Luke wants to crawl around, which isn't good in a confined space, as I'm sure he would crawl up the aisle or under the pews. During Mass, he will squirm, writhe, babble, try and stand in my arms, jump back & forth from me to the hubby ... you name it. We've recently brought Cheerios to Mass and he will behave if we keep him chewing (or gummin', as he has b.a.r.e.l.y one tooth). He is at the stage now where he only wants Mommy or will cry or get upset, so Mommy holds him during Mass, errands, home, playtime, etc. It makes it a little hard to get him to have fun with Daddy, Grandparents or Aunts & Uncles if Mommy is in the room. But in reality, I do love his "all-things-Mom" attitude. I have waited so long for that!
When I was little, there was a Cry Room at our parish. Lots of people used it, but our family didn't come to Mass to head to the Cry Room. We got a "look" from dad & straightened up pretty quick. I am sure there were times when we headed to the back of the church or the Cry Room, but it wasn't often enough that I remember them. Most days, it seems that some families just head to the Cry Room when they come to Mass, instead of try to sit in the pews and then if their kids are being disruptive, they head to the Cry Room. It is not a bad thing to head to the Cry Room, I just want to try and avoid doing so as a weekly routine.
The last Mass on New Years Day, he was pretty onery. We had one lady stop by after Mass & say that she liked seeing us in the Church instead of the Cry Room or leaving Luke at home. And she liked to hear him babble (which is really good ... it is hard to get him to stop sometimes). It wasn't a complaint about Luke, but I feel pretty ragged once Mass is over ... like I've just completed a marathon of Luke-wrangling. I do offer it up for those who would give anything to have a little one ... that is NEVER lost on me. I just want to have some better ideas or behavior modifications to start so that we can sit in the pews with everyone else & have a well-behaved baby most of the time.
What are some ways to get a 9 month old to behave in Mass?
My angelic little Cherub is watching out the window for ... Santa Claus! :-D Just kidding. I think he was watching the flags blow in the wind. It really mesmerized him!
Flipping a basket on his head makes him ... "Davy Crockett"
Plus, I just like putting things on his head. He seems to love it too!!!
Goofing off with Mom on New Years Eve. No Daycare + Mom = a Great Way to end 2012!
(P.S. The blanket just got pulled off of his head ... now how do you think it got there? hehe)
Wow! He looks like such a joy! There's nothing better to listen to than baby babble!
ReplyDeleteHe's getting so big! Love his smile!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE hearing babies at Mass! My husband and I look at each other when we hear them and it reminds us that God willing that will be us some day. Since he is so young he is going to babble and want to crawl around there really is no stopping it. Most of the families with young kids at our parish sit in the back so that if they need to step out they can easily and no one really notices. You can bring hard cover religious books and soft toys so that he can be entertained. Our parish has a mini kids library in the vestibule so that families can take a few books for their kids during Mass and return them after. When he gets a little older you can talk to him and explain what is going on. He is adorable, love the Davy Crockett pose :)
ReplyDeleteHe is adorable!! What a sweet little guy!!
ReplyDeleteHe is soo cute!! Who cares if he makes some noise at church. We had a priest that would go pick up little ones if they got fussy during his homily.
ReplyDeleteNow THAT would be something Luke would love! What an awesome priest!!! :-)
DeleteYes, we are going through the same thing here! C has the squirms really bad too. Our church doesn't even have a cry room otherwise I'd live there!!
ReplyDeleteI think babies are meant to cry and babble and entertain in church! It's part if the fun. :) love the pic update. What a cute, cheeky grin!
ReplyDeleteBeing pro-life means that sometimes we hear babies babble. How about sitting near the front or near the choir so he can see what is going on?
ReplyDeleteHe's a cutie. That's funny about putting things on his head. Great you are enjoying him.
Great recommendation! Thanks, Lena!
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ReplyDeleteHappy 9 months Luke!
ReplyDeleteMass got really hard once Isaac started walking - he isn't happy sitting in the pew or even crawling on the floor. He wants to be down, walking around. And he is LOUD. Not baby-babbling loud, but screeching, talking over the entire church loud. I don't even wait to see if we're getting looks - if it gets too bad, we head straight for the cry room. I don't think it's reasonable to expect a child his age to sit still for more than a couple minutes at a time, so I have just accepted that right now that's what we have to do ;).
we live in the cry room
ReplyDeleteLove the big toothless smiles!
ReplyDeleteLove this post! My Gemma turned 9 months on Jan 2nd!!! :)
ReplyDeleteI can't give advice about mass, most of my family attends the same churched and we all sit in the same pew so, there is always someone to help hold her if she gets too squirmy. But really she is so shy, she doesn't do much but look around in church. And we don't have a cry room, wich is no bueno!
Love the pics! sooo cute :)
What a cute little boy!
ReplyDeleteAs others said, I like hearing babies at Mass, too. It means there is new life--a future for our Church!
I can't remember what all we did with my son when he was 9 months. I think we did bring little snacks (even though lots of people frown on that--we always picked up after ourselves!). Also, we would bring a quiet toy he could look at/shake/chew on. I think when he wanted to be crawling and moving around, and would get fussy about being contained, we would have to go to the back of the pews and just hold/bounce him. You will figure it out...and if you ever feel like it's just getting impossible, he will change again! I think I did a lot of praying that our son would do better at Mass, which did seem to help. You'll get there!
I know you don't know me. I too struggled with infertility before conceiving with our little daughter who is now 7 months old.What if you would try a cloth activity book with different textures of pages to play with during Mass? I am thinking of making one for Chloe.
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