Tall Babies

There is a certain comfort about having an infant around. Well, not exactly "comfort". You worry yourself sick about every little squeak and whimper. You chalk up fussiness to gas, or teething, or potential fever with viral seizure. You learn to sleep with one eye open. So, I guess "comfort" is an inadequate term. But, at least the infant stays where you put her. That's what I mean by comfort. If you put her in the swing, she stays in the swing. Crib? Crib. Car seat? Car seat. Well, "car seat", only if the two year old doesn't drag it into another room so the baby can watch him pee all by himself in the big potty.

But, we have tall babies. And as soon as our infants start being mobile, the whole world changes. I recall one visit from my dear grandmother, who was absolutely appalled that our entire set of kitchen dining chairs were lasso-ed with a huge rope and intricate series of knots and loops. As she struggled to wrestle one chair free, she remarked with exasperation, "Why would you let the children DO this?" I just smiled and said, "Actually, Kel did it. So the baby won't get on the table." Nana had an Aha moment when she realized this was a safety measure, but she questioned our creativity.

Just as annoying are all the hook and eye locks at eye level (5'9" or higher) on every door in our house. These were installed when our 4th child, Kieran, was a tall baby. Not only could she maneuver simple locks on doors, she was quick to escape through them as well. The amount of "comfort" time with her was likely the shortest of all our babies. Kel still has some angst about the amount of time she was raised seat belted in her high chair. It's true that by her arrival we already had plenty to distract us... plenty to even sabotage us. But Nana doesn't even complain about all the locked doors now. Maybe they make her feel safer too.

Tall babies usually have long arms that accompany their stature. Rosie is no exception. For quite some time, she could reach a tall counter top from her high chair and unnecessarily scrunch up 125 crisp napkins all at once. (Please don't be offended if you are visiting and we offer you what looks like a used one. It's not. Honestly!) And for a few weeks now she has been able to access the buttons on the computer desk phone. It's a fancy schmancy one that looks like it should belong to a receptionist for a Fortune 500 company. It sits up at attention at an angle, it has a display screen you can see from across the room, and it has a myriad of buttons I don't have time to learn about. We bought it because the handset is actually connected to the phone, and the phone is connected to the wall. (We are always losing important things with buttons. But at least we can find one ringing phone now.) Rosie usually goes for the speaker button, but she has been known to call Papa once or twice. If you call and get a newly recorded answering machine message that is difficult to decipher, would you let me know? Now, even though I have knowledge of these SuperBaby powers which she possesses, it still totally took me by surprise today when I heard my prized camera clunk on the floor. I know I put it on the back corner of the computer desk, and even made sure to pull the neck strap up too. Honestly!

One would think I would be more preventative, considering all the tall babies I've cared for. Maybe I just suffer from a short memory. What I'm currently learning, however, is that tall babies become tall children. And it's awfully hard to shake your finger at a child who can look you straight in the eye.