21 Weeks - Mad Skills

Up until now you had a basic skill set you were working on.  You had the push up down.  You could roll over from front to back but you never really seemed to do it on purpose.  You could swivel around on your tummy, which totally suited your need to see everything that goes on.  But you have recently developed some new skills.

I want to start with problem solving before I forget it.  Sunday you were fussing a bit so I laid you down on your back (you seem to enjoy that position as of late because you can grab your feet, more on that later).  You did your typical arm reach while squawking and I pretended to eat your hand.  When I let your hand go you stuck it in my face again.  I pretended to eat it again only to hear you giggling.  I let your hand go, you put it back in my face and so the cycle continued.  It just seemed that you had reasoned that you enjoyed me eating your hand so you wanted it to keep happening so you kept sticking your hand up there.

You also have gotten very good at seeing something you want and grabbing it. Whether this be a toy, a burp cloth, blanket, phone, your parent's food - anything you see and want you go for.  This works especially well when you are being held.  That way all you have to do is lean and usually the person holding you will assist in the proximity if you are not quite close enough.  You try this when you are on the floor by yourself but it usually ends up with your desired object being further away since your ability to grasp larger objects isn't that good yet.

It is also further away because you have learned how to scoot backwards.  You do your torso push up and then as you are going back down you push and slide backwards.  To me this is counter-productive and frustrating.  And it is frustrating to you as well, but I think it is all part of the learning to crawl process.  I can't really ask anyone in our family as there isn't a whole lot of experience with crawling.  All the more reason you should learn how to do it.  Just keep your curious hands to yourself until we baby proof the place.

Finally, or at least the last thing I can think of, is your sitting by yourself.  This one is also pretty impressive.  I just got an e-mail today that says babies sit up by themselves with help at 5 months but sometimes not until 9 months, or maybe it was not on their own until 9 months.  In any case, you sit up all by yourself so long as you are not distracted by something you want to lean after and grab at.  So really it isn't all that common because you always have something you want to lean after or grab at.