Jameson at 9 Months

Ladies and gentlemen, he’s on the move.

Jameson has learned to crawl, and he’s gotten pretty good at it. Making his way to different pieces of furniture, reaching for things he shouldn’t put in his mouth, and pulling himself up to stand with pride. 

Just two weeks ago, I was reluctant to set him down on his own, because for as much as I wanted him to learn to crawl, every attempt he made followed the same sequence: one hand forward, one knee forward, face plant into the floor, shock and tears. Pobrecito.

I wondered what I could do to help him get the whole crawling thing? I wondered how long would it take him to learn? Was my fear of him failing holding him back? Was my indecision and resulting failure to buy an area rug in our living room going to lead to some unsightly bump on his forehead?

And then seemingly out of nowhere, he just did it.

He crawled — moving across the room quickly, without face plants, and even taking little seat breaks whenever he got tired or just wanted to take in his surroundings.

And then there was the whole food thing. When his four teeth came in, his appetite for solid foods seemed to go out the door. He was still into nursing, but he’d definitively turn his head away when I offered food. I wondered if he was getting enough nutrients? Were my neat freak tendencies keeping him from properly experimenting with the textures of his food? Were my dreams of raising a little foodie who appreciates curry and truffle oil being crushed before my eyes?

And then, Jordan and I went to Miami for a couple days, and Jameson ate a whole bunch.

When we got back, he was eating fruit and veggies and brown rice and eggs and yogurt and basically everything we offered him. I gave him a few small pieces of my Absolute bagel (theeee best bagels in NYC) the other day, which he adored, and I couldn’t have been prouder of him for his good taste.

And this is very much how parenting — particularly your first child — can go. You worry about their development. You question whether or not you’re doing the right things and giving them the right things and whether your issues will inadvertently rub off on them. You imagine them struggling to figure something out, to thrive in life.

And then they just do. They typically just figure it out, and you get to observe and celebrate the really cool moments of them discovering themselves and the world around them. And you realize you spent way too much time worrying.

Here are a few more pics of my favorite nine-month-old…

“Let’s play, Mommy!”

And he’s learned that when he squeezes his eyes tight and opens them, we typically laugh at him. So when he wants to entertain, that’s what he does. My little class clown in the making!

Jameson, here’s to watching and waiting for you to discover the world around you.