Random Thoughts on Life, Motherhood & Beyond: Going Places

On the day we were supposed to fly to Singapore - 31 Aug - Julien started to stand. And I mean stand rather stably on his own. I was busy packing, when I heard an excited shout from Daddy Low. J had stood up and stayed upright for quite a while, before tumbling down to the ground. I know Mum has been teaching and encouraging J to stand for a few days now and finally, he has gathered enough confidence to try and I supposed mustered his babyful of strength to stand for that few lengthy seconds. J certainly looked very pleased with himself. We coaxed and encouraged him to stand once more for Mummy and Grandma's benefit. And he did, the darling, repeat his feat. In fact, he was so proud of himself that he held his position and danced a bit with his arms, bobbing up and down when we sang to him!

We thought he would walk soon, but true to a boy's nature, he was happy to continue crawling and cruising. And so we saw no more of the standing or any attempts to walk...

Until we came back to the UK. About one month plus after that standing performance (6 Oct to be exact), J got up again and this time, tried walking. He would walk 2 - 3 steps, then fall down to the ground. I think sometimes he just lost his balance, while others, he just felt tired and wanted a rest. And I know this, because I see him deliberately fall face down sometimes, and he always chose to take his break when he was walking on his padded mat in the living room. This Parklon mat, in Daddy Low's eyes, is probably the craziest thing I wanted for Baby. It is a good sized mat, basically sized like a carpet, but is made of a waterproof padded foam. A Korean product, it became a must-have item among mummies in Singapore and Malaysia, but boy, is it expensive! But I knew we had to have it once I saw it and heard from all my Singaporean frens in UK that they swear by theirs. All had bought it in Singapore and brought it here; in fact, one had the merchant ship it here and shipping costs about one-third of its retail price! I felt a bit guilty wanting to buy such an expensive item; luckily, family brought it here when they came to visit. And now that J is learning to walk, the mat has proven its worth. J seems to know it is safe here, for he appeared to like to practise walking there. He would also choose to fall down there just so he could take his break.

So, it was 2-3 steps days for a few days and I did not think J would be walking for a long time yet. He was happily cruising and can be a streak of lightning when he crawls. We have a walker at home, the A-frame type, which means no sitting down. Ever since he is strong enough to stand on his own and to walk his 2-3 steps, he has loved whizzing about on his Winnie-the-Pooh walker. In fact, he races about with it - you would have thought he is trying to be a F1 driver! :) So, this is another item I am glad we bought, cos I have no doubt that this walker has helped J to get used to walking.

Then, it happened. One evening 2 weeks later (21 Oct), J walked 7 steps. Again, it was Daddy Low who witnessed it. I was cooking in the kitchen and was summoned by Daddy Low's exclamation "He just walked 7 steps!" (Ay, Daddy Low, actually, you caught many of J's "firsts" - his flipping, his standing and now his walking! Lucky man, you!). J did not do it for me again that night, but the next day, at a birthday party, in front of everyone, J walked 7 steps towards me. Everyone was clapping for him and praising him. And my little tiger had a big smile plastered on his face. I think he was mightily pleased with himself and sure liked the attention!

Now, he is walking more and more steadily. I was pleasantly surprised today, when the carer at the nursery told me that J was walking lots in the nursery today. I think she was surprised too. And today, at home, I saw that J was not just walking more steadily, but he was walking a lot more confidently. He no longer walks just in the area of the mat. And he no longer walks in just a straight line - today, I saw him make a right turn! And he did it without being aware.

I told Daddy Low about it, and we have decided that we will go shoe-shopping for J this Sat! His very first pair of walking shoes! If only he knew! I can barely sleep just thinking about it! Heheh... :)