The Art of The Lurch

The Art of The Lurch

My baby has been making overtures toward crawling lately. Addison doesn't zip around on all fours like the image that comes to mind when one pictures a baby crawling--she has more of a lurch thing going on.

Whereas Addison used to just roll in the general direction of something she wanted and hoped to somehow land atop it, she now has a more creative way to reach her goal. The lurch goes a little something like this--Addison, laying on the ground, sees something that would be inappropriate to put in her mouth. If she's on her back, she flips over and orients herself towards her goal. She then sets herself in motion by pushing off the floor with the balls of her feet. Addison gets her buns up in the air, only to face plant seconds later because she hasn't yet figured out that her arms and legs have to work in tandem. The face plant doesn't even phase her, though--it's all part of the thrill of the chase. Through an elaborate combination of pushing, pulling, squirming, rolling and face planting she usually makes it to her destination.

So far today these are the items she has found it necessary to have and, as such, has deemed lurch worthy. They have all, with no exceptions, been first gummed on and then spit up upon.
Ella's left shoe
both of her own shoes
my cell phone
a bag of wipes
a new diaper
a not-new diaper
me.

Several attempts at reaching the cat have been made, but he learned his lesson early on with my eldest child and gets out of there as soon as Addison starts lurching his way.

I seem to be finding my baby all over the place these days. She's never where I left her anymore, and she often shows up underfoot in unexpected places. I was emptying the dishwasher today and had to do a double take when I saw her out of the corner of my eye trying to pull herself across the linoleum. I had left her on a blanket in the adjoining playroom. Steve took a break from playing on the floor with her and she ended up up against the t.v. stand, happily cooing at her reflection in the glass. I would worry more about losing her, but Addison still spits up A LOT, so even when she really gets going she won't ever be hard to find-I'll just follow the trail of spoiled milk and sweet potatoes.