This past month has been completely crazy for Augustus. At 9 months old, he still couldn't sit up. Within the month, he started sitting, 4-point crawling, crawling over small steps, pulling to stand, climbing up a couple stairs, and starting to cruise! Crazy! (That's not even mentioning the 6 teeth he got!) And, honestly, I attribute so much of his growth to his prepared space. Within his space, he was able to explore, challenge himself, and grow. He didn't need to rely on us, or external motivation. He simply was able to go at his own pace and find his way.
We have always respected Gus' path and time table. We knew he had some physical challenges, but by preparing his environment we gave him everything he needed to follow his lead. So, I thought it would be a good time to share his space with you again.
Since my last update on Gus' movement area, a lot of changes have occurred. First, we removed the blanket on the floor to allow for free movement as he started to army crawl a couple months ago. Plus he was no longer staying in that area, so there was less need for definition of "his" space.
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The shelf has stayed the same, but we added the small footstool for pulling up. Now it acts as a small table. The DIY pull up bar is also new. We followed the same steps that we did with Nora's but just a bit larger since we had the space. Recently, we brought our walker wagon out of storage to give Augustus the opportunity to push/walk with it -- when he is ready. Another thing that is new our the wall posters (flower, succulent.) The old map ripped, so it was time for a change!
Basically, the changes over time have been made to meet his needs at the moment. And for babies, one of the biggest needs is the freedom to move. Babies are in the sensitive period for movement. They are driven to move. So removing obstacles to movement is key. And, that is basically what we have tried to do here.
This will likely be my last update about a "movement area." While I am focusing on this corner of the playroom here, Gus is free to explore the playroom at large. And, he takes full advantage of this freedom. I suspect over the next few months that his drive to move will be as strong as ever and he will become more and more interested in physical challenges and less interested in playing in one spot.
As always, we will follow his lead and adapt his space to meet his needs!
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