Here Comes Trouble

 

A while back, a coworker warned me to enjoy it while I could. She told me to enjoy the time when I could put Hannah down in a pillow fort on the bed or put her on her play mat with a selection of toys and she would entertain herself happily. The coworker told me to be afraid because one day I’d put her down, look away and look back and think “where did she go?”

Well that happened Friday.

Hannah had turned 6 months old the day prior. In the week prior, she’d been maneuvering into a downward dog yoga position, on her hands and feet, and would try to move herself along. She would get frustrated when she didn’t go anywhere. She didn’t quite understand crawling, but I knew it was only a matter of time.

As you’ll see in the video, on Friday I sat down with her after work, and set up a stack of her favorite toys at the end of the mat. After a little coaching, she crawled right to me to knock over the tower of toys. I was elated. I picked up my little angel, hugged her, clapped. So neat! She did it again and again!! How exciting!! This is amazing!!!

That joy has shifted to panic.

Fast forward to Saturday morning when I put her on the play mat and turned to read an email.

To set the stage for you, my husband has been rebuilding the built-in shelves where the TV goes in the den, so for the interim, the TV has been sitting on the floor with the cable box. The nick-knacks that go in those shelves are just placed wherever, on the desk, some on the floor, on the chairs in the room, etc.

Back to Saturday. Hannah is on her play mat, I’m reading an email, and I heard the TV shut off. I looked over, and my darling daughter has crossed the room, made it to the TV, and has pulled the cable wire that connects the box to the TV.

I only looked away for like 20 seconds!

It didn’t stop there. Throughout the course of the weekend, I watched Hannah:

•    Try to stand up leaning on her carseat for support
•    Pull all the books off her shelves
•    Chew on the coffee table leg (I cleaned it recently at least)
•    Try to pull herself up on her bouncer chair
•    Pull herself up on the stone fireplace hearth
•    Death grip the cat’s tail
•    Pull my digital camera off the coffee table
•    Dump over the cats water dish (twice)
•    And last but not least, pulled a laundry basket full of socks over

Did I mention she learned to crawl the DAY before?!

Now I’m looking around the room. Our house is basically a giant child safety hazard. We’ve put plug covers on outlets, and have some cabinet locks, but now I’m noticing the extent of what she can get into.

I’m noticing every piece of fuzz, the crystal bowl on the coffee table, the DVDs stacked on the fireplace hearth, the ladder out for the built-ins remodel, the basket of laundry, there’s a pen on the floor, the trash can is full, there are some coins on the table, computer wires on the floor, and there cabinets everywhere. I’m noticing everything on the floor and within the grasp of 3 feet from the ground – it’s is all fair game.  

Just typing this I imagined what will happen when she finds the bookcases full of DVDs.

I think I’ll be rearranging some things and cleaning this week. It’s a whole new ballgame folks!

Tracey Klinge is a St. Marketing Specialist at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and Mother to 6-month-old Hannah.