Wednesday 7 June 2017

Guess What? We Now Have A Walker!

So if you know me at all then you'll know that my children are my world - I love them both so, so much but, like any parent, I can't help constantly worrying about them.

Whilst worry does come hand in hand with being a parent it still isn't nice and it is this factor that has led me to wanting to write this post.

I felt I needed to address something which you may have spotted me worrying about a fair bit over recent months and after a Twitter conversation this week with with a lovely mummy blogger I have the pleasure of knowing, I have realised that I'm not the only parent out there who is concerned about this subject, so I figured, if writing this little conclusion to my experiences could stop just one other person worrying quite so much then that would be a job well done in my eyes.

Now the subject I'm referring to I mentioned in an earlier blog post and it was about how my lovely little Willow seemed to have a total unwillingness at wanting to walk.

I mean I shouldn't have been stressed about it really but how could I not be, everything around me seemed to show that I should be concerned...

~ the magazine articles
~ those age milestone emails
~ people offering up friendly "advice"

...yet in the end I decided to shove the worry away (which was honestly a lot easier said than done) because, let's be honest, even if I had told my health visitors what on earth would they have done - strap Willow into some kind of "you will walk" device?

No, obviously not.

So I decided waiting it out would be best.

Willow is a very switched on little thing, she's determined and stubborn and clever and whilst she wasn't ready to walk she had no trouble at all in getting around, it just had to be in a way that she chose.

And walking she did not choose.

We had the crawling at zooming speeds, we had skillful reverse crawling, there was knee walking and even a bit of knee running.

She would cruise around furniture all day and loved to walk with walkers and prams.

But attempt to stand her up on her own and her knees simply buckled, her arms would fly up making it impossible to hold her, and then down to the floor she would go - it was all more out of defiance really than anything else.

She just wasn't ready to walk.

And yes, it was a little hard feeling all judged at playgroups and play-gyms when other, much younger children were running around and Willow was scooting about on her knees and then the "Is that how she gets around?" comments accompanied with slightly sympathetic side-eye glances from other Mums made it impossible for me to not be bothered really.

But now, after all of those countless "Awww, she'll get it one day" remarks, do you know what?

She now has it.

On 19th May 2017 aged nineteen months and four days, up Willow stood at a chair in our living room, around she turned and three amazing, wobbly steps she did take.

I was elated - beyond elated - it was simply fabulous and she was so proud of herself.

Then, over the next few weeks she took more and more steps and became more and more steady each and every day until we reached the point we are now at where, at almost twenty months of age (on 15th June), she is well and truly running rings around me.

We went to watch her big brother play rugby at the weekend and she was in her element, playing in the sunshine, walking up and down the full length of the pitch, picking buttercups and playing with the grass...



And now, a trip to the supermarket takes double the amount of time it once did because trolley seats are a total no no and Willow loves nothing more than walking up the isles - usually in the opposite direction to where I want to go...


She can still get places faster by crawling so will usually resort to this at some point during the day, but all in all she has grasped it.

And at twenty months old, we now have a walker.

At twenty months of age.

So the moral of this post?

Well it's really just here to act as a reminder that if you can, try to worry a little less about things and certainly don't focus on any of the "should be" comments and those "norm" expectations that will be shoved your way.

Kiddies will get where they need to be but in their own time and in their own way.

And always remember what my lovely Grandma said to me, "Well she won't be crawling to college now will she."

Just worry a little less and enjoy a lot more
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