My baby daughter is now almost 15 months old. She had started walking as early as 13.5 months. And now I am faced with a new challenge.
When she was about one month old, the challenge for us as parents was to put her to sleep during the night. Whenever she feels sleepy in the evening, she would cry very loudly. So my wife and I had to dance while carrying her, sing lullabye and would do anything just to pacify her. This whole crying, dancing and singing thing lasted until she was three months old.
At four months, the challenge was to make sure we don't move too much while sleeping in bed because she had learned how to rollover. There were times that I woke up and our baby was right by my elbow. Just a slight sudden movement and I might hit her on her head or face.
At nine months, she started crawling. So now the challenge was to be more alert, since she can now crawl to the edge of the bed. We had to put pillows around the bed to prevent her from falling. Moreover, my wife and I had to sleep in an L position, to make sure that all corners of the bed were covered, just in case she suddenly wakes up and crawls while we were asleep.
Furthermore, we have to be cautious since whatever's in her hand, she puts to her mouth.
And now that she started to walk and run, the challenge is to follow her. Bend my body, follow her everywhere, be mindful of the corners of the tables and check if there's a protective guard to make sure she won't get hurt in case she trips or falls.
When out in a mall, she loves to walk/run and wave her hands to other people. And now, she's got this new habit of climbing up the stairs. Just last weekend when my wife was buying something at Marina Square, she found a staircase leading up to the escalator. She tried to climb up by putting one foot on the first step. Of course, she can't do it alone so I had to hold both her hands. Then I think we climbed up and down for like 6 times. The consolation though was she got tired, so she slept early that night.
Different stages of child development pose different challenges. I wonder what's the next challenge to come.
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My daughter found a really good friend in our neighborhood. Her name is Dana and she's more than twice Lana's age. They play almost everyday after Dana's school. Sometimes, Dana goes to visit our home and vice versa. Unfortunately, Dana is leaving Singapore for good to go back to Israel. I'm sure Lana is too young to remember this event in her life, but I'll make sure she'll have a memory of her time together with Dana when she grows up. Click MORE to see their photos together. 
