Andy's practicing stair climbing

Andy doesn't have any balance and cannot stand on his own. However, when I hold him at the waist, he will take up to 25 steps at a time. He seems to be getting faster at it too. I've tried to have him go up steps several times, and he just wasn't ready for it.

I've been leading Andy towards the stairs again, to see what he'll do. He will lift his leg up to attempt to put it on the first stair. He doesn't usually lift it high enough, but I grab under his knee and place it on the stair. I then lift him at the waist, while he stands on the stair with one leg, then he brings the other leg down.

I am hoping that we can avoid having to buy a chairlift/ stairlift for Andy when he is too heavy to carry, if we are not back into a ranch (one-level) home by then. The bathtubs are all upstairs right now, so Andy has to be carried upstairs several times a week. He helped walk up the stairs the other day.

Andy does not crawl. I've tried to put him through the motions of crawling up the stairs, but it is frustrating for both of us. Also, it is so strenuous and straining on me to have him fight me the whole way up the stairs as I try to bend his legs to make him crawl that I don't do it. I can carry him on my hip right now up the stairs at five years old. Seven, eight or nine years old, this might not be possible.

For now, I am trying a little here and there to get him familiar with the motions of stair climbing.  Going down the stairs is a whole different story. It is very scary for him to be unfamiliar with how to step down, and he gets frightened and puts his arms over his face. It is much more easy to carry him down the stairs though, so I will be happy if he can help me with climbing up. He claps when we get to the top, so I think he knows we are happy he did it too.