Rainy Days and Learning to Walk Always Get Me Down

My little angel hasn't been so angelic these days. His perfect 2-hour naps, at correct intervals, stopped rather abruptly. Meal times are a test of wills - I want to feed him a well-balanced lunch, and he wants to pull away the utensils and eat them instead. Bedtime? Fuhgettaboutit. Used to be he'd drift off to dreamland at 7:30 promptly. Now, I pray for anytime at all. Overall, I've become the mother of a wiggle worm with a bad case of the whineys. So what's all the fuss about? With the help of my pediatrician, I have uncovered the answer.

Turns out learning to walk is a pretty big deal in the world of a baby, in more ways than just the obvious reaching a milestone. When a baby begins getting interested in walking, the mind is in overload. There is so much to learn, it's exciting, mentally and physically stimulating, and it's pretty much all they want to do from the time they get up until the time they go to bed at night. If you can get them to bed, that is.

I read somewhere before that every time a baby learns a new skill, they literally practice in their sleep, making sleep a restless time. My pediatrician told me not to worry about a messed-up sleep schedule - that after my son learns to walk, things will most likely wind down and go back to normal. (Well, not entirely - I'll be chasing a little boy, which will be new.) She reassured me that my son is not destined to be a lifetime wiggle worm, and that this is temporary. All I can say is "Whew!" I got enough to worry about. Like saving up for tiny little walking shoes. Have you seen the prices of those things???