Why I don’t want Harley to skip crawling

crawling or at least trying to

Harley has been able to sit on her own for a while now. It’s absolutely divine – I can plonk her on the floor surrounded by her toys and she will just sit and play for a little while. Sometimes a little while is a few minutes, sometimes it’s way longer, but either way it’s nice for me to get a bit of time not holding onto her, and for her to get to explore on her own. She has learned how to get on all fours and back onto her back. In fact, she’s so good at that I’m hardly able to encourage tummy time anymore; she just pushes herself back up to a seated position. Despite hints of it coming, Harley has been SO close to crawling for weeks but has yet to do it. She does, however, pull herself up to standing. While she might seem poised to jump into the world of walking, I really want her to crawl first.

I know, they are milestones and not set in stone or something, but I do think the crawling thing is important. I don’t want Harley to skip crawling and go straight to walking. Sure, it will be great when she does both, and she already has her own unique way of getting around sorta like an inchworm, but with all the developmental stuff that crawling encourages, it’s not something I want her to breeze past. Continue Reading

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School shopping and hand washing

I have been shopping for Harley’s nursery school. I want her to start in January, with the idea being that it will give me time off in the mornings to get my work done – once she is crawling and walking, it will be pretty much impossible to get anything done with her at home. Last week I visited a school, and then over the weekend I visited two more. Plus I have more appointments to visit a couple more this week. It’s sort of like shopping for a dress or something – I want to see what’s out there and make sure whichever one I choose is the right fit for me and for Harley. In seeing some of what’s out there, I have some new ideas and concerns, including a weird new interest in hand washing.

At one of the schools I visited, all the kids were playing outside when I arrived. When they came in, they all had to wash their hands before snack time. At another school, they use hand sanitizer when they arrive and leave the premises, something that has apparently cut down on illnesses. It seems sort of fitting that I got a blog drop from Lifebuoy along this theme as well.  Continue Reading

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Where in the world is safe and normal?

the world

I have lived in a few wonderful places. I grew up in New York and loved it. Then we moved to The Hague and it was fantastic for me while in high school. Then I moved back to the States and tried living in LA, which wasn’t really a fit for me at that point in my life (being under 21 and without a car, I felt so restricted after the freedom of Holland). Then it was back to the Netherlands to study in Maastricht, which was a wonderful student town. Then Joburg, which has its flaws but has been a fun  and wonderful place for me and Dean to start our lives together. But now South Africa is changing, and I’m not sure about the rest of the world, too.

I don’t like to talk politics here on the blog. It’s supposed to be about my thoughts about my family, my life, and all things geeky parenting. But I can’t help but think about how politics are impacting on those very things. Thanks to poor political management, the Rand has gotten so weak that buying games and books and whatever else has gone from a monthly norm to an expensive extra. And as we start to talk about emigrating and making a better life elsewhere, I have to consider the potential risks associated with any move. Continue Reading

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Here’s my list of questions for picking out a nursery school

questions for picking out a nursery school

I mentioned yesterday that I plan to put Harley into nursery/playschool/creche from next year. I really think it’s the best thing for all of us; it will be nice for me to have time to get things done in the morning without her, she can have awesome stimulation and socializing time, and we can both have even more fun when we are together. Plus, I think I’ll be less stressed and chaotic and more able to be present with her, with Dean and with work stuff. So yeah, win-win situation. Of course, I need to find the right school, which means asking the right questions for picking out a nursery school when I go and visit.

There are a few things that I know are different for me than some people, so this list might not be ideal for you but can at least give you a jumping off point. See, at this age, I don’t want any focus on “academics”. This is the time in her life when she is just supposed to play, not be made to sit down and actively learn. She will already be learning so much by playing, exploring new environments and interacting with different people. I also don’t want her exposed to religious education – theological education is fine, so if they celebrate all the holidays or all religions, I don’t mind, but it mustn’t be a religious school in the sense of teaching just one. Anyway, here are some of my questions for picking out a nursery school: Continue Reading

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I don’t know how I balanced work and motherhood last week

balance

Last week was pure chaos for me. It’s always busy in the local gaming industry in the week leading up to rAge. No, we aren’t building stands or preparing for the expo in the way that the distributors do, but as press we need to book our interviews, coordinate schedules, and get invited to all kinds of events. On top of the usual mayhem, my awesome editor was away, which meant that I was in charge. It was so busy, and I often felt like I was running around like a mad woman. In between it all, I was still looking after Harley.

My little princess seems to be going through the mother of all growth spurts. Or maybe she is teething. Or maybe it’s both – I’m honestly not too sure. All I know is that she was particularly clingy last week. Thankfully, she was also pretty sleepy, getting some longer naps than usual in the mornings. Mostly on me, but still, at least I was able to work while she slept. When she was awake, it was hard to do much of anything – she was so busy but also refused to just sit on the floor and play with her toys for more than a few minutes at a time. Continue Reading

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