He walks…and it’s no competition
“Baby Brother’s walking! He’s walking! He’s walking!”, Darling Angel squealed over and over, as her baby brother took his first independent steps at ten and a half months.
It’s now been three since Baby Brother started to take more than two steps on his own before crashing on his well padded bottom, but Darling Angel cries out each time as if she’s seeing him take independent steps for the very first time. “He’s walking! Mommy, daddy, see, he’s walking!!”
Baby Brother is just as excited as his sister is. Her squeals inform him that he’s doing something extra special and he throws a big smile on his face as he stretches out his hands for balance and toddles along.
I am excited that I can finally say “he walks” as Hubby and I have been excitedly waiting for this milestone. He’s teased us with it for too long. He started to stand and hold on to furniture at six months. By seven months, he was comfortably furniture walking around the living room. Everyone who saw him said he’d be walking by eight months. I wanted him to be walking by 8 months. Why? I guess just so I could boast that my son was walking at eight months.
Eight months came and went and he was still furniture walking. Nine months came and went and he seemed to be in no hurry. As I complained to a friend about my son’s lack of desire to let go of the furniture he used for support, she warned me of the risk of babies developing bowed legs when they walk too early…something about softer bones. I don’t know how valid the warning is but I want him to walk, NOW.
Ten months came and still furniture walking. The window of opportunity to boast about an early walker has just about slipped away. Darling Angel walked at 11 months, or maybe it was 11 and a half. I’ll have to dig out her walking debut video and check the timestamp. But I expected Baby Brother, due to his early start, to beat her record hands down. Now, two weeks away from eleven months, he’s finally done it. Hardly a significant victory margin.
Am I listening to myself? In my mind, I’ve turned his walking into a competition. It is not a competition. Baby Brother is not in competition with his big sister nor with any other baby (or person who was once a baby). He is just himself, doing his own thing to the best of his ability (I hope).
My children are individuals, their personalities are different. While I can’t help running comparisons in my mind, I pray for wisdom to give each of them the nurturing they need to reach their full potentials.
