My son the mover

Being a mom has been an incredible and wonderful challenge, and I’m only at the beginning. I was prepared for a lot of aspects, but no one can truly say they are ready for everything.

Mostly, I have been enjoying watching my son learn. Like all newborns, for the first couple months all he did was observe and take in this new world around him. One thing I can already tell, he is going to be a mover. He was rolling tummy-to-back when he was only 2 months old. He’s been on the go ever since.

Lincoln is now 5 months old and he amazes me everyday with how strong he already is. Whenever I put him down in his play area in the living room, he rolls onto his tummy in about 5 seconds. He plays on his tummy most of the time now. He will spin on his stomach to get to the toys he wants to play with.

I have been placing things out of his reach to see if he can figure out how to get to the toy he wants. He always does. He’s a smart little guy. He has learned how to balance on his arms and he can get up on his knees but hasn’t put them both together yet. When he’s on his hands, his legs are flat on the floor and when he gets up on his knees, he faceplants. But he’s still learning.

Recently, he has been doing more of what I like to call Army crawling. Lincoln pulls himself along using his arms while his legs remain on the ground. He has started to add pushing with his toes. With this maneuver, he has officially reached the creeping stage of movement.

It hasn’t taken him long to master this step at all. He is all over his play mat on the living room floor and then some.

I have nicknamed him The Bulldozer because he doesn’t seem to let anything stand in his way. He loves his elephant play mat. It has two poles that form a dome about two feet in the air. There are toys attached to it, initially just to get him to reach for different objects while on his back.

Since he’s been on his tummy more, Lincoln spends less time batting at the hanging objects. Instead, he spins around the mat, exploring the different textures of it. Now with the Army crawling, he finds himself getting “tangled” with the poles. Instead figuring out how to get around them, Lincoln surges ahead, dragging the mat with him.

It is really fun to watch when he pushes so hard on the pole that he gets it detached from its clips. The poles immediately drop to the ground. The objects are all soft so they can’t hurt him. Lincoln lays in the middle of the destruction and looks at me with a “what mom?” type of expression.

He doesn’t let anything stand in the way of his path, except the couch. He still hasn’t figured out how he can’t move that, but that doesn’t stop him from trying. He either gives up and spins away or gets frustrated and throws a tiny tantrum. At 5 months, the tantrums are cute. I imagine the cute part will wear off after he can talk.

So far, Lincoln hasn’t ventured much further than his designated area. It’s the area I make sure has nothing dangerous for him to come in contact with like cords or small objects he will try to put in his mouth.

I know the day where he starts to explore even more of the house isn’t too far away. My husband Tim and I have child proofing the house at the top of our list. Lincoln is already growing way too fast. Tim and I will be sure to take in every moment before time really flies by.

Contact Pam Pratt at pampratt@newtondailynews.com