Self-Initiated, Self-Contained Play

For the past hour or so Rachel has been sitting in the same spot on the floor. She's sings to herself every now and then. She babbles. She squeals. Most of all she's very, very happy, which in turn makes me extremely happy!

You see, she has learned how to pull her toy boxes completely off of the shelf and now can play with whatever she wants whenever she wants. She dumps the toy box half way out as she pulls it off the shelf and then can spend hours filtering through the toys, finding the perfect one. She'll pull one out of the box, turn it over in her hands, and then drop it to the side. Then she'll go for another toy, and another, and another.


I don't even care that she's making a big mess because her toys are so easy to clean up. Oh, and I was able to eat a leisurely breakfast, and write some blog posts, and work, and get dressed, and do a whole bunch of things without hearing a peep from her.

Usually I don't get to do anything alone, and even if I can sneak out of the room she notices and starts screaming for me. For the past three days that hasn't happened. I can go down the hall. I can work in the kitchen. I can go to the bathroom--all by myself...and she'll just play all by herself. And we're both very happy that way.


I was hoping when she first started experimenting with getting mobile that she'd be a happier baby. Oddly enough it made her more miserable. She wanted to roll over, she wanted to sit up, she wanted to crawl, she wanted to pull herself up on things...but she just couldn't quite get it. Now she's a "fluent" crawler, going over and under things all day long. She can pull herself up on nearly anything, and even though she wishes she could walk without help she's satisfied just walking along the furniture. So finally, she's a happy girl again.


She can walk the length of the couch. She can go from the TV stand to the wicker basket to her toy bins and back again. This was worrisome because she'd pull herself up on the toy bins on the first shelf and then would reach up to the bins on the second shelf--those have since been moved. I think it's one thing to pull a bin down onto the ground in front of her, but an entirely different scenario to pull the bins down on top of her head. Now we just have to lower her crib mattress and baby proof the rest of the house. It sounds easy enough but she shows us new hazards everyday!