Elliot's First Steps!!

When Henry and Elliot were tiny babies Elliot worked so hard to roll from back to front. They had both gone from tummy to back and were pretty reliable. For weeks Elliot arched his back and was able to get to his side. Everywhere we went I talked about how much Elliot wanted to move.

One really crummy night I was up and down; feeding the babies and trying to get them to sleep. About five am (I don't think the three of us had any real sleep) I was sitting in the glider between the cribs feeding Elliot. I heard scratching noises from Henry's crib; it sounded like a rat pawing at the sheet. When I used the night light and peered into the crib I could see Henry on his stomach! I started to laugh, turned on the light and decided that would be the perfect way to start the new day. But poor Elliot, he got robbed. All that effort only to be upstaged.

The tables turned around that time. Henry went from being extremely fussy to fairly flexible and mobile. Elliot had been a happy baby but around 5 months he began teething and nothing would make him happy. Henry started crawling at five and a half months; Elliot wanted to crawl but just couldn't get going. It's been hard to not compare them. Actually, I am constantly comparing the boys but am trying to not worry when one meets a milestone before the other.

Now at ten months both boys are fantastic! Elliot claps; Henry does not. Henry had begun to wave a bit; Elliot's more consistent. I'll look over and Henry will have a book open and will be looking at the pages, which delights me. The other day when I was feeling worried that Elliot rarely sits still he opened a book and played with it like Henry.

So these firsts steps are just the beginning. Henry's going to walk when crawling doesn't get him around fast enough. Elliot's going to eat when he wants to eat. It's hard to me to respect that they know what they need, but I'm getting there.

So, yay for baby Elliot! I'm so happy for these first little steps!