It's been an awesome experience to watch my (now six month old) son grow. As a first time parent, I've been pretty fascinated by how much he learns/accomplishes on a day to day basis. Lately he's been much more mobile; climbing and pulling himself up, rolling, etc. It's been so cool to watch him figure/do something for the first time. Not quite crawling yet; but close. Hell, the way he is pulling himself up he may just walk first. Of course, I also am curious what ages things are 'supposed' to happen, even though I know it's different for every kid. My son, from what I am told, started teething *really* early; he had two front teeth by the time he was four months old. For some of you guys/gals: what do you remember about your first year (including those of you in the middle of it)? Was your kid an early or late bloomer with stuff like crawling/walking/etc?
just a few months ahead of you (10 month old daughter) and it has been a lot of fun. pretty much echo everything you said. now that she is crawling around you have to keep an eye on her more. we need to do more baby proofing as well.
Trust me, at 2-3 they will give you a run for your money. My daughter is 6mo as well. She has just conquered sitting up on her own and is very vocal. The absolute opposite of my 3yo son in every way so far.
My son just turned 1 on the 29th. He was an early teether as well, I believe he had four teeth at around 4 months. He started to walk at 10 months and now he's like a lawn gnome that walks around our house. It has been an amazing experience watching him grow. He's also a little chatter box, he says like 20 different words.
My first didn't crawl until 11 months, and he didn't walk until 14 months, so he was pretty slow in that regard. I have an 8 month old daughter now and she's been crawling well for at least a month and is showing interest in trying to walk. So it's definitely different for every kid. They're fun, though!
Year 1 was the easiest for my son who will be 4 in a week. All he did for the first six months was eat, sleep and crap. Not much involved there besides providing and cleaning up after. He slept with us until he was 7 months old; it was much easier for my wife to pop a boob into his mouth when he was right there next to us. After 7 months we put him in his own room. He fussed for an hour the first night and slept from 7-7 for the next two years without waking up in the middle of the night unless he was sick. I should stress at this point that routine is so key for kids. They thrive in it. I think that many many parents make the mistake of not moving their kid to his/her own room early enough. Once they're aware enough to know the difference, it's so hard (based on watching friends). I have a couple of friends that let their kids sleep with them too long and they're still there after two or three years. If the kid can talk, it's too old to sleep with you, unless they are sick and you need to keep an eye on them. My wife stopped breast feeding around 12 months. At that point my son was toddling around and talking. It was harder for her than for him. Down the road they're going to grow like crazy. I'd say that our biggest hurdle has been potty training. He's been sitting on the toilet since he was 18 months, and not crapping his pants was almost immediate. But we're still fighting peeing a little. He will mostly have accidents when he's distracted by playing. We still put a pullup on at night, but its usually dry in the morning. Great thread- kids are the meaning of life.
Xero- yeah my wife was pretty adamant about routine. Our son has slept in his own room almost from the start. He's been pretty much sleeping through the night for a while. (well except during teething - ugh). I'm glad we did that because I have friends who are having issues like your friends.
My son turned over really early...wife and I were both amazed. And we managed to get it on video; we don't have much on tape, but the little we have brings back memories. I think crawling and walking were about normal. As was talking. I'm sure every parent says this but he seems so smart, increasing his vocabulary and comprehension each day. At 2 1/2 now, the thing that amazed me (and this was a month or two ago) is his ability to hit a ball. That's not exactly the easiest thing in the world to learn, and his first swing he hit the ball squarely and hit it a good 15ft (it was a wiffle ball). He was hitting better than some of the 4-5 year olds I've coached. And I'm sure I'm not the only that thinks every time he performs some athletic feat ahead of the curve, that he's got the next superstar on his hands. It's probably par for the course for dads to think that way.
made my wife do everything. I never woke up at night to check on that little runt. I tried changing a diaper once and it nearly made me throw up. If it was up to me this little guy would have foster parents by now. Spoiler just kidding, I can't wait to have my first kid
I agree with you guys about routine. we started putting her in her room at 3 months. shes been sleeping 7 - 7 since (knock on wood)
For reference... my son is 3 1/2 and still has issues hitting the ball off the tee. On the other hand, he's reading at a first grade level, so I guess you win some and you lose some.
I had my first at 20 when i was a soph in college and it was a challenge, but she was very quiet and very smart. If you were in the car, you had to always check on her to make sure was still there. She's now a freshman in college and the time blew by. She walked at 6mos and was verbalizing very early also. My now 7 yr old was also a quick study in everything even though she didn't walk as fast as my oldest. My soon to be 4 was climbing out the baby bed very early and was also walking at 6 mos. Very strong, very stout little man. It is amazing to see kids progress and become amazed at things.
I'll be honest...I dont remember the first year. Maybe that was my DNA's handiwork, because I got another one due any day. In retrospect, I didnt dig Year One as much as Year Two and Year Three. I'm in Year Four right now and my daughter is the most amazing thing in the universe.
I'm at month 4 with my first one. I have no complaints so far as she has slept through the night since she got except for maybe 4-5 nights. She has been developing rather quickly as she began eating solid food before 4 months and the doc said she may even have already started teething. I'm just waiting to see what comes the next day.
My daughter was pretty fast developmentally. She walked around 10 months, really talking around 18 months and knew her ABC by the time she was 2. The best time was between she was 1-3. This when they really start learning and surprising you with the stuff they pick up. The first six months, they are just dirty lumps that you have feed and clean all the time. I didn't enjoy it that much other than the first baby excitement.
