Stubborness, I Has It!

My son is getting the hang of crawling, and more recently, pulling himself up to stand. I wasn't prepared for this to happen so soon. Being a preemie, I thought he'd take on standing closer to a year in his actual age, which would be around 10 months adjusted. He's currently nine months actual, seven adjusted.

Every day now I run into having to make a choice between letting my son explore to his heart's content (as long as he's safely supervised), or start "training" him on what not to do. When he insists on pulling himself up using the coffee table, do I let him do it (and let him fall down), or do I discourage him from trying? When he attempts to climb the stairs, should I let him learn how to do it, or should I automatically pull him away?

A big part of me wants him to explore as much as he can. This morning he was trying to climb the stairs, and I sat with him as he tried, with my hands at the ready in case he lost his footing. I don't want a kid who is used to having everything done for him; I want a child who is confident and independent. On the other hand, of course there is a part of me that is scared that overconfidence and fearlessness could put him in harm's way.

When he's on our bed, he sometimes crawls away without regard to the edge, despite having fallen off it a couple of times. At the same time, when he's on the floor right outside our bathroom, I can say "No, don't come in" and he will stop from crawling in and busy himself with the mirrors.

I am learning where to draw the line, and I hope my son is learning along with me. It's an exciting time as a first-time mother, but an exhausting one for sure.