Sit, stand, then lay down and cry about it

Charli started sitting up around 3 months. She wanted to sit at 2 but simply couldn't straighten her back for very long. By 4 months I'd plop her on the floor and could do something that needed doing. She started rolling over a few months ago and though I still plop her on the floor, I also have to clear the floor of anything I don't want her to have and if I walk into the next room I can't be gone long as she'll inevitably become insanely curious about something like the power cord I tucked beneath the couch. (Seriously, the girl has Joel's energy and my willpower. It is a great combo... that needs eternal supervision) At six months she began holding onto the edge of a sofa or bed and standing on her own. She still reeeeally likes to hang onto the rungs on the back of our dining room chairs. Over a month ago she learned to get herself on all fours and has an increasing desire to move forward. All this time later she is still getting on all fours, looking at the object of her desire and then laying down on her tummy to either roll to it or cry it out.

Maybe I should be worried that my daughter who was initially such a quick student on mobility has now seemed to hit a wall. Other mothers with 9 month old babies who have cut teeth or babies who are crawling holes in their carpets have certainly seemed to suggest so. I've noticed that the majority of these mothers hang out at the grocery store. They are there every time I go even though I never go at the same time or weekday.

There's this unwritten set of rules that all new parents instinctively know. When you see another young parent, stop. Say hi. Then talk about your babies; names, ages and what ability they've just aquired.

The first few times other mothers seemed to be concerned for Charli, I got a bit flustered. Then I took a deep breath, realized these women have no more experience than I do in child raising and I looked at the people around me. Almost everyone I saw was walking. Chances are Charli will figure out the whole one-foot-in-front-of-the-other sooner rather than later. If nothing else, she'll figure it out on her first day of school when she experiences peer pressure. In the meantime, I can still get a few things done around the house because I'm not chasing my child around.

Now, should I happen upon a self-righteous mother-of-a-walking-talking-infant, I don't pay too much attention to the way their face looks after chatting with me about what Charli's up to. She'll most likely get that politely concerned look on her face because Charli's not crawling yet. And I'll have a smile on mine.... because Charli's not crawling yet.