My daughter took her first steps while I was out - my reaction surprised me

It was our first night child-free, and my sister messaged me a video of my daughter walking for the first time. My reaction surprised everyone.

For the first time in 13 months, both my husband and I were baby-free to attend a wedding.

We left our daughter with my family and snuck out of the house without too much fuss undetected.

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As we drove to the ceremony, we both felt like a limb was missing, but we knew she was in safe hands and decided to enjoy this special moment, just the two of us.

I couldn’t quite get used to having full use of two hands without a little person hanging off me, smooshing a soggy biscuit into my dress.

The ceremony seamlessly flowed into the reception, and I enjoyed talking in full sentences, a mocktail in one hand and my husband’s hand in the other.

As the mains started to hit the table, my phone buzzed, and I saw my sister’s name on my screen.

I opened the message and clicked play on a video.

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Hey look, heels and big earrings!

Of course, she did!

Before the platter of beef and mushrooms and a dish of roasted potatoes, I saw my little girl take her first steps, walking between my dad and sister.

I immediately tapped my husband to get his attention and replayed it to him.

I couldn’t stop smiling at this massive milestone and laughing at the irony that, of course, it was during the first evening away from her.

My reaction really surprised me. 

I thought I’d be upset or angry that I wasn’t there or that they were encouraging her to get moving, but I just filled with absolute joy.

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And just like that, we have a toddling toddler.

“You’re better than me”

I showed the video to a friend at our table, and she looked at me in shock and asked if I was ok to have missed that moment.

When I told her, of course, I would have loved to be there, but I was so happy I had it on video to treasure forever as a consolation prize and laughed at the irony of it all.

Upon hearing this, she replied, “You’re better than me, I would have been furious if my sister did this.”

The first of many 

We enjoyed the rest of the evening and headed home to find our little lady asleep in her cot as if she hadn’t achieved such an exciting feat.

The next day, my husband and I stood a few metres apart and called our little one’s name, encouraging her to walk again, wondering if it was a fluke or if she had really levelled up from crawling.

In my sister's video, she took four steps, but my hubby and I got her doing six, so I guess that’s a new first to have witnessed, right?

After the excitement settled, it hit me… I now have a toddler who can walk- send help!

Originally published as My daughter took her first steps while I was out - my reaction surprised me