Scooter.
This morning I looked up from my laptop and noticed that Simone’s play mat was empty. Empty, as in the baby who had been there moments before was missing. Naturally, my first thought was Gypsies, but Gypsies prefer warmer climes, and have usually moved south by this time of year. A hawk was another possibility, but surely I would have heard it screeching as it carried off my delectable spawn. And then I DID hear a noise, and glanced to my right, and lo and behold there was Simone, halfway across the room.
Why, she’s learned to crawl! you’re thinking, but no. Simone despises her belly (though that doesn’t stop her from rolling onto it 396 times a day and screaming to be rescued), so I think crawling is still far off. Instead, as I discovered when I watched her make her way under a chair, she has learned to scoot around on her back, head first, by pushing with her heels. It looks…uncomfortable, to say the least, and she is going to rub off what little hair she has by scraping it along our hardwoods, but I must admit she makes good time. I put her back on the mat, and half-a-minute later she was on her side under a distant piece of furniture, toying with a power cord.
Scott is worried that she’ll scrape the back of her scalp raw. Obviously I need to build Simone some sort of pen, or at least clean my floors more often. I may just tape a Swiffer cloth to the back of her head—two birds, one stone.
42 Comments
Velcro + yarmulke?
Here you go: http://www.apparelsearch.com/Unusual_Clothes/unusual_clothing_baby_mops.htm
Turn the outfit around, and you’re good to go.
Excellent idea! …now I must figure out how to knit a swiffer hat…
Your gypsy comment made me laugh! I love this story – it’s such a funny visual, and what a clever little baby you’ve got there. But yes, you definitely need to figure out a way to attach a swiffer to the back of her head – that’s brilliant.
My daughter does it too, and she has not only burned all the hair off the back of the head, but is developing a nice little callous there too ;)
Darn, someone beat me to the BabyMops. Plan B: head-to-toe one-piece fleece baby outerwear (LL Bean Kids). The hood is cushiony to prevent callouses and hair loss, and you can just spray the back of her with Endust or OrangeGlo and lay her down. You’ll have the shiniest floors in America, and Simone will be able to pinpoint for her therapist exactly when things began to go horribly wrong.
Or you could have her change your oil. Someone’s got to be small enough to get in those tight places..
maybe a hat would suffice? and you could attach a little camera to her forehead and check out what her perspective looks like…
The Swiffer idea cracked me up. My granddaughter (one) spent two months rolling. Not crawling, not scooting… rolling. It was like trying to corral a drunken marble.
hehe :) swiffer..
I like the swiffer cloth idea.
Amy used to scoot along on her stomach. Classic commando crawl. I was *this* close a few times to strapping wet cloths to her belly.
Oh and maybe a hat for Simone would stop her damaging her hair?
Or maybe not. Whatever works.
They make a larger sized Swiffer pad for just this type of problem.
http://www.amazon.com/Swiffer-Sweeper-Disposable-Sweeping-16-Count/dp/B000HHPHK4
hahahah absolutely adorable!!! treasure it, it’ll be something to tease her about for years to come ;)
the drunken marble comment? completely cracked me up. kids are precious.
Ahhh mobility at last. It’s downhill all the way now lol! Nothing and nowhere will be safe! If you tie a little bell to the swiffer cloth you will be able to work out which piece of furniture Simone is under … and maybe a small torch so she can see where she’s going….
We need video proof of her new skill!
PTs and OTs just say no to scooting on the head, floor-cleaning benefits to the contrary.
Hilarious! Two birds, one stone cracked me up.
Unsought advice from someone whose kid butt-scoots instead of crawling – don’t rescue her from her stomach. (although the butt-scoot is pretty entertaining, and would allow you to continue the free maid service)
My baby did this, too! We were afraid she was going to do the crab instead of crawling.
Your Swiffer idea is pure genius. Love it.
Hah! This takes me back! One of my best friend’s kid did this for AGES. She didn’t walk until about 17 months, and she back-scooted up until then. The back of her hair was a tangled mess and her shirts were always filthy, but she didn’t seem to care! When she finally walked, much to her mother’s relief, she took off quite quickly. She is 8 now, a big tall strong girl, and fairly athletic. And her hair has grown back :)
Future backstroke gold medalist! Hang some flags up around the house so she knows she’s about to hit a wall.
