It seems that for months, whenever someone has asked, “How old is [Nora]?” they follow my answer with, “Is she walking yet?”
This question gets old, people.
To help keep things lively, I tried to change up my answer. “Not yet,” I’d always start out, but I’d continue with things like, “She’s taking her time.” Or “She’s just not ready.” Or “We’re enjoying it while it lasts.”
Although she rolled over on time (perhaps even early), started sitting up at an average age, and even belted out an impressive “Tessa” for a first word at 10 months old, Nora has been slow to take on other things. She was late to the party when it came to standing. And crawling. She didn’t cut her first tooth until 10 months old, and still only has a total of four teeth now. As a result of the “no teeth” thing, she was late to tackle finger foods. She still really only has a handful of recognizable words, when other 14-month-olds are talking up a storm by now. And, well, as so many people remind me with that age old “Is she walking?” question–she’s late to learn how to walk.
Most of the time, I don’t worry about any of these things. I know that the “normal” range for milestones is large. Kids do things at their own rates. On their own time. When they’re ready. I know that it doesn’t make Nora “slow.” I know she’s not “dumb.” I have this mommy/spidey/sixth sense that tells me she’s just fine. Plus, our pediatrician has said she’s fine, so there’s professional backup. It also helps that at daycare, Amelia (the other baby girl, just two weeks younger than Nora) has been on the same “schedule” as Nora, and in some ways, Nora has been ahead of her.
Until Amelia started walking two weeks ago.
So, I admit it. Every once in a while, I will see blog posts or video or photos of kids Nora’s age doing things that Nora’s not doing. Or I’ll see these things in children in real life, like with Amelia. And worry tries to creep its way into my mind.
I am happy to say that as of yesterday, Nora is proving my instincts correct, and helping to ease my mind. The last week or two, she’s been taking steps. But just one, maybe two before collapsing into a heap on the floor. She’s been walking a lot more with assistance, but her balance? Pretty much atrocious. She’s kept trucking, though.
And now? Well, see for yourself.
(iPhone video, sorry for the quality.)
14 Responses to Steppin’ Out
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About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
Go Nora!! I was laying on the carpet watching your videos and my dog heard Tessa and you squeaking a toy. Yeah, my dog wanted to attack my computer. It was cute.
I am so happy that Nora is walking! I am a parent of a child with Down Syndrome and have constantly been worried about him keeping up with his peers. I know that you think Nora may be behind the curve, but the most important thing is to celebrate her milestones and motivate her to get to the next stage of her development! Love your blog and hope to hear so much more about Nora!
She is doing great! Go Nora!!
Way to go!
My daughter was born March 17, 2010, I have 2 friends who’s daughters were born April 13, and May 11. And they both started walking before my girl. It was so hard for me not to worry. She took her first steps on her first birthday and by easter, she was walking like a pro.
Fantastic! She’s doing great. My son took his first steps on the eve of his first birthday and almost two months later he’s close to running— let’s just say he’s fast! In the past two weeks he’s also learned to crawl up a full flight of stairs too. His speed is making an additional baby gate necessary at the bottom of the stairs.
@Amanda–Actually, that was Tessa squeaking the toy! She squeaks it and growls at it simultaneously when she plays. She’s a weirdo. Funny that your dog got a kick out of it, though!
@Anonymous–I don’t so much think that Nora is behind the curve, but I think that OTHER people think that she’s behind the curve, if that makes sense. The intent of my post was to point out that it’s not abnormal for a kid to not be walking by his/her first birthday, you know? But it’s so hard not to compare our children to other children, isn’t it? I think every parent does this, since we all so badly want the best for our little ones. And I’m sure all of that is heightened for you with your little guy. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. It helps to keep things in perspective, and a good reminder to celebrate developmental milestones, no matter when they occur–because after all, nothing is guaranteed. :)
@Morrigan–Thanks. It’s so cute, and I’m happy to see her taking off! But it’s also a little sad. What happened to my baby? :(
@Miss Carrie Ann–It makes me giggle that you were so worried about her not walking, and she wasn’t even 1 year old yet! It just goes to show that every parent worries, doesn’t it? :)
@JGL–That is more time than I was expecting! I feel like I keep hearing that they take their first steps one day, and the next, they are running. :) So, I’m glad to hear that we might have some time to ease our way into this walking/running business. Nora figured out how to crawl up the stairs last week, so we’re on the hunt for a baby gate. Hard to come by one that will work for our stairs, since we have wooden, rounded banisters. Have fun babyproofing! :)
Hey! Haven’t commented in a long while, but I can relate to the walking situation. My daughter is only 12.5 months, but she’s nowhere near taking her first steps. To be honest, I haven’t been practicing with her. I know she’ll eventually walk so I’m enjoying every moment of NOT having to chase her around the house ;p And if it makes you feel any better, my daughter JUST cut her first took at 12 months exactly. LOL
{I think people always ask that questions because they don’t really know what else to say..?}
I think Nora’s balance actually looks fantastic for just starting to walk!
