Congratulations, it’s time to celebrate your baby’s half-birthday! Cut a birthday cake in half (feel free to eat the other half in the middle of the night when everyone is asleep) and invite your favorite half of the family to a half-hour, half-assed birthday party.
Or, if you’re not into puns and ill-conceived wordplay, just pat yourself on the back. You’ve spent the last half-year nurturing a new life, and you’ve been nothing short of amazing—and that’s no half-truth (sorry, I’m done).
Life Just Got a Little More Difficult
Crank up that Linkin Park jam, because Crawling Infant Twin is on the move. Somewhere between 6 and 10 months, your baby will likely take up arms and army crawl their way across your living room. Ours started just a little before 6 months. She’s slowly perfecting the art and getting faster every day, leaving me both proud and exhausted.
If your baby isn’t crawling yet, that’s perfectly fine. Some babies despise being on their belly and can only take limited tummy time, while others skip crawling entirely and wait until they can pull themselves up and walk. If you want to try and help your baby crawl, you can put one of their toys right outside of their reach. They’ll eventually learn that their little squirming motion can propel them forward and right to their favorite stuffed animal.
Scan the Periphery
As your baby starts to become more mobile, it’s time to take a close look at everything within their reach. The most effective strategy, in my experience, is to get down on your hands and knees and crawl around. Are there any dangling wires within reach? Tiny toys on the floor? (anything smaller than their hand should be out of reach). Is there anything they can pull down on themselves? It might not be easy on your knees, but it’ll give you a little peace-of-mind.
You might as well baby-proof your cabinets and set up any necessary baby gates while you’re at it. Your half-toddler is just teetering and tottering now, but they swiftly become little baby cheetahs when they hone-in on something they want, especially if they learn they aren’t allowed it.
I use adhesive baby locks from Amazon. They’ll keep your cabinets closed and are easy to unlock by an adult. They still work great with my 2-year-old. In the meantime, you can go the route my grandparents went—use a strong rubber band and twist it around each cabinet knob until it’s tight enough that they can’t be opened. Their 5 kids all survived childhood without drinking chemicals (though I sometimes wonder about Uncle Timmy).
One important, serious note about pressure-mounted baby gates—they should never be placed at the top of the stairs. They can be dislodged, leading to a dangerous tumble down the steps. Climbing and falling over the other side can be equally dangerous. Use these baby gates to keep kids out of areas like the bathroom or kitchen.
Until next time, enjoy chasing your little ones around the house, Dad!
Missed the other months? If you’re new to fatherhood, there’s no judgment here. You can find the previous month here:
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