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Hi Everyone. I am not new to the boards, but new to posting in this topic. My son is 19 months old and was born with a cyst on the right side of his brain. therefore, his brain essentially did not develop on that side. His condition is called Schizencephaly and is rare and not much is known about it. Docs told us when I was pregnant that he could be a vegetable or be totally fine~ no way of knowing which until he started developing as a child.
Fast forward til now. His delays have manifested themselves motorly (ie.-rolling over late, sitting up late, still not walking, etc.). He does receive services like PT and special ed. and speech to help him. I am grateful that so far it has been nothing tremendously serious other than havinga couple of seizures at 3 months old.
He is a big kid and very heavy and not walking yet. So, lately I have been having anxiety attacks thinking that my son may never walk and talk. Can someone reassure me that I am not a nut? I know he will someday, but I am frustrated. He does cruise along the furniture and stuff, but not making any progressive steps yet. I am just frustrated with everything. I told my husband that he is going to be 14 and I am going to have to carry him to school Any of your experiences with late walkers or suggestions to get him going would be great.
Thanks!
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If he is cruising furniture, I would not worry. Does he lean heavily on the furniture or use it as a crutch? If it is the latter, it is just a matter of him deciding to give it a shot! I don't have a child with a medical problem like yours, but I did have a preemie who did everything late. He didn't roll over AT ALL EVER until he was 9 1/2 months old. We had an appt. with a neurologist already scheduled. He walked at 16 months, though. Also, my dr. told us that sometimes the heavier babies are the ones who walk last...since it is more weight to work with. My son was also a chunk, so it made sense to us! LOL
What does your dr. say about him not walking?
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When my first daughter was born she had one tendon in her left foot (I think) that did not straighten, and therefore her foot turned inward. She had to wear a corrective cast for most of her first year, and then a corrective shoe. (Not to mention everyone giving me looks that a baby was wearing a cast and thought I broke her leg, but that is another story). She had a very hard time walking and I didn't think she was ever going to walk either. Considering my first born walked by 10 months. I want to say she was around 16-18 months old when she starting really taking off on her own. I am sure it was a confidence thing, that and if mommy is going to carrry me why should I walk..LOL.
Yours sounds like he is doing great, considering that thought he could be a lot worse. Just give him time, he will gain confidence and be walking before you know it!! And then you will say, where did my baby go???
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My dd started to walk on her own at 4. She has downs so it did take a while. My nephew was born with a small cerebellum. He started walking at 3. They had special walkers that they used to help them walk on their own. Be patient he will walk sometimes it takes a little time.
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I think that he sounds like he is doing just fine. Maybe he is just laid back! That is what I called my 2nd dd. She was 12months before she walked which is still early but dd1 was 9 months and such different attitudes. But in all reality it sounds like he is starting to grasp the concept with cruising furniture and stuff.
I may seem like I don't have any experience with this but I do have a younger sister with Down's, unfortunately she does not walk or talk. So I know the struggles that are in your mind about what "could be". My mom and dad have really touched on that subject a lot and I understand more now then I ever did.
Good luck and let us know what the doctors say. Oh and let us know when he starts taking those steps it sounds like it should be in no time!
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My dd Lily is 3, and she still isn't walking yet. She was born with something called Vacterl Syndrome (she had the cardiac, airway, and esophageal anomalies, as well as an intestinal anomaly). She spent 6 months in the hospital before coming home with a tracheostomy. She's come a long way since then, and her trach was removed in Oct 2005, but the walking is still an issue for us. I currently have her in pool therapy at Children's Hospital, which has been wonderful for her! She also has orthotics for her feet because she tends to walk on her insteps. Her biggest issue now is probably confidence. This has been an ongoing thing with most of her gross motor skills.
It sounds like your ds has been through a lot, but he also sounds like he's doing pretty well. Keep in mind bigger babies will sometimes walk later because they have to have more strength to carry their bigger body. Look into pool therapy too. Lily has it once a week, and also has PT through the school district once a week. When she plateaued with PT, pool therapy really helped her turn the corner. And, don't worry, your ds WILL figure it out sooner or later! He's just had so much to overcome in his short life. (Oh, and Lily's perfectly healthy twin sister didn't walk until 16-1/2 months, if that makes you feel any better! By the time she started taking her first independent steps, I started putting her in dresses, which made it much more difficult to crawl. She was walking really well in a week. Of course, your dh might not want you putting your ds in dresses just to encourage him to stay upright.... )
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I just wanted to let you know that my son was 17.5 months before he walked- nothing wrong with him (though we wondered)- just very laid back-
If he is up cruising the furniture that is a very good sign- stay strong and keep your faith
Jen
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Judging from his picture, he's a cutie, though!
I can't tell you not to be concerned, but can share my story. My little diva is heavy - 38lb at 17.5 mo. The doctor mentioned it, but wasn't overly concerned, just kept suggesting that she not get a lot of cookies, etc., which she doesn't. I think it's mostly from nursing. Anyway, he did get concerned in November and said that even if she was eating all the time, she shouldn't be so steadily gaining and wanted to test her thyroid and for diabetes. Thankfully, those tests came back negative, but she was found to be anemic. He had been saying that her little legs couldn't carry her weight where she was. Anyway, we did iron drops for a month. Within two weeks, she was standing on her own (practicing at 3am on the bed!). At the end of December, we found her iron to be in the normal range, so we cut back on the drops. I'm now struggling to ensure she gets iron-rich foods.
She started cruising and then started going from the ottoman to the couch about three steps, without support. We slowly pushed the ottoman further out to increase her space. She was so proud! At the same time, she finally started crawling, first ONLY on the bed (our big bed), and finally she'll do it on the rug. She basically learned to walk and crawl at the same time.
Then, we tried the push-behind walkers again. She did great, and within 15 minutes was pushing them, picking them up to move them when they bumped something, and then picking them up to turn around.
Now, she walks independently - rarely wants me to take her hand. I think having the opportunity, along w/the strength helped.
Have you had him tested for iron? I do think it was our magic potion. It's good having the PT, keep it up and keep us posted!! Cruising is a huge sign that all is going well, though!
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If he is cruising, I think he will walk when he is good and ready. Does he sit alone? Does he crawl? Does he have older siblings? It is hard to relax and be patient when it's our own little darlings... but it sure seems like he's about ready to walk!
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Lily took her first independent steps tonight!! You can see my post in chit chat (It's under Super Duper Exciting News).
I know it's hard not to get discouraged, but he will walk!