May 10, 2006

Somebody found their way to this site by searching for “my child is eight months and not crawling”. Hey, same here, Mystery Googler! But fear not, for every child develops at their own pace, and soon enough both you and I will wonder what we did with all that free time before Junior started slithering around the house and tongue-probing open electrical sockets.

It’s sort of hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that Riley will be independently ambulatory at some point, I suppose it’s a reluctance on my part to picture him as a toddler instead of a baby…a deliciously soft, sweet-smelling, tiny…little…

Well! Pardon me while I sob brokenly into my shirtsleeve for a moment, here. Ahh, that’s better. Nothing like the emotional dichotomy of awaiting all new stages with breathless excitement while simultaneously mourning each passing moment, you know? I can’t wait for Riley to learn more and do more; I can’t stand the thought that he’s growing older by the nanosecond! Ha ha haaa, I’m going CRAZY!

(Crazy like a fox.)

(What?)

(I don’t know. Let’s move on.)

Watching the video Kristin posted of her ridiculously adorable Nolan doing his hilarious version of crawling actually briefly melted all of the connective tissue in my body with its awesomeness. I hope Riley busts some kind of cool-ass move like that, because that would be even better than American Idol.

Well, except for the Chris Daughtry songs. Sorry, Riley, but if it’s a question of sharing the magical experience of my firstborn child tackling a developmental milestone or watching Chris sing “A Little Less Conversation”, you’ll just have to do it again during the commercial break. Maybe if you had a wallet chain mommy would love you just a little bit more.

(9:47 PM update: Noooooo! WHY GOD WHY?)

I’m told that when I was little I didn’t crawl, but rather motored around by ‘walking’ on all fours, which seems highly advanced and probably indicative of incipient genius on my part – unfortunately for a while I also fell a lot but never put my hands out, thus constantly smashing facefirst into things and no doubt knocking all the gifted neurons into a permanently unused portion of my brain, along with my future ability to understand that microwaving a cup made of both metal and plastic is not a good idea. So here’s hoping Riley got an extra dipper from JB’s gene pool when it comes to early locomotion.

:::

In all the flurry of preparing for our weekend trip to Victoria – washing clothes, assembling all of Riley’s necessities, making reservations – I completely forgot all about Dog until this afternoon, when I placed a frantic and guilty call to the vet to see if she could be boarded. Thankfully there is room, but O how the mighty have fallen; Dog, who used to be top Dog in this household, now slipped somewhere below the laundry in terms of importance.

Tonight, to partially make amends for both my forgetfulness and her upcoming kennel stay, I allowed her to eat the leftovers from our dinner, which included some slow-cooked beans. I’m not sure if dogs are truly capable of revenge, but as a result of the mortiferous aroma that’s been wafting gently in my direction ever since, I think it’s safe to say that for now, Dog is pretty much first and foremost on my mind.

51006_dog.jpg
(“Forget about me, will you? Fine, I’ll gas you out AND dig in your garden.”)

Comments

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
24 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
MizzM
MizzM
17 years ago

And I so directed someone to your Blog because they not only have a new baby, but they also used to be “Dog People” too! (Their dogs are a Golden Retriever and a Beagle–they would never resort to having cats…)

Oh, by the way, the CRAWLING stage is the WORST stage because it means they can start pulling themselves up on things but are unable to maintain balance, and therefore, fall over–OFTEN. WALKING is way better.

And 3rd grade? Best one YET! So, go ahead and get all snot-nosed in your sleeve, but I’m here to tell you, it only gets BETTER (and more snot-nosed) from here on out! Babies ROCK, but the weird stuff that comes out of your child when they master speech and learn to understand the power of words (whether they be humorous or manipulative)–PRICELESS!

Katie
17 years ago

YESSSS!!! I have been on a kick lately of hoping my dog will just run away. And she has been my BABY. My precious (MY PRECIOUSSSSS) baby for the last 7 years. Until the REAL baby arrived. Now she just annoys me. Its so sad.

Oh. And the mud. Why, or WHY did I get a retriever and not a prissy chihuahua who would just use a litterbox or my shoe?

Jem
Jem
17 years ago

Aww. Way to go, Dog!

Shannon
17 years ago

Have fun in Victoria! Be sure and visit the cool Bug Museum while you’re there!

jen
jen
17 years ago

Does Dog like staying at the vet? I assume yes, but if not, I know of an awesome petsitter! :o)

Jo
Jo
17 years ago

Wait until Riley gets old enough to spark up a meaningful friendship with Dog. They may turn out to be constant companions….plotting against this ‘Mom’ person they keep hearing about….

nic
nic
17 years ago

When I was little, I inserted a step in between crawling and pulling myself up and walking. I, for some strange reason, decided to walk on my knees for quite some time. My mom always says that people were so impressed by how fast I could get myself around on my knees.

kara marie
17 years ago

Dog is so rad.

How’s Cat? What about Cat?

