Mommy and Me
My rapidly growing Kung Fu Panda has hit a new stage: the Velcro baby. Like a Velcro monkey, with its arms perpetually wrapped around another monkey, he wants to be on -- or near -- me constantly. Only a week or so ago, he was content to explore our living room, playing with his toys happily for 10-15 minutes at a time. Lately, he seems to need to be either right next to me, or grabbing at me. In particular, he seems drawn to the tray table I use for the laptop and tries to hang onto it to pull himself up or, other times, shake it.
Whereas before, I could breastfeed him and get a little typing done while he lay dozing on my lap afterward, now he's so alert that the minute he's done, he wants to zip away. But, of course, not too far.
To make matters worse, he no longer wants to spend any time in the bouncer, where he used to play happily -- and safely -- for up to 20 minutes at a time. He's too anxious to explore, and yet, even though I've essentially baby proofed the living room, he rarely seems happy lately unless he's right next to me.
I thought it was just me, but apparently, he's been doing the same thing when I leave him at the YMCA's Child Watch service. Today and yesterday, he refused to play with toys on the floor but, instead, just wanted to be held.
Since he seems to be over his cold, I'm not sure what's going on. I guess he's just going through a cuddly period. Or maybe, because he's becoming more and more aware of the outer world, he requires a little comforting, someone to tell him that, no matter how big the world is, he still has a safe base to retreat to. Another possibility suggested to me is that he's having more teething pain and needs soothing as a result.
As I began writing this, he was hanging off the tray table again, but then I managed to successfully move him onto the floor, where he's playing with an old computer keyboard a friend gave us to use as a distraction when he's fascinated by the computer. For now, it seems to be working. Let's hope!
BTW, if anyone has any tips on how to balance a writing career with a rambunctious 8-month-old, I'd love to hear it! Even though I've radically downsized my daily expectations, it's frequently a battle to get anything done. That is also, of course, why I've been so terrible about social networking lately. My apologies!
Moral:
My little explorer is also a homebody.
Whereas before, I could breastfeed him and get a little typing done while he lay dozing on my lap afterward, now he's so alert that the minute he's done, he wants to zip away. But, of course, not too far.
To make matters worse, he no longer wants to spend any time in the bouncer, where he used to play happily -- and safely -- for up to 20 minutes at a time. He's too anxious to explore, and yet, even though I've essentially baby proofed the living room, he rarely seems happy lately unless he's right next to me.
I thought it was just me, but apparently, he's been doing the same thing when I leave him at the YMCA's Child Watch service. Today and yesterday, he refused to play with toys on the floor but, instead, just wanted to be held.
Since he seems to be over his cold, I'm not sure what's going on. I guess he's just going through a cuddly period. Or maybe, because he's becoming more and more aware of the outer world, he requires a little comforting, someone to tell him that, no matter how big the world is, he still has a safe base to retreat to. Another possibility suggested to me is that he's having more teething pain and needs soothing as a result.
As I began writing this, he was hanging off the tray table again, but then I managed to successfully move him onto the floor, where he's playing with an old computer keyboard a friend gave us to use as a distraction when he's fascinated by the computer. For now, it seems to be working. Let's hope!
BTW, if anyone has any tips on how to balance a writing career with a rambunctious 8-month-old, I'd love to hear it! Even though I've radically downsized my daily expectations, it's frequently a battle to get anything done. That is also, of course, why I've been so terrible about social networking lately. My apologies!
Moral:
My little explorer is also a homebody.