Love Island's Camilla Thurlow has revealed her daughter, two, is yet to walk or talk in a honest post, which has been praised by fans.
The reality star, who is pregnant with her third child with Jamie Jewitt, who she met on the ITV2 reality show, said little Nora is "on her own timeframe" as she reassured parents not to worry if their child hasn't met their milestones yet.
In a long statement, which was posted on Instagram, Camilla said other mums had reached out to her when she revealed that Nora had only started to crawl at 20 months, explaining: “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."
Stating she shared a lot of "firsts" with her eldest daughter, Nell, she continued: “It really got me thinking because I shared a lot of ‘firsts’ with Nell without even really realising I was doing it. 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. 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."
Revealing that Nora is yet to talk, Camilla added: “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."
Thanking her health visitors for their support, the mum-of-two concluded: “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 was praised for her positive post, with some professionals replying to back up her claims. A comment from The Kids Doctor read: “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.”
Meanwhile, a helpful mum replied: “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.”
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