And I missed it

It's a good thing, I taught my mother in law how to use the video feature on her digital camera.  Of course, the day Zabien was born was the day Eliza took her first steps alone.  I was super excited when I found out about it, and she did wobble over to me to give hugs when I got home.  However, I'm not too shy to admit that I am/was extremely jealous of grandma - she got to witness and participate the shrill joy of a baby's first steps into toddler-hood; while I missed it.  I will also make a full confession that I did in fact shed some tears over it in the privacy of my own bedroom after I put Eliza to bed.  It wasn't just post-partum hormones either, I was really distraught that I missed such an important milestone in my eldest daughter's life.  I'm just grateful that my mother in law got it on camera so I could watch it later



I actually attribute Eliza taking her first steps to a number of things:

1)  She had been working with a physical therapist (more on that later) a couple of weeks before the taking of her first steps.  A friend from the ward suggested I call early intervention and get her evaluated because at 17 months, she wasn't even standing alone, or able to get up from a seated position without a lot of help.  After the initial visit, she exhibited the skills of an 11 month old, and therefore qualified for physical therapy services.    She only had a 24% (instead of the required 25%) delay in speech and communication.  So, although at this point she didn't say any words except cuckoo when the cuckoo clock went off, she didn't qualify for speech therapy  - she probably will now. The physical therapist said she has very little arch support in her tiny feet, that her ankle ligaments are twice as stretchy as they should be, and that she has low muscle tone. All of these factors put together would make it difficult for her to walk independently. She had been walking with support (holding onto both my hands) for around 4 months (about the same time she started crawling), but this was the first she did it alone.


  2) We got her a baby doll and stroller, and a walking toy for Christmas. These toys helped give her the balance and the confidence she needed to try and venture out on her own.

3) Her cousin Lillie (10 days younger) was visiting from Utah.

Lillie could walk and talk which Eliza found fascinating because Lillie was just her size. You will notice from the videos that AFTER Lillie stepped to grandma, Eliza decided to try it.


 

Having Lillie here was wonderful. The two girls played well together, and they taught each other some new things. It was after Lillie left that Eliza made huge progress with her ability to walk, and she started to try to talk more. She finally started using some of the sign language I was trying to teach her because she saw Lillie do it. I can now wash her hair without her fighting and screaming because Lillie likes getting her hair washed. Eliza taught Lillie that books can be a lot of fun, and how to share your toys. Eliza loved having Grandma Richards, aunt Angeline, and cousin Lillie here to play. I loved that Eliza was well taken care of while I was in the hospital. After our guests went home, it took Eliza a couple of days to stop looking for Lillie - she missed her. What cute girls!!