This is just another random little hack, along the lines of my mother's Cuisinart fix.
You see, we did end up going to Ikea a few weeks ago, and while we were there I couldn't resist this cute little walker for Pippo.
Its name is EKORRE. However the heck you pronounce that. |
He'd been having a lot of fun cruising, and had started getting pretty adventurous with anything light enough for him to move (dining room chairs and laundry baskets, for instance) pushing them around the house and leaving them in random places.
I found this a) adorable and b) resourceful.
But I also thought he'd enjoy having something that was a little easier to maneuver for practicing walking, especially for those times when the grownups were doing something really frustrating, like sitting in the chairs.
Hence the little walker.
We weren't sure in the store whether it would be quite the right thing – in particular, we were concerned that it would roll too quickly for our 8-month-old cruiser to keep up with it. The display said that the wheels could be tightened to slow it down, but they didn't have any that were out of the packaging, so we just guessed that it would work.
Well, it turned out that we were right in our skepticism. I don't know, maybe these things are designed for babies who are already legitimately walking? It rolled pretty fast, even with the screws tightened. Pippo could keep up with it, but just barely.
I didn't get any photos pre-hack. He was moving too fast. |
He's the kind of kid who's up for an adventure, so he enjoyed the experience, but it was a little nerve wracking to watch. So nerve wracking, in fact, that we weren't about to let him use it without one of us following behind him ready to catch him if he started to fall.
This, of course, clearly defeats the purpose of a baby walker, which is to let the baby do it All By Himself.
Now, the rational response to this situation might have been to conclude that this toy should be put away until Pippo was a little bit older. But I was convinced I could make it work, so I got out some rubber bands and canned tomatoes.
I only had three of the sturdy kind of rubber band (the kind that comes on the bunch of asparagus, not the kind from the bunch of green onions), so I wrapped them around the two back wheels and one of the front ones. There's a little bit of axle between the wheel and the hubcap (if you will), so that's where they went. This turned out to be just enough friction to slow the thing down.
{I periodically check on them so that if the friction threatens to snap the bands, I can replace them to prevent my baby from either playing with or eating rubber band pieces, which doesn't sound like a good idea to me. But it's been several weeks, and they've held up fine so far.}
The tomatoes went inside the wagon to add some weight. This served to slow it down a little more and also to make it more stable so Pippo could pull himself up on it without flipping it over. (Again, it's quite possible it was designed for a baby who's a little bit older and more coordinated. Mine has got the strength, but he doesn't quite have the skills yet.)
Pippo loves it.
It's true that the steering leaves a little to be desired.
Now that he's steadier on his feet, I tried taking two of the cans out to make it a little easier to steer. It helped a little bit (there's only so maneuverable it is going to be), but mostly it just helped Pippo take out the other two himself. I think we're not quite ready to go tomato-free (he still pulls himself up on it, which he can't do if the wagon is empty), but we're close.
All it took was a little bit of hacking for him to be able to use it All By Himself.
Speaking of All By Himself, he took two unassisted steps on Sunday!
I think he just wanted to be able to say he started walking at 8 months old (the very next day was his nine-month birthday), since he hasn't repeated the feat yet. Still, I think all the walking practice is paying off.
Also, many of you have asked about Pippo's hair. It is indeed rather red, which is ridiculously exciting to me. When I was a little girl, I dreamed of being a redhead. My sisters and I couldn't think of anything more beautiful than having long, thick, wavy red hair. (It's possible we had watched The Little Mermaid once or twice.)
In fact, my hair was quite blonde when I was young, as was the Lt's.
These are pictures of pictures on our wall. Not ideal, but you get the idea. Blonde. |
Blond. |
You wouldn't guess it now, to look at me, but I was in college before I finally admitted that I had brown hair.
Ours got darker as we got older, but there are a few family members with red(dish) hair – the Lt's sister, my aunt… so we'll see. For now, it can look redder or blonder depending on several variables, including the light, his outfit, and how badly he needs to take a bath.
But people do stop me in the grocery store to tell me his hair is red, so I guess that settles it!
Joan says
Darling post. Darling baby boy.
priest's wife says
I've been eyeing that walker at Ikea for ages- but my baby is TWO (sob.)
great hack!
Laura says
Rosie, that is a beautiful, RED headed boy! Love the hack and IMO, the canned tomatoes sold in stores should ONLY be Cento! I have a gorgeous little fair skinned, blue eyed, red headed grandson, so I'm a little partial to the red hair.
Amy says
He is starting to look like a toddler. Great job on the hack.
Pippajo says
Great hack! He looks like he loves it!
I understand your excitement about Pippo's red hair. I ALWAYS wanted red hair but my dream was solely because of Anne Shirley (I was too old for Ariel). When Redheaded Snippet (see? Anne Shirley) was born and the nurse lifted her little knit cap to show me her hair and I saw it was red, I was SO EXCITED! For some reason the (cranky) nurse said, “Oh, it'll fade before long”. But she was WRONG, and it's still red! HAHAHAHA! There's just something about the red hair, isn't there? People used to stop me in the store when she was little all the time! So fun!
_Rosie says
Yes! We never understood Anne Shirley. Why would you be sad about red hair?!
Anne says
I think it had a lot to do with the fact that everyone in her life told her what a pitty it was!
Jamie says
How did you get him to not play with the tomato cans themselves? I can just picture the cans smashing little fingers and being rolled around and banging and being carried and fallen over and smashing lips…..That's how it would have gone in our home. Pippo is so adorable! I do love the walker.
