Love Island’s Camilla Thurlow reveals daughter Nora isn’t walking or talking at almost two years old
CAMILLA Thurlow has opened up about her struggles to get two-year-old daughter Nora to walk and talk – saying the little one is ‘on her own time frame’.
The former Love Island star, who is currently pregnant with her third child with husband Jamie Jewitt, shared a post in the hopes it would reassure other worried parents whose kids might not be progressing at the speed that they expected.
She added she was unaware her previous posts of her first child, Nell’s, progress could have isolated or worried parents whose children weren’t reaching milestones at a similar rate.
As a result, she urged her followers and fans to not be too hard on themselves and recognise babies reach moments at different times, and that social media shouldn’t be a notable source for when these milestones should be met.
In a long statement, which was posted across the caption and an extended comment due to character limits, Camilla wrote: “When I shared recently about Nora starting to crawl at 20 months (and not yet walking) I got a lot of messages from mums who have been feeling worried, or isolated, as the majority of what they see on here are other babies reaching certain milestones.
“It really got me thinking because I shared a lot of ‘firsts’ with Nell without even really realising I was doing it, I would just want to share how cute she was using her fork, or be so excited she’d said mama and was making funny babbling sounds.
“And please don’t get me wrong, I love LOVE to see those posts, watching parents see their babies do things for the first time and the amazement and joy that brings is something very special, and is such a lovely thing to celebrate.
“But having a second child on a very different timeframe has reminded me how much easier it is (without even realising you’re doing it) to fill a square, or story, with something that someone is doing rather than isn’t doing.
“So I just wanted to share that whilst the nature of social media means you might constantly see babies meeting milestones, you really aren’t alone if they’re not, and it doesn’t mean there aren’t other mums and dads out there in a similar situation to you.”
“I don’t share so many of those moments with Nora and it’s not because she’s our second child, it is simply because we haven’t shared those moments in real life yet,” she added.
“She’s very much on her own timeframe for everything, although I’ve only touched on gross motor development on here before.
“She doesn’t speak – about 8 months ago she said dada for the first time and then overnight she stopped and hasn’t said it since. She has never said mama.
“Day to day we are still working on her cutlery and practical skills.”
Thanking her health visitors for their assessments, referrals and support, Camilla continued: “We want her to have every bit of support she needs, and for our family to create an environment in which she can thrive.
“Equally, I want Nora to know she can be a baby for as long as she wants or needs to.
“We are very proud of how she is steadfastly moving through the world at her own pace. The last thing I want is for her to grow up thinking that life is a race, or that she needs to be the fastest, smartest, funniest or loudest person in the room to be worthy of love.”
Camilla asserted: “She will be loved absolutely wholeheartedly and unconditionally for exactly who she is, and because we are lucky enough that she is ours.
“I know being a parent of a baby on their own timeframe can be fraught with worry and self-doubt because we all just want to do the best for our babies so am sending lots of love, and I highly recommend the Bluey episode ‘The Baby Race’, just don’t watch it right before heading out because it’s a real tearjerker!
“Sometimes we can only do our best, but there’s more than enough love to take care of the rest.”
Camilla was praised for the ‘relatable and honest’, with some professionals even stepping in to celebrate the post and back up her claims.
One post from The Kids Doctor wrote: “Paediatrician here! Thank you so much for sharing this.
“I see so many parents who feel so isolated and alone in their child not meeting milestones at the same rate as other children and although they aren’t alone at all it’s so hard to convince people of that.
“Anyone with a big voice sharing a story full of so much love, compassion and support really helps.”
One fan added: “My son didn’t start speaking until nearly 4.5. Not autistic, no diagnosis of anything, just took his time figuring out how to speak. They all get there at their own pace.”
“Could have written this myself, have a 22 month old who is exactly the same,” added another. “So happy and precious.”
While a fourth follower wrote: “Thank you so much for sharing this. my little boy is 2.5 and doesn’t speak! We have the odd word here and there but we’re still waiting on so many firsts!
“Social media can be so toxic at times especially for us parents who long for so many of those firsts! It’s taken me a long time to realise that although our “normal” may be different to everyone else’s it doesn’t matter because our journeys are all unique.
“It’s so refreshing to see posts like this, it makes me feel much less lonely.”