Syracuse Parent and CNY Family

Jennifer Wing, editor of "Syracuse Parent" and "Mother Knows Best," lives in Manlius with her husband, Eric, and children, Cassidy, 7, and Jacob, 5. She has worked at Eagle Newspapers since 2005. You can leave comments below. She may also be reached at editor@syracuseparent.net

The joys of mobility
Posted on Thu, January 21st, 2010
Written by: Sarah Hall,
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It’s official: the gates are up in my house.
Some time shortly before Christmas, my son Andrew (known as The String Bean because he’s ridiculously long and skinny) discovered he could crawl. At first, my husband Brian and I were so excited. “Look at him!” we’d exclaim. “He’s such a big kid!” He’d scoot around on the floor, then look at us and grin, terribly pleased with himself.
At first, it was great.
Then Andrew learned what crawling meant.
It meant he could move.
Suddenly, the world was his oyster. No longer confined to the boring living room where he’d always spent so much time, at least to the safe, baby-proofed parts, he could roam the entire first floor. No pillow, pile of blankets or parent lying in the middle of the floor could stop him; he could power right over (or through) them. That meant access to all kinds of wonderful things, from the inside of the entertainment center to the dishes of cat food in the kitchen to the dirty shoes in the foyer.
That meant the gates went up.
Now, I’m the oldest of four. I was 14 when my youngest sister went through her crawling phase. You’d think I’d know what to expect. But I was amazed by how quickly Andrew progressed from slowly creeping along to rapidly propelling himself through the house – inevitably, toward things he can’t have and rooms he shouldn’t be in (my kitchen is FILTHY, let me tell you. I don’t want to find out how filthy by having my son crawl around on the floor in a white onesie).
So, much to Andrew’s (and our cats’) chagrin, up went the gates. They keep the little monkey from tumbling down the stairs, but they don’t solve our mobility issue. The kid can get from one side of the house to the other in a matter of seconds, and if you don’t let him crawl around, he yells until you put him down. Then the second he’s on the floor, he heads straight for something he’s not supposed to have, be it the gross welcome mat inside the front door or the TV remote.
It’s beyond frustrating, because he can’t be stopped. Andrew’s not the kind of kid who can be distracted by a different toy or another activity; once he decides he wants to do something, he’s going to do it, regardless of who or what gets in his way. He actually crawled over the cat the other day to get to the remote. He’s unstoppable and utterly exhausting
But just when I think I’m at my wit’s end, The String Bean will crawl over to me, put his little hand on my leg and smile his big, two-toothed smile up at me, so proud of himself and what he can do.
I can’t wait until he can walk.

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