Can she pull herself to a sitting position yet?

Almost! Actually, I think today that she may have done it for the very first time. When we were lying in bed this morning, she leaned her little body to the left a little bit, and then she leaned in on her left hand, and she pulled herself up to a sitting position without my help. Of course, I am not referring to the sitting position that they accomplish after they learn to crawl. I am talking about actually lying on your back and bringing your body to a sitting position from your back. In essence, a sit-up.

So, this was the question that my mother-in-law asked me when I was so very proud that Annabelle was able to "sit" on her own. Sitting, you know, probably one of the third major milestones. 1st being smiling. 2nd being rolling over. And, 3rd, sitting.

Well, when they "sit" for the first time, it is typically because you, as a parent, prop them into a sitting position with their little arms in front of them. Basically, so they can learn to balance. And, so Mommy can walk away for a minute to go wash the dirty dishes from breakfast. Hee! Hee! Those days are long gone! No more sitting Annabelle down for just a second knowing that she'll go absolutely nowhere because she can barely sit, let alone crawl!

So, anyhow, here I was, proud mom of my beautiful and very smart daughter, and I just had to show off her new talent to everyone. Okay, not everyone, but you at least have to be able to flaunt their talents to family, right?!?!

The next thing my mother-in-law says is "Oh yeah, well, can she pull herself to a sitting position yet?" What?!?! I thought, "Is she kidding?" So, I say, "No. It will be awhile before she'll be able to do that. I've read that they don't typically do that until '8 months'. They learn to crawl before they can learn to sit on their own." I don't remember if the "8 months" is correct on what I had read since we are long past that milestone, but you get the gist, right?

She has two children of her own, so I thought, maybe she just forgot. Well, she asked the question again and again every time we were together. Finally, my husband said, "Mom, why do you keep asking that?" or he said something like that. She hasn't said a word since then.

Of course, it has been an ongoing joke between my husband and myself since she started making the comment continuously. Every time Annabelle would do a "sit up" holding onto our fingers, we would just hoot and holler for her, "Come on Annabelle! You can do it! Finally, come on, you can sit up on your own!"

Since then I have learned, babies don't get into a sitting position on their own from their backs. I mean, seriously, try it for yourself! It isn't all that easy to do, and it requires stomach muscles! I, honestly, could not even do it myself 3 months after Annabelle was born because my stomach muscles were non-existent! And, believe me, I tried! I tried doing Pilates for awhile after Annabelle was 3 months old. Let me just say, crazy!

So, instead, they go from an all fours position to a sitting position OR they go from a standing position to a sitting position, Ker plunk! on their little behind!

Now, I also am thinking that maybe my mother-in-law was referring to her being able to sit by herself from the typical crawling position. I don't know. If she reads my blog, maybe she can provide some insight on what she really did mean. I don't think she meant any harm by her comment, but as a new mother, I took it very personally.

Aren't our children a reflection of our mothering skills? Probably not always, but I am sure that whatever the outcome, as mothers (and parents, for that matter), we will always blame or pride ourselves on the adults that our children become.

Mother and Daddy, I hope I make you proud, and I hope you aren't blaming yourselves!

So, at the time, I would have blamed myself if Annabelle reached a milestone later than other babies her same age. Now I don't know how much it really has to do with the parenting though. I think a lot has to do with the child too. And, I do mean "too" because I think you have to encourage your children to reach certain milestones. If you don't encourage them and show them how to succeed, they will probably be a little slower in that aspect.

I, personally, have found things that my parents have thought to point out to teach Annabelle, and she caught on very quickly, but she probably wouldn't have learned it for awhile because I hadn't thought of it yet. For example, I just learned after reading my moms blog that she taught Annabelle where the buttons were on her clothes and my parent's clothes. I haven't pointed those out yet...probably because Annabelle doesn't typically have too many buttons on her clothes, but, I haven't seen Annabelle find the buttons yet on hers or on mine. I guess I'll try that one tomorrow.

That is why it is great to be around and to hear from other mothers! We can ALL learn from each other because everyone has their own talent. And, our babies learn from us!