We've got a crawler!

As of 20 minutes ago, someone is on the move.

Scott has been scooting and perfecting his belly roll for weeks, but apparently this afternoon, he decided that was not the most efficient way of getting from Point A to Point B.

I plunked him on the floor in his nursery, and within seconds, he pulled himself up on his hands and knees and STARTED TO CRAWL!

It was as if it just clicked in his head. And for someone who has only been utilizing this mode of transportation for a few minutes, he's pretty darn quick, as you'll see in the video below.

Unfortunately for mommy and daddy, Scott seems most motivated to take advantage of these newfound skills when he's spotted something he's not supposed to play with ... like say, cords, or an outlet. I thought he was headed for the toy I put by the swing. How foolish of me.

Operation: Baby Proof

So I've started noticing that the Tank has become a lot more "mobile" lately.

No more potted plant.

I can plunk him down, and 10 seconds later, he's maneuvered himself, via combination scoot, rock and belly roll,  to the china cabinet, the Bose sound system, the edge of the coffee table, or pretty much any other area I don't want him to be.

No one is watching...I am off! Ooh! Look what I found!

You keep saying that 'no' word mommy, but I am going to pretend I don't understand it. Cords are fun!

I shudder to think how fast he'll be once he actually figures out how to crawl.

For weeks I've been putting off babyproofing our home. This weekend, I finally decided I had run out of time.

So I did what is innately comfortable to me. I began to research. I quickly realized there is a crazy amount of stuff you can do to "babyproof" every inch of the house. One article even suggested I crawl around on my hands and  knees to get my son's "perspective" and try to understand what might be attractive to him.

Really? This is a kid who puts his feet in his mouth - willingly.
I don't think I want to tap into his perspective.

Anyhoo...I took myself down to Buy Buy Baby, where again, I was confronted with so much child safety equipment that I began to wonder if the manufacturers thought I wanted my son to live in a bubble, or if I intended to leave him home for days on end with no supervision save the dog. (Who I am sure would make a fine sitter, if asked.)

Ultimately, Jim and I decided to take the middle route. After my sister informed me in no uncertain terms that Scott, at eight months of age, is VERY capable of both learning and understanding the word "No," we opted for a combo approach.

We'd babyproof enough to minimize the major hazards and keep Scott out of the big temptation areas, but mostly, we'd rely on the tried and true teaching method.  I have a feeling "NO" is about to become a big part of my vocabulary.

I used it 51 times today -- see first paragraph about Scott rolling to china cabinet and the stereo system wires. (He also tried to eat the rocks in our front yard.)

Despite our best efforts, our "modest" babyproofing approach still set us back $200.

For that we got a lovely white metal swing door gate, which we are putting in the hallway to keep Scott from crawling into the dining room (which contains our wine cabinets and lots of tantalizing upside-down hanging stemware); a brown cushiony strip thing that stretches the length of our brick fireplace hearth (which we hope will keep him from bumping or scraping his little face and head on the corners); outlet covers; three large plastic things designed to contain stereo and computer cords; a strap system that will attach our ginormous flat screen TV to the wall so the Tank can't pull it over on top of himself; and a magnetic lock system for our kitchen and sink cabinets that we hope will help keep the Munchkin from playing with Comet or lobster picks.

Scott will get access to one kitchen cabinet. It's filled with tupperware, a wooden spoon, and a few measuring cups which will no doubt create lots of noise when he bangs them on the floor. (He LOVES making big loud noises.)

In the end though, there's no substitute for actually watching him like a hawk. Unless we need to step out for a minute, in which case I can always spend hundreds more dollars to "bubbleproof" the house, and leave him in Baxter's good care.

Me? Get into trouble? NEVER.

Scoot, Scoot...but not quite a crawl

Someone is on the move. Sort of.

Scott is developing what I can only term "a belly scoot."

He pushes himself into a semi-upright position using his hands, then kicks his legs, and -- with a great deal of effort and grunting -- inches himself to the left, the right, and sometimes even backward on his stomach.

I want that phone. I think I can, I think I can.

Got it! I am the greatest!

He has yet to learn how to go forward. He clearly hasn't learned that lesson about the shortest distance between two points being a straight line. But I know its only a matter of time -- my baby is getting ready to crawl!

Learning to crawl is exhausting.

I've been told that some little ones skip right over that part and move straight into walking. Judging by this picture, Tank may be contemplating that as well. He is, after all, brilliant. (And, I am quite sure, an overachiever.)

Why shimmy along the floor when I can just walk like the big kids?