This is a picture of Gabe sitting up in the swing. I know he looks cute and all, sitting up...swinging. However the swing was the place where, if Gabe was tired and fighting it, his eyelids couldn't resist the gentle rocking and white noise the swing produced. In a matter of minutes he would be blissfully asleep. This was essential when Gabe would wake up at 4:00 in the morning, and with the shrill cries of an angry banshee, demand to be put back to sleep. We would try to soothe him, then if that didn't work, to the swing he went. There were some nights he would spend the whole night in that thing.
No longer.
With his increased upper body strength and will power, he has learned to conquer the swing. He Grabs the tray, or the side of the swing and pulls himself up into a sitting position. He does this as long as he can. When he tires, he props one arm behind him (keeping the other on the tray) and leans on that. This entire time he is screaming that cry that makes all of the glass in the house reverberate.
I left him in the swing for 10min. More than long enough to make a normal baby pass out. He screamed the entire time. I know he was tired, but his will power was too strong. I picked him up out of the swing and he passed out immediately. One less tool at our disposal.
Here is an example of Gabe using his brain for good. After months of us showing him how to place the balls in his musical dinosaur toy, he has finally started doing it on his own.
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