@knowsstuff my mom did parent & me classes from a super young age too. I know I could swim before I could walk. My mom used to babysit a young child who drowned (not while she was watching them!) so she was hypervigilant about getting us swimming lessons.
We were going to take lessons with baby as soon as we could, but with covid right now it’s not worth it. I’m not entirely sure what we’re going to do but it’s not as pressing since we don’t have a pool and probably aren’t going to be around water until next summer, I’m not as concerned as I normally would be.
We had our kids take swimming lessons from age two or so. I told them they would both learn to swim—it was non negotiable. There’s too much water—grandparents and relatives had pools, friends had pools and parties where there were pools, and beaches everywhere.
Their swimming isn’t going to win them any awards but both are pretty comfortable in and near water.
Covid is definitely making it tougher for any lessons.
I vividly remember D pitched a fit when she graduated at age 5 to the competition pool because the water was “too cold”. After a summer in the competition pool with her shivering and having her lips turning blue, we gave her private lessons at my parents’ well heated community pool until she started to go to summer camp where lessons were integrated into their day. In our area, lots of the teenage lifeguards were eager to take on swim teaching jobs for littles and they were actually cheaper than then the group classes. D liked the having a teen better than the adult instructors.
I was scarred for life from swimming lessons at the beach. We were pulled out of the water while doing laps for a shark sighting when I was 8 or 9, around the same time Jaws was released, and I’ve never been comfortable in salt water since ; )
Ren is 4 months today. He’s been rolling belly to back for a few weeks now (so… goodbye tummy time - even though we didn’t do you that often. Oops) and can roll back to belly (though most of the time he gets stuck so he doesn’t do it very often).
He really, REALLY wants to sit and stand up lol. He’s no longer happy laying down. It’s honestly probably not going to be too much longer until he can sit up. Sigh.
He loves this really obnoxious singing duck and playing with blankets. We’ve had a few rough nights because of sleep regression but overall, he’s a very happy baby.
Great to hear from you Romani, and very happy for you that you are in a good place with family and baby. You guys went through so much to bring this child into the world. Tough getting pregnant, then giving birth during a horrible pandemic.
Good to hear motherhood is going well. Also good that you’re far too busy to take time to post- so many more important things going on in your life. May CC be around in another 15 years when it is your turn to start obsessing about colleges.
Almost 5.5 months now. He’s doing great. He can hold himself up on furniture, standing for about 30-40 seconds at a time. He can sit up but he chooses not to unless it’s to play with something he’s not supposed to. (Up today: a plastic bag with all my pill bottles in it ?). He’s not really babbling yet (again, he can, but he won’t “talk” unless he’s in a specific mood) but he still loves to SCREAM.
We’ve been doing solids for several weeks now. Favorites: avocado, potatoes, applesauce, noodles, and nectarines. The only thing we’ve given him so far that he isn’t a big fan of is green beans lol. He also feeds himself with his bottle now ?.
I’ll put up another dump of pictures today. Our nights have been rough since we hit the 4 month sleep regression and then I’m pretty sure he’s been teething for weeks now. It’s rough. He’s a happy baby though so I can’t ask for more than that ?.
Oh he also blows raspberries now to let us know that he is done with something. Not quite sure how that started lol.
@showmom858 absolutely :). And since I still WFH and Mr R is still very part-time, we’re doing much better than if we had to deal with the sleep issues AND normal 8-5+ jobs.
He’s way ahead on mobile/developmental milestones and slightly behind on verbal ones.
I know most parents say this, but I think he’s going to be a pretty smart kid. He just picks things up so quickly and once he decides he’s going to do something, he’s gonna do it. It might take some (a lot) screaming to get to that point but he gets there.
Part of me wonders whether or not being so isolated for his early life is going to affect him or not as he grows up. There’s nothing I can do about it obviously - and I wouldn’t risk getting COVID for anything - but he’s still only met about 15 or so people in his life. I’m hoping that doesn’t lead to some very clingy behaviors in a few months.
You worry about broader socialization when he’s a little older. Right now, his world IS pretty large. And you’ve had him with his cousins and others.
Friend’s grandbaby saw only the parents most of the first year (mom is wfh.) My friend would visit maybe once every 6 weeks and it terrorized the baby if she even walked into the room. This was a late, surprise pregnancy, no friends with young kids, no local Mommy and Me, etc.
Entirely different than your situation.
Best wishes.
My son had less socialization (at least with other kids) and is a full grown social animal. I wouldn’t worry a bit (although I did at the time). What I did learn along the way was that talking with adults on a regular basis (versus a preschool experience) really increased his vocabulary which made his interactions with multiple groups of people that much easier.
Little over 6 months now. Basically no change since last update lol. He goes in for his 6 month appt next week and I have a feeling his height and weight will have jumped up several percentiles.
He crawls like a champ. He’s still trying to stand and walk. He’s a pretty good sleeper now - goes down for naps and night sleep great! The whole staying asleep thing is a problem though…
He hilariously loves the stuff Mr R and I can’t stand - avocado, black beans, kale. He hasn’t had a food so far that he dislikes. His two front bottom teeth FINALLY came in after what feels like a month and a half of teething.
The dog is still his favorite thing in the world. He has been babbling now but still only when he feels like it. He says “mama” but he doesn’t know what it means.
I’ll update pictures and videos soon on his album.