It's pretty much impossible not to notice that just about everyone seems to be pregnant these days. Scrolling through Facebook, it seems like you can't help but see at least 1 new baby, 2 sonogram pictures, and 3 pregnancy announcements every day. Including the beautiful Lyons and Lavalley girls that will be expanding my family before we know it! I'm so happy to see all these new families starting, and I'm excited to see all these new moms and dads embarking on the best, coolest, most important job there is.
Seeing all the new parents all around (myself included!) has me thinking about my kiddos, and how exhilarating and exhausting the last couple of years have been. John and I have been fortunate enough to have two easy and healthy pregnancies, two happy and healthy baby boys, and an incredibly loving and supportive family. We are eternally grateful for these blessings, and try to remind ourselves daily not to take our good fortune for granted.
Lately, though, we've started to get pretty concerned about Joe. He's almost 20 months old, and he doesn't have a single word yet - not even "mama" or "dada," which most babies are proficient at by the time they're about a year old. And he doesn't babble or talk at all (and never has)...in fact, he's almost completely silent the vast majority of the time. He speaks his own version of sign language, and has gotten to the point where he can communicate virtually anything he needs with his hands. For over a year now, the only sound Joe has even attempted to make is "yaya" -- cute for a one year old, but rather concerning for an almost-two year old.
I know what most of you who are already moms are probably thinking: "He's a boy, he's a first child, and he hasn't been in day care, so give the kid a break! Things will work themselves out, just give the poor baby a chance." Or the ever so lovely: "With two lawyers in the family, it's probably just that he can't get a word in edgewise!" Essentially: "Chill out, all kids talk eventually!" But the doctor put it best when he said that those are all excuses we can make after Joe gets where he needs to be. We would be doing a disservice to Joe to laugh this off. In 20 years, Joe can make fun of us for being worried about him, but today, we have to start taking some action.
So, for all you new parents out there, I'll share with you my recent discovery. As it turns out, the hardest part about being a parent is not the sleepless nights, the fear that they will suffocate on their blankets in the crib, or the ridiculously expensive cost of diapers, day care, college, and weddings. The hardest part about being a parent is admitting that something may be off with your kid, the kid that you are genetically predispositioned to consider absolutely perfect from the moment you first see their little profile on the sonogram picture. And the second hardest part is eliminating all the advice, recommendations, "tsks tsks," and just plain noise that everyone else has to offer, and figuring out what's best for your kid.
Yes, kids do things on their own timelines. Yes, Joe is pretty young for us to be worried about his complete lack of vocabulary. And yes, Joe would probably talk on his own at some point of we ignored the problem. But John and I know our son. We see him pointing to every single object in every single book and wanting to know what it's called, but not even attempting to say the word himself. We see him getting frustrated when he can't communicate with us. And we see his little brain trying, trying, trying to say certain easy words, but his mouth never quite getting past "yaya."
So, enough. We head to our first speech therapy appointment tomorrow. Hopefully soon I'll be posting videos of Joe babbling his brains out. But, for now, adorable pictures and silent movies will have to do!
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