JennB
17 years ago

Poor dog… Our dogs have taken second realm after P hatched, but I still try to make an effort to play with them and brush them. I feel so sad for them. I can’t believe one of your readers wished their dog would run away. That breaks my heart a little bit, almost as much as the fact that my little girl is 16 months old, talking her head off, and getting more independant (read: demanding) every day…. *sigh*

I guess this is why people have other babies. I can’t wrap my head around that one yet, though.

Betsy
17 years ago

My son is a little older than yours, so I understand your impulse to sob uncontrollably at the thought of him getting bigger and being ambulatory. But fear not! Bigger kids are even better in some ways. My little guy is 16 months old, and it makes me melt into a little puddle when he comes toddling over to me and sits in my lap for a puddle, just because he wanted to, not because I swooped in and grabbed him.

Emily
17 years ago

I wish my gas was so noxious that it could be used as vengeance.

Jessamyn
17 years ago

We feel the same way about Molly! Annoyed with her and yet guilty for being so annoyed, since she was once the most beloved creature in the house. We haven’t tried beans to compensate for her lack of attention, though…

Sunshyn
17 years ago

Crawling is very important for brain development. I never crawled, they tell me. Hey, that’s what’s wrong with me! Roo crawled, a little late, I think. He tended to roll wherever he wanted to go for a while.

tracey
17 years ago

Oh, Riley will be crab-walkin’ in no time, then cruising, then stumbling, and then out of nowhere BOLTING for the nearest exit, unlocking the front door, letting himself out for an afternoon stroll around the neighborhood…oh wait, that’s not Riley, that’s my Iris. Sorry, I had a moment.
It is so true though, there’s a little heartbreak in every milestone. And I’m thinkin’ it never ends. My oldest is 8 and she’s still working my emotions like a rib.

fellowmom
fellowmom
17 years ago

Hey, Sundry. My cat passed away when the boys were six months old. (sniff!) Granted he was 18 years old and had been diabetic for the past 5, but I still think he kind of threw in the towel a bit knowing that he was no longer our baby. Fortunately dog is young and fit and gassy enough to make sure you keep him in mind.

Also, one of my twins started crawling at 7 mos., and the other still doesn’t at 10.5 mos., but he’s all verbal and stuff. So, we just think each has his own skilz. (OK secretly I am really happy only one is crawling. . . .)

Mimi
Mimi
17 years ago

Geez – Dog won’t even look at you for a picture.

Poor Dog is very very upset! You better bring her back something better than a “my owners went to Victoria and all I got was this stupid shirt” shirt from your trip to make it up! ;)

oh – I am also having Riley Picture Withdrawal. Please hook us up, dealer.

LIsa
17 years ago

My son never scooted, rolled, nothing – until Mothers Day last year (gotta love the timimg – giving me crawling for Mother’s day! I was so proud!!!! He was 9 months old. My mom drove me crazy with her “you got to teach him to crawl!!!” thing and I was basking in the glory that was a non-mobile child. And ya know what? He was walking like a champ before his first birthday! My theory? He didn’t want to be bothered with half-assed getting around. He didn’t crawl til he could totally do it – and it was all over after that. No worries, girl!

Amy
Amy
17 years ago

Comment by Katie | 2006/05/10 at 22:38:49

YESSSS!!! I have been on a kick lately of hoping my dog will just run away. And she has been my BABY. My precious (MY PRECIOUSSSSS) baby for the last 7 years. Until the REAL baby arrived. Now she just annoys me. Its so sad.>>

Ug, that’s horrible. Was that supposed to be funny or sympathetic, because I found it to be neither…

Kristin
17 years ago

Today Nolan silently rawlked on over to the diaper pail and stuck his grubby little fingers in a discarded diaper while I had my back turned for 1/700ths of a second. Enjoy your final few days of static babyhood, really.

Also, I heart dog. I would like Dog to be Jordi’s girlfriend.

Jenny
17 years ago

Hey Sundry!

Just wanted to say that I enjoyed your posts over on Purple is a Fruit. As I am not part of the Mom Club yet, it seemed more appropriate to reply over here.

Keep linking when there is something there we should check out. I know I will forget, otherwise. More Sundry is always a good thing. :)

Also, I think that Katie was kidding. She surely still loves her dog.

Mel
Mel
17 years ago

Sundry, Ian is two days older than your son and he isn’t crawling yet, either. My mom insists I should teach him to crawl. He can roll, sit, kneel and push himself up on his tummy but no crawling for him yet. It scares me when he does crawl. All my days of what limited freedom I have are over, or will be. I know what you mean about being excited about a milestone and being sad, too. It’s neat to seee the way Ian is developing, but it’s sad because he’s growing up. On a different note, sometimes the patience of Moms are ested, so being annoyed is just part of the package somedays. I don’t think it means pets are loved any less. Somedays, it’s one less thing to deal with. Then again, the only pet I have is a rock.

Rhys
17 years ago

Can’t wait to hear how your very first Mother’s Day went! Happy Mother’s Day! :)

Kathy Wasserman
17 years ago

Google is the best search engine

Donna
12 years ago

Involved a short time to learn all of the comments, but I really enjoyed the write-up. It became actually beneficial to me that i’m optimistic to all with the commenters right here! It’s typically great when you’re able to not just be told, but in addition engaged!