do your dcs spend months frustrating you and then do something amazing?

[enormouse]

My 18month old has persistently refused to walk unaided for months. He has been happily cruising around since about 11 months old. Content to use furniture, push walkers, adults and on a few occasions a very docile dog to pull himself up and toddle about. It's been a personal (ridiculous) worry that he would never walk and I'd have to carry him everywhere. (Not helped by DPs mum asking him whether he was walking every time she saw him- we live down the road from her. We see her A LOT). Anytime we tried to get him to take off by himself he would plonk himself down on the floor, pointedly, and pull a huffy face.

In the past week I had spoken to my GP and 2 HVs (my regular one and the one who runs the clinic) all of whom said the same thing - he's weight bearing and standing so he'll do it in his own time. I finally reconciled myself to accepting that I would have to be patient. Today he took about 3 shaky independent steps towards me.

I both want to smother him with love and praise and shake him for worrying me for months.

Has anyone else's DCs done anything like this?
Sorry for the long winded post but I am just so proud and relieved.

Well done Enormouse's DS! From my DS2 who is 15 months and doing exactly the same (minus the dog). He will happily push trolleys around, or hold onto us but collapses his legs if we try to get him to do it on his own. I am hoping we will get first steps any day... (Though I've been saying that for weeks). Whenever I collect him from nursery and ask hopefully if he has walked on his own they say brightly 'not yet, no, but he's only holding on by a quarter of a fingernail!'.

My DS1 is 3.10 and had a bit of a breakthrough this week - he isn't the most coordinated and is not brilliant at physical stuff. I wasn't either and have always worried about whether I should push him out of his comfort zone (which I hated when I was young) so he will feel a sense of achievement when he improves, or just let him do his own thing. This week we were in the adventure playground - he regularly asks to go there, though up til now there hasn't been anything he could do there which made me feel sad for him. It has a climbing frame with a large slide. To get up to the slide they have to climb a vertical ladder on the outside of the frame. Well he managed it for the first time and after that I couldn't get him off it. I am v proud and he is v pleased with himself

Little scamp. We had a few concerns about DD talking late and DS almost phobic about swimming but in time they both allayed our fears.

Children have a knack for prolonging progress until a babysitter or visitor somehow coax a performance. "You never told me s/he could...." and puzzled parent caught completely on the back foot.

The trivial one I recall was a long time ago. My two never ever fancied soup at home or eating out. They weren't fussy eaters but were stubborn about preferred or hated textures or tastes. Round at a friend's house halfway through a week away when they were 4 and 2 and she had a pan of duck and veggie soup on the stove. Uh-oh, liquid with lumps in. Our hostess served up bowls of it. They wolfed it down to my utter astonishment.

Dothestand I kept hearing "oh it'll be any day now, just you wait.." for the last few months too. So annoying imo! And well done to your DS1!

donkeys good for you with the soup. DS is the same but will eat things that I won't expect him to with his granny. He's developed a love of aubergines, kiwi fruit, dried banana chips and melon whilst me and DP have been away. It's made me rethink what I give him and try and be more adventurous with food. as long as I'm not too tired