Wednesday's Word

Confidence (noun): Freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities.

We've been working diligently to help Andrew learn to walk. His Physical Therapist and I have been scrutinizing even the smallest aspects of his gait, trying to figure out what's holding him back from taking off across the room by himself. He will push a toy or a chair around the room with ease. He will walk with only one hand held. He has the whole walking concept down to a 'T'....so why isn't he doing it on his own? There have been a few hypothesis.

1) a hip flexor issue (that was pretty much ruled out)
2) he balances better on one leg than the other, making him do a side-shuffle from 'dragging' that certain leg, instead of walking straight ahead. (still a bonifide possibility)
3) he lacks the confidence to do it on his own

At the request of Andrew's Physical Therapist I have been doing some balancing exercises with him to improve his balance while standing on his left leg. The PT had also suggested that we try a certain walker at his next session. The walker wouldn't be in front of him (piture an elderly person with a walker), it would be behind him and he'd hold the bars that would be at his sides.

Today I had an idea. Andrew's next PT session is 5 days away....why wait? There has to be something I can find to simulate this walker and get a head start, right? My thoughts drifted to a product called Walking Wings. That would be perfect! Only one problem....I don't have any. But I do have a Maya Wrap and I was betting the farm it would work!

So I grabbed Andrew, located my Wrap and crossed my fingers. I placed the Wrap across Andrew's chest, under his arms and snugged it up in the back, leaving a length of fabric that I could hold onto while standing behind him. I took hold of his 'leash' lightly; just enough to let him know I was holding it but not enough to actually do anything. Just enough so he had the confidence to try it on his own. Then I asked him to walk.

And held my breath.

And he walked! He did it!

He walked all the way from my bedroom, down the long hall, around the corner, and down the short hall to the kitchen....about a 35 foot trail. All with an almost perfect gait. Did he try to get down & crawl? Yep. Did I let him? Nope. Did he get mad at me for not giving in to him? You betcha!

Two times during his travels I let go of the 'leash' and he walked all by himself for about 2-3 feet without realizing what he was doing. When he figured out he was truly independant he plopped to the floor, back into the familiarity of his crawling position. Nevertheless, he was proud as a peacock as he went walking along; his confidence building with every step.