i shall not stop writing.

People say, being a SAHM is like a maid without pay. Well, I wouldn't want to comment much on that since I am a WAHM.

Part of the perks of being at home 24/7 with the baby not only allows me the flexibility of time to manage work and household matters but most importantly, I am able to see first-hand, new developments and habits of my little one.

The past couple of weeks have been full with new developments and habits... gosh... to all others out there, if you're thinking of questioning 24/7-at-home mommies regarding what they understand about their babies, do not second guess them. It's like they understand foreign (baby) language and any weird sounds you hear actually make so much sense to them... they all have meanings and all are significant.

Anyways... after that attempt to say, 'mama' I posted 2 weeks ago, she has succeeded in pronouncing it accurately just 2 days after that first attempt. The only thing was, she used it whenever she needed anything. So, she'd call her brother mama and she'd say the word freely, not fully intending to call me. However, as of today, I do believe she fully understands that mama means mummy. Still, I do wonder what happened to papa or daddy. We have yet to see her call for her dad although she has said the word, daddy, so many times months ago.

3 days ago, she produced a playful sound by sticking her tongue in and out of her mouth. All those times, I failed to capture it on camera as she'd only do it for a while and as soon as the camera starts rolling, she would just sit pretty, all prim and proper. I noticed that she would do that most of the time, whenever she knew I was going to capture whatever she was doing on video.

But, this morning, I managed to capture that with much coaxing from the little munchkin. Oh... that sweet brother and sister bond...



Anyway, the highlight of the day must be the fact that she has finally 'crawled' after 10 months. I said it as 'crawled' in inverted commas due to the fact that it didn't look that much of a crawl as she didn't quite lift her butt up and at times she was pulling herself to move ;)

In fact, I saw her do that when I heard her calling 'mama' after waking up from her morning nap and she was almost in a front-crawl swimming position, trying to reach for her toy... making it look so much like an attempt to crawl.

See baby, I told you there's nothing for you to worry about.

Well, the one came home from a 2-day forum yesterday and shared with me his concern about our baby not being able to crawl when his friend's 9-month old baby has gone 'everywhere'. This, coming from a man who did tell me before that he didn't even crawl when he was a baby. Apparently, he skipped that phase and learnt to walk instead.

So, I don't get it when he comes home and feel pressured with this issue just because someone else's baby has already done it... As I told him yesterday, why do we want to start comparing things we don't have against what others' have.

As I mentioned to the one, instead of comparing her to what his friend's baby has managed to do, why can't he make comparisons to what their baby couldn't and our baby can? For example - before little jj crawled, she has a smart way of reaching for her toys, like pulling on the comforter or bed sheet so that the toy is pulled towards her. Or the fact that she could sit up straight when she was 5 months, something that not many other babies could do at that age. Heck, she sits up straight unlike many of us adults who slouch and many friends and relatives have pointed it to us before of how sturdy and stable her body looks with that sitting posture.

Yeah, I'm in my 'mother cat' mode again. And am very protective of whatever comparisons and pressure anyone puts on me or my growing baby or even those people I truly care about.

Every baby develops differently and as much as I am eager to see her take that first step, I believe she still has room for development. Many has said that crawling is not really a necessity and if she does follow her dad, she would be standing up and walk without learning to crawl. With her staying put all these while was a chance for me to be a little ignorant about things we have within her reach. Now that she has started to move about like she did today, I have this throbbing headache and I feel far more tired than usual as I startle everytime I see her holding something that's not her toy, and putting them into her mouth.


You know how they say you'd start to realise something when something else is gone? Now that she has started to crawl, I can no longer sit still... I need to look at her every 3 seconds and I keep running thru things in my head especially on that earlier plan I had to replace the tv cabinet we inherited from the original apartment owner and the fact that I have to keep reminding everyone at home to make sure no one leaves anything harmful on the floor or within her reach. I hate being this sticky but this is what needs to be done when you have a crawling toddler.

But, I do enjoy witnessing her little little stuff when she starts to do new things. Like right now, I can see that her legs are positioned differently when she sits... instead of both legs spread apart to stabilise her body, one leg now is folded towards her whiles the other one is folded outwards. When she gets uncomfortable, she just spread those legs again like she usually does. It's truly amazing to be able to mention all these little details everytime the one comes home from work... and pointing out every single detail of what she needs and why she's doing certain things.

I am foreseeing a little bit of stress in time to come from her moving about... all because of this compelling need to enhance the neatness and cleanliness of the house, and be alert at all times with what she'd do next. Whatever it is, I am letting her take her time to progress on her own... there's no point worrying about things which will gradually take place. Until I have reasons to worry, I shall not.