I often ask myself if a time will come when I stop worrying about Everett. Every single day, since before he was born, I worry about something. Before he was born I worried about how he was developing. Were my kettle bell swings jostling him around too much? Did he hate bouncing up and down while I jumped rope? This obsessive worrying didn't stop after he was born.... it just shifted direction. Is he getting enough breastmilk? If I give him a bottle/pacifier is he going to get the dreaded "nipple confusion"??? The worrying DOES.....NOT.....STOP! He is almost 16 months old and now I worry if he isn't hitting his milestones on time. Look, I know they figure out milestones based on an average of kids. An average..... So, I get that not every kid is going to hit those milestones at the same time. But, it doesn't make me worry any less.
For instance, Everett can now only say 1 word. That's right, ONLY 1 word. "Da-Da" (Go figure that he would say the word of the parent who doesn't worry as much about everything.) So what's a worrying mom to do? I'll tell you what I have been doing. I have been reading EVERYTHING I can about speech and language delays. Not to freak myself out, but to be prepared in case this isn't just a "late talker." I'm not as worried about Everett's ability to understand language. In fact, he can follow complex commands. "Everett, where's your blankie? Everett can you put your shoes on?" All of those things Everett can understand without me having to do any additional gestures. It's the lack of sound coming out of his mouth that has me worried. Just this morning he needed help climbing into a cardboard box and instead of yelling at me for help, he came up to me, grabbed my hand, and pulled me to the box to show me what he wanted. I KNOW my kid understands what I am saying, but until words start spilling out of his mouth I will continue to do what I do best...... worry. So when will this worrying stop?? I can venture a guess that it WILL NEVER STOP! All you can do is prepare your child for the outside world....... the best you can.