_Rosie says
Well, when all four of them are in there, they fit closely enough that he can't get a good enough grip on them to play with them. With just two, he did start to play with them (and got them out of the wagon and onto the floor), but I think he's just not big or coordinated enough to get himself into trouble with them – they're too heavy! By the time he is, he'll be big and coordinated enough not to need them anymore!
Bethany James says
People stop you to tell you what color your baby's hair is? Like, you don't live with him, you two have never met?
People are weird.
But he's adorable!
RedTartan says
What a beautiful boy! I can't believe he's so big already.
Agree about Anne Shirley. I'd have loved it if someone grabbed my braids and said, “Carrots, carrots!”
Sue says
What a great fix, you smart Mama!
I so understand being in denial! I was always a light golden blond (except my first few years when I was towheaded), until childbirth when I went darker and quite strawberry. I'm not terribly unhappy with my new reddish look, yet it's strange thinking of myself as blond but looking in the mirror and seeing… not so blond anymore!
I love, love, love that photo with Pippo in the diaper with the little tongue sticking out!
Mamabear, JD says
My grandmother claimed that each of my children had red hair, and we humored her, and then our youngest was born and he really does have the strawberry blonde hair, and I am bummed that she never got to see it in person!
I tried embracing the brown that my hair turned in my teen years but I am happier when I get it highlighted back to my “natural” color blonde!! Cute little busy boy.
Lisa G. says
Oh, I also LOVE red hair!! I went through a period in my twenties where I dyed mine – first auburn, then eventually through all six of Clairol's red shades, till I got to – Flame!! Then I stopped.
I can tell he's with his walker frequently, because he's wearing almost a different outfit in each photo! Good going with the rubber bands!
Betsy M says
What a cute little man!!! My little one is at that same stage but he just turned one this weekend. I have to laugh about the frustration experienced by little walkers when people SIT in the chairs they want to walk with. My guy looks at the person like they just took candy from him.
He just recieved a walker as a gift for his birthday which he loves – however this one makes music so I am more than a bit envious of your quiet and chic one. Oh the people who do not understand being driven crazy by electronic toys with no off switch!
Also, gotta tell you I love that hair. My little sister had strawberry blond hair and when she was 3, after being told that one day, she replied to the lady, “No, my hair is just plain ORANGE, Thank you.”
Mary says
LOVE the red hair! Pippo's color is similar to my sons when he was a little bit. It is now darker but his beard is red. My Dad was a carrot top as is my husband's mother so we have it all over the family. I wish it had stayed red through adulthood though. OH well, he's still handsome to me!!
Anitra says
ooh, that walker is only $20? I wanted one something like that for my first, but no one would oblige 🙁 I might have to go out and get it for #2… but I'm not sure I want to _help_ him be more mobile at this point – he's almost the same age as Pippo, crawling into EVERYTHING and pulling up on EVERYTHING he can get his hands on… oh, and putting EVERYTHING into his mouth. Ick.
justamouse says
I cannot get over how fast he is growing.
great hack!
Hollace says
Can't believe that yesterday's newborn is walking already! So cute.
Anne says
Aww, love the pictures! (so does Jack:))
I got Ann a walker for Christmas last year because she had stared pushing my furniture around, but she had absolutely no interest whatsoever in pushing the walker! Luckily it converted into a little ride-on toy, so it has not been useless. 🙂 That will be a fun little wagon for him later.
Mrs. Pickles says
I love him in all his little boy clothes! He gets handsomer every time. I love the strawberry blond! My babies had a reddish tint in certain lights, but most of the time they tend towards brownish blond. Like you, I was in college before I admitted I was no longer blond! I blame the fact I'm no longer living in sunny southern California. 🙂
Deirdre says
Great series of photos. The one of him driving into the wall made me laugh out loud. So cute!
John has recently been asking me about hair genes in my family… turns out he's (kinda secretly) really hoping that we might have a red-headed child someday! Not that it's something he's obsessing about, but that the idea is very appealing when he thinks of it. I have to agree. We've been considering all of our relatives and wondering about the chances… It'll be interesting to see how Pippo's hair turns out!
Paula says
As always I love the photos you post of Pippo. What an adorable little boy he is. As for the hair, I have to tell you that when my daughter was born, the nurses told me that she had red hair and I couldn't believe it. There were just too few hairs for me to tell. She is now 12 and definitely has red hair. I love it.
I was blessed with two boys next, no red hair, and then I found out I was expecting another girl. We wondered if she too would have her sister's red hair, and she did. So fun. Then I have had two more boys without red hair. Just the girls.
We were so surprised with my first daughter because neither my husband nor I knew of any parents or grandparents with red hair. We started asking around and it ends up our great-grandmas and great-great-grandmas on both sides had red hair.
The other time the red hair has shown up is my maternal aunt's family. Her second-born child, and second-born grandchildren in each family have red hair. I find patterns fascinating, as you can tell. 🙂 Hope you have a blessed day today.
tasterspoon says
I've been browsing around this blog today – much inspired by the housekeeping series! – and had to comment. I was also disappointed by the slowing mechanism on this one, but my baby (just two months older than yours) never actually fell, just let go and sat down. Mostly she stands in the cart section backwards, like it's a Segway, and waits for someone to push her around the house. A Swedish friend said the product name means “Squirrel.”