A Monkey on our Hands

I'm at work today; as mentioned in my earlier post today (wow, two posts in one day!), Petite is still ill but it's Hubby's turn at home with her today.

He just called me. With a new development.



Petite climbed out of her crib.

Now, it's not quite like last time. Back in October, in this post, I mentioned that she wasn't yet 14 months old and had figured out how to climb out of her crib. At that time, we lowered the mattress as far as it could go, thinking that it would buy us a few months' worth of time.

Yeeeaaaah. Ummmmm, not so much. She's going to be 15 months tomorrow, and by God, she ain't stunned (as we say at home).

Because she's been ill, we had used a pillow to raise up one end of her crib, hoping that it would help her breathe easier and thus sleep better at night. This afternoon, it was time for her nap, so Hubby gave her a bottle, set her down for a nap, covered her, turned on the monitor and went to the kitchen to tidy up.

A few moments later, he heard a "thump" and went to investigate. There she was, happy as ever, playing with her toys on the floor. He was shocked. He called me and told me and I suggested that he remove the pillow and see what happened.

Then I got an e-mail. "That didn't work." Apparently, he removed the pillow, thus returning the mattress to its lowest level. He put her back in her crib, covered her again, and left the room, pulling the door almost closed behind him. Quietly, he watched her.

She promptly got up, went to the corner of her crib, threw one leg up and pulled herself up to the top of the rail. Rolling over the edge, she hung on for a moment before letting go and dropping herself down to the floor.

It's inevitable. We're going to have to change her bed to a pure 'toddler bed' now with a half railing on one side. I can't believe it. Fifteen months and she's done with her crib. It's gone so fast. I yearned for more than six years to have a baby in my arms. I am blessed that I got her of course. But much like I wished my pregnancy would last, I wish her infancy and childhood would last too. It is flying by. And my little baby is becoming a real little girl.

I'm saddened by that. In so many ways, I wish I could stop time and hold her close and tight. Keep her 'my baby' per se. But then again, I have to smile and like every other parent before me, I must be grateful and thankful that Petite is a happy, healthy (relatively! Even with croup!), normal little sweetheart.

Counting each and every blessing I have. Trust me. Every single day.

Happy 15 months baby girl. Mommy and Daddy love you with all our heart.