Baby finally flips

It's happened at last - and it's all been rather anti-climactic.

It was in late June that we blogged breathlessly about how Sonny had managed to 'flip', going from being prone on the ground to facing heavenward (click here for that post). At the time, visions of imminent disaster swam before our eyes: We imagined him sailing over the edge of the bed that we use as a changing station, or thunking his head after catapulting beyond the ground-level mattress that was his daytime base.

After the initial shocker, however, Sonny flatly refused to repeat his feat. We bought a flip-up bed guard which we've been using ever since as a barrier, but the young fella never needed it. Maybe he drank too much of Mum's milk and got pudgy. Or decided there was no need to rush things. At all events, our concern faded away. In part, we had probably become slightly more comfortable with the whole parenting gig.

Then, a day ago, Sonny did flip. It was exciting enough for Mum to immediately ring Pa at the office. And now he can't stop flipping! Every chance he gets, he'll suddenly be heaving along on his belly, seconds after being plopped down on his back. The increased athleticism could be the result of his reduced milk intake while at the infant care centre, which would have bled away excess fat. About time, too: Mum's noticed that some four-month-olds at the centre are crawling all over the place, and Sonny is just a week shy of that mark.

Should we be worried about becoming a little blase over Sonny's personal safety? Actually, it's probably healthy that we're less paranoid than we once were (compare our early post, 'Paranoid parents unite!'). We're still on the look-out for danger: Still aiming, for instance, to stamp out his thumb-sucking, to minimise the chances of him swallowing every other item he comes across once he does commence major crawling activity. But it won't be heart-in-mouth every time.

Just as well. We've years to savour the inevitable emergencies to come.