My Baby Is Mobile, Now What?

Our little guy is 9 months old now. It has its perks. Like he called me “mama” (excuse me for a moment while my heart melts) but we have also come across some new challenges. Mostly its that we have a crawling and curious baby. He’s been crawling/rolling for a few months now but just recently he’s gotten quick and pretty vocal about wanting to explore. Today I want to give you 3 quick tips/tricks to help with a moving baby.

   1) Baby Proof – This sounds like a no brainer, yeah that’s what I though too, but it actually takes a little consideration. You have the general stuff like outlet covers and cabinet locks but you wouldn’t believe all the other things they find to get into. Try crawling around at their level and you’ll see other potential hazards. My mom always tells me “if it crosses your mind then it definitely crosses theirs”. Also just keep and eye out for their “favorites”. At this age babies do have some memory and they often have spots they like to play around. Our guy loves the pet water bowl so when I see him crawling off at lighting speed I know just where he is heading. Always keep in mind that no amount of baby proofing should make you feel safe enough to leave your baby alone, but they could play safely nearby while you cook dinner, veg out on the couch, or write a blog post. Oh excuse me, I have to go catch a baby from a water bowl.

    2) Puffs are magic – Maybe that old song was about something different, but I’m talking about cereal puffs. Though normally I wouldn’t give a baby anything packaged or processed these are pretty neutral and to me it wasn’t a bad trade for a little break every now and then. I found an organic, gluten free, and fruit juiced sweetened brand. If you don’t want to do packaged any small-diced finger food will do. It takes baby awhile to pick up and eat the food. Sometimes I put our son in a high chair but more often I sprinkle a couple puffs on the ground and it’s a good distraction and good practice for him. Yes, our son eats floor food sometimes and you can roll your judgey eyes but you’ll do it too and you’ll think damn she was right, it sure is nice to sit down for a minute.

  3) Keep it novel- Our son can have 10 toys in front of him and instead he’ll go for my phone or the computer every time. Like all humans, babies want what they can’t have. They get bored with their toys quickly; they’ve touched it, they’ve put it in their mouth, and now it’s old news. You could constantly buy new toys, yeah right, or you can rotate toys. I put up some toys for a week or two and then bring them back out and BAM new again! I also give him bag clips and kitchen utensils, anything that he can’t normally get to. If I’m cooking dinner I will move some magnets to the lower part of the fridge and let him figure out how to pull them off. Sometimes I put him in the empty bathtub while I’m getting ready and he thinks that’s hilarious.

The best thing to remember is: just be creative and keep changing it up. As baby grows what they can reach changes and so does what interests them. When baby becomes mobile, you will become mobile too. Sometimes instead of trying to contain them just follow them around and you’ll have a game of chase in no time.

Do you have any go to moves for crawling and cruising babies?