Rachel walked by herself over the weekend! And walking with balloons too, holding one up in each hand, the 'fake' kind on the ends of sticks instead of strings. So, no, she didn't get any helium boost to aid her. But she wouldn't do it without the balloons! Maybe they helped her feel like she was holding on to someone.
We're very happy that she's developing normally, other than lacking the confidence to let go of our hands to walk by herself. She's been physically able to for months now. Her NF1 doctor thinks (like us) that it's probably due to the diminished sight in her right eye, making her more wary. Her speech, fine motor skills, the usual baby and toddler accomplishments, are all on track. Including fighting with her siblings, yelling when she doesn't get her way. Getting right into the terrible twos. In exactly a month's time!
Who would've thought I would ever be glad to have a child throw a temper tantrum. But I thank God that she can. Not that we let it go on for any length of time, of course. I still believe in nipping such behaviour in the bud. It's just a little trickier in her case to balance indulgence with disciplining the ones we love.
Her interferon jabs are coming along fine. We try and get there early every Saturday morning and with luck, can even be done and leave within the car parking grace period! At most she gets a mild fever (under 38) that same day, that goes away with a single dose of panadol. Phew.
