13 Thursday Sep 2012
Posted in Walking
We had a scare last week.
It wasn’t huge on the scale of things, but it’s been niggling in the pit of my stomach for a week now.
After being told back in February that Frog’s walking delay was NOT due to hip dysplasia, we had a letter telling us otherwise. After the countless appointments we’ve been to and the blood tests and the physio sessions, this was a setback. And a confusing one at that. Continue reading »
06 Thursday Sep 2012
Posted in Walking
I like honesty. It’s one of the traits I most admire in a person.
Honesty and the ability to give it to someone straight. Talking around a subject, fluffing it up with watery phrases like, “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” or “Everything’s fine… really”, do not help. Not when everything might not be fine.
As a parent, if there’s even the tiniest thing wrong with your child you want to know about it straight away. You want to know the exact cause of whatever the problem is – whether it’s a rash or a limp, a temperature or a delay in walking. Continue reading »
20 Monday Aug 2012
Posted in Walking
Tags
Picture the scene: a sunny garden, complete with paddling pool, sandpit and naked toddler.
Nothing unusual about that for August – except the toddler isn’t actually naked. She wears not a stitch all over her body, but her feet are adorned with a pair of socks and some heavy duty boots.
A good look, I’m sure you’ll agree.
The thing is, my two year old is still wobbly when it comes to walking. At 26 months, she only fully mastered the craft of getting up on two feet before her recent birthday. She has hypermobility issues, which means she is very bendy, making it hard for her to balance properly. Continue reading »
08 Wednesday Aug 2012
Tags
activities, ballet, clubs, dance, hypermobility, Parenting, toddlers, walking
When I was the age my toddler is now, my mum signed me up to ballet lessons. I loved them.
Ballet was a big part of our Saturday morning routine throughout my childhood. The walk along the leafy Bristol streets, hand in hand with my mum, chattering away. The smell of new ballet shoes and the excitement of visiting the dance shop with all its multi-coloured tutus. Sitting in a freezing church hall practising “good toes, naughty toes” before getting onto the fun stuff – the jumps and the routines.
Parenthood has a habit of bringing all the best bits of our own early years into sharp focus. I can still hear the rip as my friend shredded my pink tutu, made lovingly by my mum, during one of the many shows we put on for the adults (who were probably incredibly bored at the time but did a great job of hiding it). I can still feel the scratchy net, deliciously puffy and rigid against my skin, as I proudly pointed my toes and imagined myself the lead role in Swan Lake. Continue reading »
19 Tuesday Jun 2012
Posted in Walking
I chased my daughter around a shop this afternoon. I watched as she let go of my hand and made a dash for the tills, running behind the counter, before playing peepo in an empty changing room.
It was beautiful.
A week tomorrow my baby girl turns two years old. And it is only now that I am beginning to see her as the toddler she has been for the past six months. The speaking, singing, mischievous toddler. The non-toddling toddler who is no longer of the non-toddling variety. Continue reading »
20 Sunday May 2012
Posted in Walking
Tags
Usually on a Sunday I like to post a photo with no words, taking part in the Silent Sunday tradition.
But not this week.
Because yesterday I filmed a little video. And after all the posts I’ve written about my non-toddling toddler’s struggle with walking and hypermobility, the frustrations and questioning looks, the worry and negativity… I wanted to put something positive here.
This is what determination looks like, in the form of an almost 23 month old little girl with wonky feet and uber flexible limbs. This is what not giving up looks like. Continue reading »
08 Tuesday May 2012
Posted in Walking
This is my daughter.
Lover of flapjack, creator of mischief, wearer of shoes.
She likes to crayon, play with mud and hide before bathtime.
And she can’t walk. Continue reading »
25 Wednesday Apr 2012
Posted in Walking
I’ve lost count now of the number of people to tell me my 22 month old daughter will, “Just get up and walk on her own”. Or that she’s, “Just too lazy at the moment”. Or that she, “Just doesn’t have any interest in walking yet”.
It turns out they’re all wrong.
No matter how well meant these pieces of advice were, they were misplaced.
When you have a child who doesn’t walk, everyone is eager to put your mind at rest. It’s a kindness. It seems that we all know someone who knows someone else who knows someone else who had a late walker. A late walker who just, suddenly, got up one day and ran across the room. (My own husband is one of these miracle children, afterall.) The result can be the false illusion that, actually, it’s totally normal for a child of 22 months not to be walking.
But this is a bit of a fib really.
23 Monday Apr 2012
Posted in Motherhood, Walking
When I became pregnant with my daughter, two years ago this October, I wished so hard that she would be born healthy.
Being the suspicious type of woman that I am, I would catch those fluffy white floating seeds, close my eyes and wish for my baby’s health, then let the seeds float away on the breeze again. Every kick would bring a sense of comfort, even if it was poking right up into my ribs, as I felt safe in the knowledge my unborn child was very much alive inside me.
And then she was born.
And the wishes became about more than just her health. I now find myself wishing all sorts of things for my daughter, on a daily basis. Here are the top five: Continue reading »
15 Sunday Apr 2012
Posted in Walking
This time last week our house was not such a happy place.
I’d been told my nearly 22 month old daughter had an “issue” with the joints from her hips downwards and she was, to put it simply, too flexible to walk.
We sat there, our family of three, on hard plastic chairs next to a picture of everyone’s favourite donkey Eeyore, and tried to decipher the medical jargon tumbling into our confused brains.
Your. Child. Has. A. Problem.
Your. Child. Needs. Treatment. Continue reading »