The little man is getting to the stage where he’s learning how to crawl. This is a happy thing. However, there are side-effects which are causing some consternation.

The first problem comes at night. Jasper rarely cries, a fact his visiting grandparents have found amazing, but we, as the lucky parents, have become somewhat blasé about. This week, though, we have been wakened twice by his frenzied crying, an occurrence rare enough to have us jumping from the bed to his crib in shock.

JD can now turn himself over – only from right to left, and only from his back to his tummy. During waking hours, this provides him with precious pre-crawling practise (actually it looks more like stationary swimming), but at night he wakes in a panic, unable to move himself from this tiring position.

I can only surmise what effect this has on his dreams, which, judging by his little screams and whimpers, become nightmarish as a consequence.

Feeding time is now more challenging too. He’s still too little for his high chair (inherited from his cousins), so we tend to feed him in the car seat. When he gets tired of being in the reclined position, he fights and twists to turn himself around in the chair.

Annoying while we’re standing over him (especially if the seat cover has just been washed), potentially dangerous if we were foolish enough to step away for a moment.

In fact, it’s getting impossible to leave him unattended for any length of time. Diaper changes are much more tricky now he wants to roll around. Getting the old one off and a new one on is not so difficult, but disposing of the soiled package, while keeping a hand on his tummy AND entertaining him, taxes our inventiveness to the limit.

Predictably, he’s proved a hit with his grandparents, and it’s great for us to have two extra pairs of hands to call upon. At Jasper’s first Thanksgiving dinner (we’re going to try feeding him leftover turkey today!), we had plenty to give thanks for. Sleep well.

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