Baby's First...Second Bruise

I know that the more mobile she is getting, the more likely she'll get banged up and bruised. Baby's first bruise happened when she opened the bottom drawer on a heavy cabinet and her leg got trapped under it. The bruise was already coloring her thigh when I was able to extricate her leg.

This week, she was crawling around the fireplace, stood at the hearth and pow! She stumbled, tumbled and slammed the side of her face on the hard tiles. She did that breath-holding, red-faced grimace before she finally exhaled with a loud wail. I felt terrible because I was doing something in the kitchen and wasn't watching her when she was playing by the un-baby-proofed hearth.

She stopped crying in within a minute but still has a little shiner.

Baby also ate rocks and dirt this past weekend. Were that the only thing I was going to have to worry about with her...

She Walks!

Okay, I'm getting all excited because baby took a few steps while holding onto her little pushcart. But I counted nine consecutive steps on her own, unassisted by us, across the living room floor.

I'm excited about her walking. So many women say it is a mixed blessing when their children start to walk. They also say that about crawling, but I found that once baby crawled, she became more interactive and fun.

Sure she got into things. Okay, she is still getting into things like my cooking magazines (ripping the covers off them) and the carbon monoxide detector (removing it from the wall). But all in all, I'm enjoying her mobility.

Now we'll have to do the babyproofing a little higher up than before. Gone are the days of leaving things on a chair because they are out of her reach. I know I'll be chasing her around even more than before. But I look forward to her toddling.

A friend of mine keeps lamenting each stage of her baby's development and growth. Oh, she is no longer a baby. Oh, I can't believe she won't be a toddler for long. I'm not feeling a sadness or missing the previous stages.

Is it because I'm a constant overachiever myself and always striving for more more more that I am content with my kid's development. I'm just not missing the earlier stages as much. I'm trying to cherish each one as it comes and welcome the next one.