The "Bonk" Stage

I will probably be saying this again a couple of years from now and laugh at myself for even thinking this at this stage...but I am currently in the most inconvenient phase of motherhood. It's called "The Bonk Stage."

Ouch. Sorry Annie

The Bonk Stage is the phase of development when your child has mastered crawling and is no longer satisfied with it. He or she can stand stably...at least 1/4 of the time. And steady, independent walking is in the very, very near future. But every hour, every minute between now and that oh so beautiful future is absolute TERROR. Because baby is constantly in very definite mortal danger. That's how it feels, anyway.

Annie, being the determined child she is, has decided that this wobbly, walking along the wall or while holding mommy's hand stuff is just simply not cutting it. She wants to WALK. Like one foot in front of the other, "These boots were made for walking," kind of walking. None of that wimpy baby stuff. Psssh. I, for one, am finding it simultaneously so exciting and so terribly scary! She's like a pinball, walking as fast as she can from one wall to the next, leaning at a dangerous angle, seconds away from a horrible crash and tears and "mama save me!" wails.

This is my whole life right now. My. Whole. Life. Making sure she doesn't run herself to the ground. Walking behind her with my hands outstretched, waiting for her inevitable fall. My day consists of me saving my daredevil child from herself every 5 seconds. "Oh you have things to do? To eat? To rid from your body? That will have to wait...Annie needs to walk."

And you wonder why moms don't get anything done all day.

Oh and she climbs too...add that to the danger list.

While it's alarming and all-consuming, the Bonk Stage can also be quite cute and endearing. Sometimes Annie will allow one of us to hold her hand as she walks around. (Which is just as time consuming as the hovering, but far less dangerous.) She leads us around where she wants to go, pulling on the single finger she has a gripped in her little hand. Fun fact: babies have the grip of 30-year-old Navy Seal hanging on a wire over a 100-foot-drop. Yeah, there's no getting out of "Walk-with-me" time. I can't complain though because unlike hanging over a 100-foot-drop, this is pretty darn cute. She's so curious and intent as she walks around and explores the house or yard. Her favorite thing (and my favorite too) is to play Hide-and-Seek around the kitchen island. Her giggles and squeals and hugs when she finds me around the corner make it all worth it.

SO it's terrifying, endearing, and occasionally, this Bonk Stage can also be fantastically exciting. I don't know that there's anything quite like the pride a parent feels for their child as they watch that child develop. Each milestone, each mastered skill, and literally each STEP brings me so much satisfaction on Annie's account, it's crazy. Makes me think of how happy Heavenly Father is when we progress. All sorts of smiles and good feels.

Here are some clips of Annie's amazing progress! Good job Annie girl! We love you! #mybabyissoadvanced

Watch her progress!

#Walking #TheBonkStage #9Months