Benzu (a new pet name courtesy of his dad) will be 11 months tomorrow and he has yet to walk by himself.

His older sister Pristine walked before she hit the big one so it’s natural that I get a lot of  “why isn’t he walking yet?” or “he’ll be 1 soon, he SHOULD be walking already!”. It’s those kind of pressure that drove me to maniacal type of mom teaching my older daughter Pristine to walk very early 8 years ago because somehow, the people around me seem to point out that it’s my “fault” if my baby don’t walk before her first birthday.

I agonized about it. I cried and thought I was a bad mother when she was wobbly and would fall so many times after a few baby steps.

But does it REALLY matter if babies walked later than average? No, not even a little because in the end, normal, healthy babies will eventually learn to walk. All of them.

I am much calmer now. Though we give practice opportunities and Benzu watch his big sister run all over the place, he still prefers to cruise holding on to a furniture or crawl {faster than a hungry Komodo dragon!}. And it’s OK. Questions will start to pour again whether he has stood up on his own little Flintstone feet or took his steps unaided. I won’t bat an eyelash. I know he will walk when HE is ready.

He might be a late walker but I’ll treasure these precious time until he wriggles out and run away every time I scoop all of him in my arms, exploring the new-found power of his busy little feet.