am mindful that there is a lot of cognitive development going on at this time too, not just the physical. We try to put the baby in a variety of awake locations propped up throughout the house and throughout the day. There are always new sights and sounds outside the window. I like to spend time sitting outside with the baby on my lap or propped up to experience the trees and their birds and squirrels. The neighbors pass by, sometimes with their pet dogs. The mail gets delivered by so many different services, all providing movement, conversation and interest.

Away from the windows, while she is awake and sitting, we can provide a variety of activities. A small basket of toys that she can reach into and grab, small soft toys just out of easy reach, time with books, and using old toys in new ways. Items that used to dangle above her head when she was in the baby gym can be investigated by our baby in a different way holding them in her hands.

It’s time to break out the high chairs at each house she has mealtimes at. She gets strapped in and uses a curved support cushion to keep her upright, or the recline of the high chair as needed. It’s fun to find new ways of supporting the sitting position. However, since I was a mother of young babies, we know a lot more about the dangers of using too many devices to hold baby up. These include ExerSaucers and activity gyms that include a seat and seem so educational. It’s far better to improvise with pillows and leave the time baby spends in a container to the car seat and the high chair. According to Magda Gerber “All children accomplish milestones n their own way, in their own time.” Gerber believed in safe spaces to explore for the growing infant.

My granddaughter is visibly excited by this new view of the world and being able to greet her family cats eye to eye on her own terms. I can imagine her brain whirring away with the strong drive to master sitting up and move on to even more adventures. I love watching her reach for wooden toys and put them in her mouth. All the movement makes her wobble about as her muscles learn how to keep her balanced. Even propped up on my recliner she topples sideways with surprise at times, but within a couple of weeks, she is strong enough to reach forward to knock down a small tower of wooden shapes that I was idly playing with. We both shouted with triumph and laughed. Of course the tower being knocked down was joyfully repeated over and over.

As with all major changes in the growing body, everything is a bit more tiring until a new equilibrium is reached. That’s why it’s important to allow for those times where it’s a relief for baby to relax and kick back with her arms and legs in the air, resting those hard working muscles, like on a day out at the beach.

Do you have any favorite memories of your children or grandchildren getting the hang of sitting up?