It must be scary being small. I mean, I am fairly short but to be really small, baby small, would be quite terrifying. Mr Wrigglebot’s perspective in life changes with each new stage that he goes through. At first he was confined to lying on the ground and only seeing what was directly above or to the immediate sides of him. Then he could roll over and so began to notice what was beneath him and his vision could wander further as he was able to get further. Then he could crawl and he was a little higher with more chance of injury and then one day he pulled himself up to his feet and then he could see much more but there was also much more risk.

Wrigglebot has to navigate a world mainly catering to people of at least 1.5 metres of height with only 70 cm and only that if he is standing to his full height and not crawling. I watch him weave through a room; going around chair legs, ducking under tables, noticing bits of rubbish that you would only see if you were 20 cms away from the ground, crawling quickly confident that any large walking person will give him right of way. And then through all the obstacles he sees me and he can tell my legs from anybody elses and he will come and he will climb up.

I am his protector in this scary world that he can’t hope to comprehend yet. I am the one who he knows will lift him up so he can see just a little more, and thus navigate further on his next exploration. And he knows that when he gets stuck, when his head doesn’t quite fit through the gap or he wanders into scary and unfamiliar waters I will be there. He knows that if he reaches out his hands I will be there because it must be scary being little and everybody needs a shoulder ride occasionally.

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baby by chelle