a play place


It's been raining for days here, so tonight we took Carter to a play place at the mall. At first I was a little hesitant - he's not even walking yet and he gets so nervous when we set him in giant toy cars at toy stores. At first glance, it bothered me that the place appeared so engulfed in random kids' germs that pretty much anyone who walked out alive would probably have the flu before they got home (yes, I'm that new mom who's nervous about shopping carts and sockless feet).

And then I saw Carter's smile. Ear to ear about even the prospect that we might set him down and let him crawl. I've seen him smile and laugh off and on, but never like this. Once he hit the ground, he was giggling to himself, crawling at top speed to test out new toys and slides he'd never seen before. He'd only stop what he was doing for a second to nod and call out to random, older kids running by, as if they were old friends. He seemed so incredibly proud of himself for being able to share their fun.

If it hadn't hit me this past year, it definitely hit me tonight. I get it now. I felt the complete, overwhelming, cold side of the pillow satisfaction of seeing my baby happy. If a crummy, germy play area at the mall can do this, I'm dying to find out what Disney World feels like.

7 comments:

  1. my mum didn't let me crawl when I was a baby, she thought crawling discourages walking... try bringing Cart up on his feet every time you see him crawl... just a little thought :)p.s. he's a cutie!

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  2. It's amazing what makes them happy isn't it? I am always taken back by how observant and sweet my boy is and it appears that you have the same thing ;)

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  3. I just stumbled upon your blog, and I am glad I did. I LOVE IT! I'm following you now. You have a beautiful family! Looking forward to future posts! :)

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  4. I just love your blog! Thank you for sharing your parenting experiences and your amazing photos of Carter! He is super-adorable! It's great to read about other mothers who have gone through similar challenges (sleeping through the night & selling your home with a young one!). I'm already dreading my daughter, Scarlett's, first birthday, so it was helpful to read that other mothers are sad about our babies getting older too!

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  5. Meghann, you write so beautifully in your blog! I found you from another youtube mom :) I'm just south of you in Wilmington DE! Just wanted to say please don't take the walking/crawling advice above too seriously. (I work in physical therapy.) The reason kids walk when they do is because their body/back/core muscles are strong enough. Encouraging walking too early puts them at risk for weak abdominals and back issues.

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  6. LOVE IT, and I know exactly what you mean! I took my 10 month old son to a play place the other day for the first time and after I let go of the urge to take clorox to everything I really began to enjoy how much fun he was having.

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  7. Becky: I understand what you mean by too early, and I wouldn't suggest it if Carter was not old enough. This is something to think about when the child is old enough to stand up and support himself by holding on to chair, sofa etc.

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