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Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
The past week has been one of those when everything clicks and in the course if seven days, Ruby changes in 57 ways. Suddenly, not only is she bigger physically (finally outgrowing her 6-9 months clothes), she also has had some kind of awakening, in which her understanding of the world around her has made a huge leap.
A month ago, she was not so impressive. Our friends’ 9-month-old baby G came over for a photo shoot with my sister, and he was showing off all his awesome skills – clapping, saying dog, standing up unassisted for a few moments, slapping high five, and so on.
Ruby did none of those cool tricks, and for the first time, I felt a queasy little doubt twisting my stomach. What if I wasn’t doing a good enough job teaching her things? What if she’s behind where she could be because of me? What if I’m a bad and lazy mom?
Since I work from home, I spend a fair chunk of each day sitting at my computer, letting Ruby entertain herself with an arsenal of plastic noisy crap (you know, the type of toys I was sooo above when I was pregnant) and a steady stream of Nick Jr. on TV in the background. While I’m working, she comes and tries to climb up my legs periodically – like every 5-10 minutes – so I pick her up and tickle her and sing along with Yo Gabba Gabba (her favorite show) and play the upside down game until she is cheerful again. Then I set her down on the floor, chuck a noisy toy at her, and scramble to get some work done before the next interruption.
I’ve been using work as my excuse for not spending more face-to-face time with Ruby, but baby G’s parents both work full time, and yet here was their smart little boy, just glowing with awesomeness. So I started trying to actively teach her more, carrying her around outside more, pointing out leaves and flowers and bees; playing patty cake more and showing her how to clap her hands; saying “You see the dog? Where’s the dog? There’s the dog!”; letting her pet Alistair and saying, “That’s right, that’s a nice cat. What a pretty cat!”; repeatedly enunciating, “MORE Cheerios? You want some MORE? Chew, chew, chew! How about some WATER? You want some WATER? Eat some of your PEAS and CARROTS.”
The first change I noticed was an increase in her understanding of what we say, most notably in relation to books. Overnight she went from mildly interested in books to rabidly in love with them, as in today I declined to read her Cats book a third time in a row, so she pitched a massive, screaming, foot-stomping tantrum. You can’t sit in the recliner with her anymore without her staring pointedly at the stack of books on the end table and repeating an excited “heh” sound. Then if you say, “Book? You want to read a book?” she looks up at you with a bright smile on her face, surprised and delighted that you understood her. She also tries to lift the flaps and turn the pages herself now, and when you say “¿Dónde están los ojitos?” [Where are the little eyes?] she laughs with glee when you lift the flap to reveal they are “Debajo de la gorrita!” [Under the little hat!]
One morning last week, I was trying to take her photo in her polka dot bathrobe one time before she outgrew it, and I said, “Yay Ruby!” to attract her attention and get her to smile. Suddenly, she started clapping her hands, just like that. I was so proud! She has been applauding herself and her dinner and the dog and just about everything since then, and she looks so big doing it!
The very next day, D took her outside and she said, “Dog, dog” at the dogs leaping around in the fence and now says it with some regularity. The next morning, she looked at her stack of books beside the recliner and said, “book” (well, booh), which she did again yesterday and again today. As a long-time bookworm, I feel such a thrill of pride every time I think about her fourth word being “book!”
Last night, she gave my sister a high five, and she now, all of a sudden, leans out to be held by her aunt, her granny and a select few others. She can also stand on her own for a few seconds before getting scared and plopping down, and she tries this more often every day.
I’m so excited by all these fun developments that are turning her before my eyes into a toddler! I ordered her three more books by Matthew Van Fleet (author of her two favorite books, Cats and Dogs), and I’m still pointing out everything, narrating everything down to stirring the formula in her morning oatmeal and snapping up her diaper, not least of all because if I explain as we go, it often averts her impatient meltdowns.
I don’t know if it’s all the teaching that brought on this burst of learning or if this was just her moment. Either way, I can’t wait to hear her next word!
Don’t feel like a bad Mum just because Ruby isn’t doing all the same things as other babies are. Babies develop and learn at their own pace. My eldest daughter was walking by 9 months but my 4 other children never walked until they were 12 months old. So stop worrying so much, Ruby sounds like she is doing just fine to me.
I have to agree with Jan. My first two walked at around 12 months. My third started at 10 months and my last baby didn’t take her first steps until 15 months! My first and last started saying their first words long before their first birthday, my second and third waited until age two to start.
I think this was probably just her “moment” but I’m guessing all the mommy time she gets from you helps, too. You may be working and distracted but just being with you while you work does wonders for her, so dump the guilt. She *needs* that time to just play without direction from you or anyone else and when she needs your attention, you stop what you are doing and give it to her. Sounds about as good as it can get for a baby!
Oh my gosh though, I just can’t wait to start reading your posts when she heads into her second year. You. Are. Going. To. Pop. I promise!
You are doing a fantastic job. I wish every baby had such a loving, attentive and enthusiastic mother as Ruby has.
I’m a preschool teacher and with the younger kids in our center, under 2, we constantly narrate everything. It is a really great thing to do even though you tend to feel a little silly doing it. Hurray for Ruby’s burst of achievements!