A Little Slow?

I have often heard that the second child is typically a little quicker to hit major milestones than their older siblings. The theory being they want to keep up with their older siblings so they walk earlier and talk earlier.

Well the Little One is definitely not in that camp. It could be that the Big One talks non-stop from the moment her eyes open until she finally talks herself to sleep, so it’s nearly impossible for the Little One {or anyone for that matter} to get a word in edge wise. I totally get why she doesn’t talk. And quite frankly I am a bit relieved because I know that when that switch finally goes on, she will be like her sister and talk non-stop.

At 14 months, the Little One is also not walking yet. She will walk with someone holding her fingers. You know that wobbly, eager, lunging walk that they do. It’s awesome to watch and be a part of. To see her eyes light up on and the grin on her face as she realizes that she is making forward progress, and it’s not on her knees is a sight to behold.

But once you let go of her fingers she is off to the races on her knees. She doesn’t typically do a normal crawl. Instead she usually crawls on one knee with the other foot scooting her along. Sometimes she does put both knees down and this is where we run into problems.

She gets herself going so fast that she gets all tangled up in her arms and legs. You’ve all seen a kid do it. They are crawling along, increasing the speed with which they propel forward and then suddenly they collapse. The knees catch up with the hands and they can’t control the motion so they belly flop onto the ground.

Normally the Little One laughs a little, shakes it off and gets back up on her knees again. Normally she gets her chest down first so there is no harm or foul when she collapses on the floor. Normally she is on the carpet chasing her sister when it happens so she has a nice softer spot to land on.

The other day was not so normal. The Little One was on the tile when she collapsed. She didn’t get her chest down first and she definitely didn’t laugh when she collapsed face first into the tile.

In case you are wondering, lips bleed…. And they bleed a lot. Her front teeth cut part way through her upper lip. You know that little spot that attaches your upper lip to your gums? That spots bleeds a lot too.

So, no it doesn’t bother me {or worry me} that the Little One isn’t talking. It really doesn’t worry me too much that she isn’t walking. However, I am not a fan of blood so I wish she would let go and start walking. After all watching them take their first steps unassisted is a hundred times more awesome than the finger-holding walk that comes first.