Baby Steps

It is with mixed feelings I make the following announcement.

My baby is walking.

Jesse's been "cruising" for a while, then he started taking a step or two by himself. We excitedly watched while one or two turned into four or five. Then, Wednesday, he just took off. He walked halfway across the living room. He walked down the hall. He walked all the way across the living room. My parents were here most of the week and got to witness this milestone. Needless to say, Jesse hasn't gotten all the kinks worked out. He still needs to grab something to help him to a standing position. When he stoops to pick up a toy he usually falls over. Sometimes he forgets to watch where his feet are stepping and trips on something. Fortunately he doesn't have far to fall.

With the excitement and pride of watching my little one learn to walk alone comes the concern for his safety. (Of course all of us are always concerned for our children's safety, but how much trouble can they get into before they're mobile?) This really started when he began pulling up on things a while ago. I had stumbled across the story of a child who was killed when he pulled a chest of drawers over on top of himself. Before reading that article, I hadn't thought much about it. I've since moved a table that Jesse could very easily pull over on himself. I tied Olivia's play kitchen (it's in one large piece) to her bed so he wouldn't pull it over. Lately I've been more careful of how many toys are scattered around the living room that he could trip on. I know kids will get hurt sooner or later and you can't protect them from everything, but some things are more dangerous than others, such as televisions, stereos, computers, chests of drawers, bookshelves, and any other heavy item that a child could knock over (or off something) on top of himself. Hopefully writing this will prompt me to reduce the potential hazards in my home. Maybe it will enourage you to think about yours.