The View from the Mound

It's a whole new ball game.

The difficulty of raising a baby enjoys a direct correlation to one's ability to be able to accurately locate the whereabouts of said baby. Despite the culture shock and sleepless nights that set in immediately when you get home from the hospital, raising your newborn is not so crazy a proposition. There's sleeping, there's feeding, and there's holding - lots of holding. And with two of you rocking the shiftwork, it's nothing impossible. Heck, before she can learn to wiggle (or watch The Wiggles, for that matter), plenty of subsitute holders can fill in at anytime.

It's like starting an inning against the 9-hole in the lineup. Congratulations, you got the pitcher to strike out looking - he didn't even take the bat off his shoulder. One down.

But then a month or two passes, and periods of you sitting and holding begin to wane. Time is spent with baby on her back, with various mobiles, toys, and dangling rings to reach and swat at. Perhaps, if you're feeling adventurous, you'll flip her over and wait for the wailing. The fact of the matter is, once you put her on the ground, it's making her familiar with the terrain that separate A from B. And for a little person who thrives on feeling new textures (sweet, sweet, carpet), this could be the catalyst of something bigger.

After retiring the pitcher, the lead-off hitter taps a slap single down the third base line, only to beat a great throw from your third-baseman by half a step. Good effort, nonetheless.

And then one day, she'll decide being on her stomach isn't the worst thing in the world. Her vision levels out; seems thing less upside-down. Granted, she's not thinking on inching forward at that toy duck anytime soon, but it's nice to see that the duck's bill is actually below its eyes. In fact, any attempt to motion forward typically results in a few steps back - Paula Abdul would be proud. But all this time, she's watching you. She's watching you glide easily from place to place in that spacious apartment of yours, taking notes on how easily movement can be. Better lace up those cleats, Mom and Dad.

With one on and one out, you work the count against the 2 hitter. There's lot of fouling off pitches on the full count, and while you're not showing signs of tiring, you can feel the batter's confidence building with each swing. Finally, you make a minor mistake and the 2-hitter knocks a ball by you up the middle. Runners at 1st and third, one out.

As fun as lying on one's stomach is, someone quickly realizes that they can get from A to B by means of rolling. It's not exactly travel by straight line, but it can get you from the coffee table and back much in the flight path "The Scrambler" takes at your local amusement park. But all this rolling - it doesn't get anyone anywhere fast. Situation is still normal, all systems are go.

And then Ryan Howard steps to the plate, and you're out of left-handed relievers. Your shoulders drop. You know he's got your number.

And someone learns to crawl.

Like I said, it's a whole new ball game.