The Mommy Worries

Amalah and I were pregnant at the same time. For me, this was awesome. Since I was pregnant for the first time, all I wanted was to hear about someone else who was in the exact same pregnancy place as me. I was one week ahead of Amalah's pregnancy, so it worked out pretty perfectly. We also gave birth one week apart, continuing to follow the same schedule. Now, I'm realizing that this is both awesome, but also awful.
Today, Amalah wrote about how Baby Ike is not sitting up unsupported. She goes on to talk about how she didn't want to make a thing of it, etc, since it's her 3rd baby and how she shouldn't worry about these things anymore. Of course, I, as a first time Mom, constantly worry about these things. Mia started sitting up super duper early, before she turned 5 months old. I was absolutely thrilled about this, and love that she can sit up on the floor, in her crib, in a restaurant high chair. However, she started rolling over "late". She would roll onto her stomach, and then just scream because she couldn't figure out how to turn herself onto her back. Plus, the baby books say that usually, a baby will go from front to back before going from back to front. Worried Mama. At her 6 month pediatrician appointment, she was still not going from front to back. Our pediatrician is super laid back and, she just casually asked about the rolling, where I had to embarassingly say "Maybe she just likes being on her stomach, but can roll to her back? Maybe? Please?". Of course, two days later, she started rolling.



Mia, 4 months old, sitting with a cautious Mama in the background.

Since she turned 7 months old, she has been making crazy progress. After worrying about her not rolling for over 2 months (rolling starts at 4 months), she's thisclose to crawling. She's already figured out the legs/knees part, she just doesn't understand how to make her arms move in coordination. She tries really hard to scoot herself forward with her legs only, which ends up looking like a downward facing dog combined with a push up. Yesterday, she grabbed on to the sides of her crib and pulled herself up with ease. While we were in France, she learned "peekaboo", where she holds a blanket over her face, and then drops her arms and smiles. She claps when you say "Yay!". She holds her arms up when you say "Touchdown!". She moves her hands around when you sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider". She's learned to do all of this, from the rolling over to the clapping, in the past 3-4 weeks. It's amazing, and I can't believe how much she's learning and growing everyday, how much closer she is to being out of the baby stage.

Mia, 6 months old, NOT rolling.

And while I marvel at these amazing developments, I still manage to worry. Mia has no teeth. Every time she cries without apparent reason, I tell myself, this is it, she'll have a tooth soon. But nope, no teeth. Her gums aren't even red, or swollen, nothing. Not a tooth. She drools like a fiend, she moves her tongue around like she's feeling something going on in there, but nope! No teeth! She's small, she measures in the 25th percentile for weight and height. Although her pediatrician reassures me that she's growing properly and consistently, that her proportions are good, I worry that she's below average. She doesn't eat a lot. She rarely finishes a 6 ounce bottle, and rarely finishes a entire container of Stage 2 baby food. She doesn't hold her own bottle. If we do try to have her hold it on her own, she pulls it out of her mouth and plays, splattering herself in the face with milk.

Touchdown!

When I worry about those things, I constantly have to remind myself of the things she is on target with. Her smiles, her happiness, her eagerness to start moving. Amalah's post makes me realize, that no matter what other things your child might be doing, no matter what stage of the "Mommy process", you're going to find some things to focus on. I guess the you can do is to make sure to enjoy your baby, and not to let those worries overshadow the progresses that your baby is making. Mommies of the world, let's make a pact to quit worrying about what our babies aren't doing, and remember that they are all amazing and developing, at their own pace, in their own way.

Because, really, we've come pretty darn far.