Week 29 - Milestones

(3/2/08 - 3/8/08)

Week 29 - Milestones

We hit a new milestone this week (actually we hit two milestones). Well one didn't end well, but it was a milestone none-the-less. If you have read all of my previous posts you know that Paul and I have had a problem with Jacob being on his belly for "tummy time". He has hated it from the beginning (which was partially our own fault) with the new "sleep on your back" routine that they push from the second your child is born (we even had to sign a paper at the hospital stating that we understood that back sleeping is the appropriate SIDS prevention position.) Because of this, we didn't start putting Jake on his belly until he was 4 weeks old to play and by then he wanted nothing to do with it. He would scream bloody murder so we would immediately turn him back over. We have since tried to have Jake on his tummy at least once a day and over the past few weeks he has gotten better, he still (at almost 7 months) can't do a "baby push up" but can now prop himself up on his elbows and stay on his tummy for awhile without crying and occasionally (unintentionally though) will roll over to his back.

So what was his new milestone you ask...........well...... the other night Paul and I were on the floor playing with Jake, Jake was sitting in front of me and trying to get a toy that Paul had placed on the floor in front of him. Jake then preceded to get up onto his knees with his arms locked and stayed in a "crawling" position for about 5 seconds before he face planted and screamed for 5+ minutes (I think his pride was hurt more than anything). What's the big deal???? Well for a baby who has been plagued with tummy time troubles, it was a HUGE milestone and one that Paul and I are extremely happy with. It shows us that no matter what, even if later than other babies he will eventually crawl and do everything else as he continues to grow and get stronger and stronger.

As you can see from the picture, the second milestone that we reached this week is SITTING!!! YEAH!!!! I still can't leave him alone, but he can now sit pretty good on his own. He will still occasionally topple over especially if he "isn't in the mood to sit" but he sat for over 20 minutes the other night without falling over and he did it while playing with toys. He has even figured out how to put a hand down to steady himself.

We went back to My Gym this week, Jake still didn't smile but had more fun with the toys and
the other babies. I am still hopeful that he will crack a smile and I am determined to have my camera with me every week so that I can capture the moment!