As you can see in today’s video Noah is trying hard to stand up on his own. I just love how hard he tries!
Our little boy is seriously one of the hardest working one year olds I know! He works so hard at his physical therapy appointments, and I can’t even guess how much time he has spent doing treadmill training. And while he’s sitting up on his own, crawling on his own, and even taking steps on his on, he isn’t quite ready to walk or stand up on his own quite yet.
Yelp. That’s Noah Trying To Stand Up On His Own!
But he’ll get there.
When I took this video I remember wondering if Noah would ever walk on his own. Ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. I knew he would walk eventually, but it just seemed like it was taking forever for him to even stand up on his own. (Although he had recently learned to pull himself up to a standing position on his own, and took his first steps, which was huge!)
I continually remind myself that every child is unique, will meet their milestones at different times and try to focus on celebrating, not comparing. When I do that my heart fills up with pride for my child, instead of bitterness in my heart of what other children can do, that Noah can’t.
In other words, when I line my heart up with truth, I start thinking about true things, and life is good.
It’s so much fun watching him learn to connect the dots. He’ll get there, and I’m enjoying every moment of his journey.
“I’ll figure this out on my own time.” – Noah
If you’re a parent of a child with Down syndrome I want to remind you to enjoy every second with your chid. Don’t let comparison or developmental milestone charts steal one once of joy from your life. Every child is unique, and uniqueness deserves to be celebrated.
Have a great day!
Is your child standing up on their own yet? If so, what age where they when they started to stand up on their own? Leave a comment below and let us know.
About Rick Smith
We are at the cusp of that milestone right now. Cana is just about nineteen months and only just now showing any desire to walk. Sadly, we cut her typical brothers more slack when they were late to walk because “oh, they’re boys.” Thanks for the reminder to celebrate the journey!
Thanks for the comment and for sharing the picture of your little one! How adorable!
How long has he been crawling / creeping?
I LOVE the way you have with words. It makes my heart so warm for every child out there. My grandson Ryan just turned 4 months and he is doing so well. I look forward to each and everyone of his milestones and we should never compare. Each child is unique in his or her our way. Thank you for making me smile today!
Rick,
Thank you I really need to read that. Today my son turns 20 months old and has really just mastered getting around on his own by sitting and folding over like a pancake and using his arms to crawl. But hey he is becoming independent and can go anywhere. I often have to remind myself that he will learn to stand on his own and eventually walk, but there are days that it upsets me when I see other children much younger than him walking and even running. But I will not take away any of the joys that he has learned.
Thank you,
Heather
Thanks so much for sharing this, as at also needed to hear it today! My son Samuel is 15 months and though he sits on his own and rolls all over the house he is struggling to learn how to crawl and stand…..it’s particularly frustrating both to Sammy and to us as we watch because his twin sister Eliana does not have Down syndrome and runs around the house. It’s hard to see the frustration on his face when she walks or runs past him. But he will get there! Thanks for your encouraging words! 🙂
Abigail was 28 months old when she FINALLY took off walking on her own! She choose Mother’s Day to debut her new skill and that year it was also my birthday. Couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful present. She is walking and running now (also cheerleading and dancing!) and those early days of wondering if that would ever happen are a distant memory. You are so right when you encourage parents to not let developmental milestones met by typical peers rob you of your joy. Every milestone our kids reach is so hard fought and so much more appreciated than those gained by typical peers. We automatically get so much more joy celebrating hard fought victories. Noah’s Dad be ready for how quickly your new baby will gain skills. I foresee an even greater appreciation of how hard Noah works coming for you and your wife.
Thanks for sharing your life with us!
Kathy
My daughter Taylor is going to be 4 next month, but I recall waiting for her to learn to walk (at about age 2) and wondering if she would ever be able to walk and run like her peers.
I appreciate your view of not comparing, but celebrating our children’s differences and special talents. As my daughter entered a preschool program this past fall and began to work with the special education program, I find it is especially important to remind others that each child is special in their own way and will develop at their own pace. It has been a struggle for me to keep her in the regular classroom because others feel as though she should be placed in a class with only special-needs children. However, I will continue to fight for her to receive a Free and Appropriate Public Education in the least restrictive environment including the regular classroom. My goal for Taylor is a life of independence versus one of dependance and I think this mindset starts at birth and continues throughout life. If we expect great things from our children and believe they can achieve anything they desire, they will often exceed every goal we set for them.
Thank you for your inspiring posts. Best wishes to you and your family. Hi from Taylor. 🙂
You go Noah!! Rick you are so right on enjoying every minute and milestone that our children go through. I have an eleven year old son (Easton) will DS. Seeing and living life through his eyes is such an inspiration! Easton is actually on the Milford Indians Wrestling team, which is a typical childs league. It took him two years, but last weekend he won his first medal, coming in at 3rd place. Our children can do and be what ever they want as long as we give them the chance to and support to achieve.
Easton is the little guy in the picture, and he is the biggest dare devil I know!
Very cool! Thanks for the comment and for the awesome picture. I bet you guys have a lot of fun!
My son is 15 and watching Noah makes we wish I can roll back time just to record every moment. Go Noah!!!
Thanks for the comment Carol! I’ll admit, it’s fun to have so many videos of Noah saved up! 🙂
Do you guys have any other children?
Cooper just turned 3 last month…I remember when I too was wondering when he would start walking. Honestly, I can’t remember…I think around 2 years. Now I can barely keep up with him, he’s so quick!
My granddaughter Avalyn just turned 20 months yesterday. She had a surprise for us and not once but three times pulled her self up to a standing position at the couch. She been trying and trying to pull her self up and she is so full of determination. The look on her face was priceless because she looked at us all with a huge smile and waited for us to start cheering and clap like we always do. Thank you for the reminder to enjoy each little accomplishment along the way. I remember when we first found out she had DS the doctor was so caring and she said don’t worry she will do everything like all the other kids in her own time in her own way and you will get to have a celebration each and every time. I have included a picture that always makes me smile as she is my super girl. 🙂
This is so awesome! Thanks so much for your comment and for sharing a picture. You sound like an awesome grandmother! Do you have any other grand children?
Avalyn is our first grandchild. I just turned 41 so I am a young Nana. We have two daughters Meghan is 22 and Alisha is 20. Alisha is Avalyn’s mother.
Go Noah!!!!, He reminds me so much of my Hadley. She is doing the tripod stand too. She loves it. she is 16months. Just in the past two days she has done the squat to stand twice my husband panicked the first time. what do I do she’s standing!!. It was great/funny. Took one small step and stood for about 10 sec. Oh the pride tears! I know my child thinks I’m crazy.