The baserunner is "safe."

 

If you caught the Life of Dad Breaking News¹ over the weekend, you saw that Babs rolled over from her tummy² to her back.  Well, just a couple of days later, she went from her back to her tummy.  And she squirms a bit while doing this.  This has made me realize one very important thing.  When I put Babs down somewhere from now on, she won’t necessarily be there when I get back.  Holy Crap. 

I’ve never owned something that moves on its own, and have to worry about where it ends up.  Well, I guess my dog Bo qualifies too.  He could get himself into trouble, but I don’t have to worry about his well-being…he’ll be just fine.  Aside from Babs and Bo, the only other things that move in our house are Lucy and I.  We can take care of ourselves, so that brings us back to Babs.  She can roll and move around on her own.  She could potentially squirm or roll herself to somewhere that is unsafe.  Holy Crap! 

I’m staring at her baby monitor now, which is right next to my laptop, and she’s squirming, flailing her arms, and is suddenly laying diagonally.  Wait a second, I didn’t lay her down diagonally.  She repositioned herself on her own.  She’s doing leg lifts with her nightgown that tucks in like a burrito³ at her feet.  I had a burrito last night for dinner.  Holy Crap. 

Lucy and I were talking just yesterday about how with this movement, we are starting to see some personality out of Babs.  She’ll move and roll when she wants to, and that’s that.  If I’m standing there with a video camera, hoping to catch her rolling from her back to her stomach, she’s not going to do it.  She’ll do it when she wants to.  Then she’ll smile when she does it.  Babs has her own personality, and she does what she wants to, when she wants to.  Holy Crap. 

I’m looking at the monitor now, and her arms are completely spread out, as if she’s calling a runner “safe” in baseball.  Now her arms are above her head, signaling for a touchdown.  She knows sports!  Holy Crap!  

What have we learned today?  I’ve got to keep my eyes on this kid, starting now, until the age of 28 ½, because she could be squirming or rolling herself into trouble. 

Holy Crap. 

¹ Watch the first “Breaking News” segment in Life of Dad history. 

² Read article “Tummy Time” where I explain how now that I’m a Dad, its okay to use the word “tummy” for this first time in 25 years. 

³ Watch video “Baby vs. Burrito.”  No, I didn’t make the burrito I had last night for dinner, it was from Mexicali, a restaurant in Studio City.  They probably swaddle babies well there too.