Model Marriage by Bishop Dag Heward Mills

(Darren Dugan) #1

Model Marriage


The Seventh Month



  1. Now that your baby has figured out how to sit up, his next effort will be in trying
    to get to all the new things he sees. You may think he’s lying happily on a play
    mat, only to turn around and find he’s wriggled all the way off of it. He’s just too
    curious to sit still, so he gets to where he wants to go by rocking and scooting on
    his bottom or slithering on his belly. Baby also masters his act of picking up an
    object between his thumb and forefinger.

  2. Your baby is now very active, and might have trouble settling down for a nap if
    he knows there is company in the house or something else interesting going on.
    He may respond to your expressions of emotion––getting serious if you hurt
    yourself, clinging if you appear nervous, imitating your expressions and sounds
    during play. But his own personality will begin to unfold too: focused, with a
    long attention span; or easily frustrated when a toy doesn’t work his way; or quiet
    and uncertain when faced with new people or places.

  3. As he develops an understanding of cause and effect, baby will delight in toys that
    respond when he hits them (for instance, a xylophone or electric game that “talks
    back” when a button is pressed). He also begins to get the idea that certain things
    he does annoy you, and that when you say “no,” that is what you mean.


The Eighth Month



  1. This is the month many babies begin to crawl. If you haven’t already installed
    cabinet locks and security gates, do it now before an injury occurs. You never
    know when baby will first make his way to the staircase or discover the wonders
    of a bathroom cabinet. Note that there are some infants who never crawl at
    all––they scoot around a bit then proceed directly to cruising and walking. If your
    baby is one of them, that is fine.

  2. Once baby is mobile, he may have a lot less patience for sitting around on your
    lap. Don’t be surprised if he tries to squirm away when you pick him up––it’s
    nothing personal, he is just busy. He may now dislike his cot, mechanical swing,
    or anything else that keeps him confined and he will let you know it by resisting
    furiously when you try to put him in one of these devices.

  3. Now that baby is crawling off and doing more and more things independently, he
    comes to an important conclusion: He is a separate person. This is exciting for
    him but also scary. Even the most sociable babies may become cautious around
    other people, including familiar faces like Grandma and Grandpa. Make him feel
    better by not forcing him on people he resists, and give him plenty of time to warm
    up to new situations.


The Ninth Month



  1. Around this month, the crawling baby learns to pull himself up to a standing
    position by holding onto the coffee table or anything that will support his
    weight––and even things that won’t, so you need to watch out. Baby may also
    irritate you by banging objects together and picking up leftover scraps of food or
    carpet lint with his now mastered grasp, which can handle objects as tiny as a pea.

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