Ben is crawling. Well, scoot - crawl - fall - ing. He's definitely mobile, however. Everything in the room is fair game at this point, so we are going to need to seriously think about how baby-proof our living room is. He hasn't ventured beyond it yet, and I can't even imagine what it will be like when he can get all over the house. He's still slow enough we can catch him before he gets into too many cords or DVDs or books. We have a large wooden coffee table that might prove a problem, and then the primary feature of the living room - the wall-sized rock fireplace, is a hazard all itself. I really don't have any great baby-proofing ideas as of yet. I only look around and see danger. I have friends who swear by baby corrals, and we still haven't used the bottom half of the Pack N Play as a playpen just yet. When Josh is caring for Ben during the week, he needs to be able to leave the room every now and then - at least to go to the bathroom, and with Ben's mobility, it will be interesting to see how this week goes.
We still have not heard from the orthotics place regarding Ben's helmet appointment. I am still dreading when he has the helmet, but I know it's for the best. I emailed Dr. Fearon from Dallas Children's Hospital and he agreed that Ben needs a helmet as soon as possible. I feel much more confident, now that we've received second and third opinions on the matter, and I'm sure we will be even more sure of our decision after it is all over with.
Try not to worry about the playpen thing. I wasn't sure it was a great idea at first, figured she'd cry. She does, sometimes. But it does give me a few minutes of peace now that she's awake for longer, so I can use the bathroom and etc. I try and only put her in there for emergencies, and say after a feeding and diaper change, when she does'nt NEED anything, so I can sneak off and get a drink, food, read a book for 10 minutes, etc. to clear my head. Basically I put some of her favorite toys in there and sit her up with a pacifier. I don't know that Ben uses one, but it is helpful if a baby is used to it, because it gives them something to 'work on' while they're playing in there. In general during the day except for naps Keeley doesn't get one anymore. So... basically don't be afraid to use it. He will need a 'safe' place to be from time to time and if he learns to play independently in a safe place, you'll be very grateful. I'm just kind of sad I didn't figure that out BEFORE the excessive crawling and getting into things started. I let her play independently, but not in the playpen. Might have been a more smooth transition. But, usually she's only in it for 1/2 hour or less, and if she's really upset I don't leave her in it. I grab a drink and a book and come back in and alternately watch her playing and read a few pages. Think of it as practice for sitting still in a chair in school!
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