My daughter started walking a little before she was 11 months old and was definitely not as well balanced as Nora when she first began. Our pediatrician told us that starting to walk unassisted has more to do with the fear of letting go than the actual physical ability to walk. Lena doesn’t have any fear, unfortunately, so she started a little early. Now that she has been walking for a little over 3 weeks she finally has great balance and is walking everywhere (no more crawling) and running as well.
Nora has looked so comfortable standing by herself in a lot of your pictures lately, I wouldn’t be surprised if she is running sooner than later…watch out!!!
Isn’t it funny how we all worry about the milestones? I think I worry more about what Connor isn’t doing due to others constantly asking “is he doing this…is he doing that?” Connor walked very early – at 10 months, but he NEVER crawled. He also had 11 teeth by the time he turned 1! However, his vocabulary has been VERY slow to come around – he’s 15 months now and is just starting to really say words. Some people seem to be very concerned that he’s a ‘late’ talker, but my momma instinct tells me that it’s just no big deal! :)
She’s so cute walking!! And you have about 1/2 a second before she’s RUNNING! :)
My little dude is the same way (and is just a couple weeks younger than Nora). Truthfully, yours is one of the only blogs I read where another kid his age isn’t doing stuff soooo early. It’s sort of refreshing, ha. His rolling over and sitting up was pretty much on track, but he didn’t get his first tooth until 10 months, didn’t crawl until about 10-11 months, and is now taking maybe 5-8 steps at a time, but he is certainly going at his own pace. And we think he is perfectly fine.
The only thing that tends to worry me a bit is his lack of talking. He’s 14 and 1/2 months old and has only got maybe one or two words (even that might just be us hearing what we want to hear). But I think there are legitimate reasons why that is delayed (he battled ear infections for many months that affected his hearing).
Anyway, they all get there eventually, right? Until then, at least they’re easier to keep track of. ;)
My son didn’t start walking until just about 14 months… even though we all KNEW he could because he would take anywhere from 3-6 steps if it suited him…but he knew crawling was faster… but once he started walking, he pretty much went straight to running, so watch out, you don’t have long!
And as far as talking…. one day, Nora won’t have many words, and the next day, you’ll be wondering where she learned that word..right now my son is sitting next to me singing “now I know my abc’s…”!!!
Oh I SO can relate to this post! Annie was a late walker, and it really drove me nuts when people would comment on it. I think I got my first question asking if she was walking when she was like 8 months old. WHAT?! I was just so annoyed at people’s perceived disappointment in her. I wasn’t ever WORRIED, per se, I knew she’d get there since she clearly had the physical ability, but it did bother me slightly when other babies Annie’s age were doing things way earlier. She clearly had her own timetable! She started crawling at 7-8 months, didn’t really pull up until 9 months or so, and then didn’t take a single solitary step until 14 months old. She was what I’d call a true walker at 16 months. I was pretty laid back about it until maybe 15 months, and then after that was definitely anxious for her to walk but tried hard to not push her too much – I really never want to send her the impression that whatever she’s doing right now isn’t good enough! Ironically enough, the day she really became a walker (and it was overnight, just like “they” say) she was with my parents at their lake home, which is about 10x bigger than our house – she may have just needed to 1- get away from us, and 2- have a bit more room to travel between furniture!
As for when she started running… eh, she’s still not really there. She does her own version of running and walks at quite the fast clip now, but she’s just never been that motivated to go fast just for fun. Once and awhile she’ll nearly run in a game of chase or something, but she mostly just walks :)
Oh, I also remember fa-reaking out about verbal skills around 13-15 months, but again by 16 months Annie was saying quite a few words and now at 22 months she’s doing just great :) Yeah, there are the baby geniuses who are saying paragraphs at 1, but that’s not “normal” either :)
I had a kid in daycare who didn’t walk until she was about 18 months and my niece walked at 9 months. Truly shows the range of normal! My mom worried about me, too, because I never crawled, but I stood up and started walking at 10 months. :)
I totally understand how you feel. I feel like people asked me for months if my little girl was crawling. I just “felt” like she would be crawling by 9 months and she was, almost to the day. It’s so hard not to compare your baby to other kids even though you feel like they are doing ok. I just wish people wouldn’t make it harder by asking those kinds of questions.