Love Island star Camilla Thurlow has been showered with praise for an honest post about her daughter Nora on Instagram.
Writing a lengthy parental message to her 1.4 million fans today (April 16), the 2017 dating show contestant (who is married to fellow Love Islander Jamie Jewitt) began with: "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."
Thurlow then proceeded to explain how she'd unwittingly displayed Nora's older sister Nell doing her 'firsts' on social media in the past, "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.
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"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," the influencer continued.
"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's very much on her own timeframe for everything.
"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 [...] 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. She will be loved absolutely wholeheartedly and unconditionally for exactly who she is."
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Over in the comment section, Thurlow's candidness was celebrated by other mums and even a paediatrician, who responded: "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."
Sharing her own toddler's story, someone else came back with: "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! It's so refreshing to see posts like this, it makes me feel much less lonely."
"Thank you so, so much for writing this down [...] Reading your words was like receiving a hug. Thank you for writing them. It is a very lonely place, motherhood", "This is such an important message to share! We can get so wrapped up in the milestones and comparison when they're on their own path" and "This is the post I needed to read today. I find this is the most relatable post I've ever seen, you've just made my day thanks for sharing this," read three more reactions.
Love Island airs on ITV2 and streams on ITVX.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.
