Legs don’t fail me now, I’m on the run. These funny appendages that allow me the freedom to quickly evacuate myself from tricky situations, have surely been sources of fun for me and of course utter vexation for the parents. Do I confuse you my dear dear readers, well like Maria, the nanny from The Sound of Music said “Let’s start at the very beginning”. I am the product of an eighties child, and The Sound of Music is my mother’s guilty pleasure, and so is mine’s really, don’t tell the other peeps. 

Anyhow the mobility started quite slowly, first it was the tedious task of trying to lift my head. Boy I must be really clever for that’s one heavy head I guess, watch out world you have a genius on your hands. Then after three to four months of severe head lolling, I finally got my act together and managed to hold the said head up for a few minutes. After that started the rolling, boy was I good at that, I’d roll all around the living room floor like a human dynamo. Once the rolling got old, at about five months I thought I’d give crawling a try, that wasn’t bad really, gave me a new perspective on life which rolling kinda blanked out. 

Though I’d get so intense in my head down crawling that I usually ended up bumping on things and that wasn’t pleasant. Then suddenly after a particularly awful scene where my head hit the edge of the table and I screamed blue murder, I thought enough is enough. Holding the furniture and cruising became my new thang. Not too bad I thought, now I’m getting somewhere. But one day I thought enough with hugging the furniture I’m going to do this on my own and the first wobbly steps were taken. Parents of course went ecstatic, they took pictures, Mum cried on the phone, Dad had that smug proud look on his face and let saying “My son”, over and over again, it seemed like I had caused a miracle. Though my parents euphoric joy quickly dried up, for once those legs of mine got that the hang of things, was I off like a blue. Usain Bolt, eat your heart out. The funny thing is, I really wanted to run fast when something perilous was in the vicinity, see a pool, had to run in speed demon fashion to it, open gate towards moving traffic here I come world I shout as I make a beeline to it. Mum really quit her workout classes for running after me was quite a workout itself. Ha! These legs of fine are awesome, right so I’m on the run now, managed to grab the cookie jar and now I’m off before Mum catches me!!! I’m on FIRE!!! 

Why can’t newborns hold their heads up? 

Your baby's head needs a lot of support during her first few months until her neck muscles get stronger. Gaining the strength to hold her head up is the foundation on which the development of all your baby's other movement is based. It will help her to roll over, sit up, crawl, and walk. Your baby's neck muscles are fairly weak at birth. For the first few months, she'll rely on you using your hand to support her head and neck when you hold her. Perhaps it's nature's way of ensuring you have lots of face-to-face interaction. As you cradle her in your arms, enjoy the chance to gaze into her eyes. It'll help you bond and will make her feel loved. 

When do babies start to walk? 

Most parents expect their child to start walking around her first birthday, but the normal age range actually varies from as young as 9 months up to 18 months. Within this normal range, a child may be closer to the 18-month end for a couple of reasons—mainly lack of opportunity, genetics, and temperament. While most late walkers are fine, healthy children, there are developmental reasons for missing this milestone. “Some children with neuromuscular, genetic, or metabolic disorders may walk late due to an underlying medical condition,” says Dr. Daniel Brennan, a pediatrician at the Sansum Clinic and Cottage Children’s Hospital in Santa Barbara, California. “Other children may walk late due to an underlying orthopedic problem, such as hip dysplasia. These children can be evaluated by their pediatrician and a pediatric orthopedist.” 

By Mayuri Jayasinghe