What an innovator that Simone is. I’m a bit disappointed that she is not yet gainfully employed, so she might as well do some cleaning around the house. P has been down the mines since 6 months, and she’s all the better for it.
Yay for mobility!
I love the swiffer idea!
The image of an inch worm instantly came into my mind – LOL! You must post a video of this. Please?!
I call this move “the backwards crab crawl.” My little one did this for awhile, too. ;-)
That sounds interesting. I would kind of like to see it.
too funny……..this is when i started blocking off areas…….. i tried the pack n play as a playpen but my son threw a fit…so it was just a matter of containment, this is the beginning of the “hellish” months, they become mobile but have absolutely no sense at all. Even worse is when they walk too early (D walked at 8 months), I swear i had more pillows than a bedding store trying to cushion every part of my home and my son still looked like he was in playground fights daily, I am hopeful my daughter will take her sweet time!
Go Simone!
Harry did the same thing – I did wonder if his upside-down caterpillar movement was learned during his continual reflux-arching. He certainly figured out whilst writhing against the acid that he could see behind him and progress in that direction. The only other baby I’ve seen in any of our little baby groups to do the same thing was also a refluxer.
cracking up over the taping a swiffer to the back of her head. So funny.
“you can just spray the back of her with Endust or OrangeGlo and lay her down. You’ll have the shiniest floors in America, and Simone will be able to pinpoint for her therapist exactly when things began to go horribly wrong.” OK, this is the funniest thing I have read in weeks. And the second funniest is: “It was like trying to corral a drunken marble.”
It’s cold, you have an excuse. i am sure someone could make her a hat out of a dust mop. One of those soft micro-fiber ones.
The drunken marble… by far one of the best things I’ve ever heard to describe a baby.
Put a bonnet on her, or a stocking cap of some kind. Sounds adorable! Kind of like the combat crawl, except on her back instead of her tummy. What an amazing baby!
Hey Alexa!
Thanks for the shout out – it means a lot to me.
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xoxo
Tania
Get that baby on her stomach this instant! If she has low muscle tone and doesn’t learn to crawl you will be in physical therapy for months. Stomach!!!! Up on her knees! Get her going now.
I thought it was so cute when my baby scooted around on her tush. And then I found out why she hated being on her stomach and didn’t want to crawl. Horrible, wasteful disaster. If I had worked with her on tummy time I would have saved weeks of therapy which she hated and screamed during almost constantly. Good luck.
Thanks for the laugh this morning. Our 5 month old daughter is starting to surprise us like this too.
Patti
(IVF 10/03/07)
My niece scooted like that too. First, she went bald and then she formed a nice little callous and then, several months into it, her callous got infected somehow. The doctor told my sister-in-law that she had probably scratched the callous open a little and some dirt had gotten in. It took about a week to heal properly and was over and forgotten.
When her little sister was about the same age, she did the same thing, scooted backwards like that. So my sister-in-law bought some fleece and some elastic and made a beanie that ran long in the back, like a beanie with a mullet. It looked ridiculous but I’ll say this: the baby scooted faster than ever and the floor was really quite clean. No hair loss, no callous, no infection =)
The Gypsies comment really cracked me up!
Babies make excellent swifferers.
My hubby has one of those “creeper” thingys that he uses when he works under one of the cars, perhaps something like that would be a better deal for her so she’s not harming her precious little head! Too cute! http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/cl/clarke-car-creeper-with-adjustable-headrest.jpg
oh bethany, you warm the cockles of my physical therapist’s heart! :)
I hope you’re not too worried about the scooting based on the comments. My full-term 5 month old does the exact same thing, but she’s fine on her stomach as well, she just hasn’t mastered moving that way yet. I’m not alarmed, 5 months is too early for stomach crawling, and if my calculations are correct Simone’s adjusted age is pretty close to my baby’s age.
This post was better than a video of the same thing would have been.
Thanks for the smile. It came in handy today
Too funny. I laughed all the way through your story then all the way through your comments, especially the drunked marble comment. Thanks for the laugh.