I think as a mother this is something that is just ingrained in us. Did I sanitize everything properly, is she growing quickly enough, is she learning enough? Do I spend enough time reading too her or do I feed her the right things? Am I teaching her how to be kind and loving...am I teaching her to share?
I'm not going to lie...these are questions (along with about a zillion others) that cross my mind each and everyday.
My latest and greatest....is she saying enough words? For the last few weeks I have been obsessed with the idea that the girl is not speaking enough. Don't get me wrong...she babbles and babbles and babbles some more (typical girl) but actually words...is she actually saying enough of them. Well the other night at work while chatting with a dear friend (who also happens to be a nurse practitioner) I asked her what I should be expecting of Averee. Well to my shock the average 18 month old speaks somewhere between 5-20 words (this was also confirmed by her Pediatrician this week). That's it?!? Well no wonder I've been worried....for some reason I had in my head that she should be speaking many many more and even worse...I realized that I don't give Av proper credit for all the words she does say...
She says about 30 words....she can sign the word more, which she does when she is hungry and she has even combined a few things like "juice please" or "what's that". She understands almost everything we say and she listens (most of the time).
Yeah...I was worried about this little cutie.
Parenting.
Is there something that is always on your mind in regards to your child/ren?
***Just thought it was important to note there is almost always a level of sarcasim in my post's. And as always I can be a bit dramatic. :) ***
Oh my gosh!! I totally undersand. I am so worried about my little girl. When I nurse her, I'm so afraid she's not getting enough. I worry about her sleeping patterns. I worry about her weight gain. Is it enough? Too much? It's a whirlwind of emotions! Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteParenting is hard on so many levels... But it sound like her communication skills are great! My almost 2 yo only says a handful of words, but she was a preemie, so I try not to worry about it. She'll speak when she's ready.
ReplyDeleteWorry is a good thing on a lot of levels, Michelle, as long as it does not become an unhealthy obsession. If it alleviates some of your worries, the fact that she is combining two words, i.e.- juice please, what's that, is actually advanced for an 18 month old. Usually that is seen closer to 24 months, although variations can occur. The fact that you are observant of these milestones in your child's life says a lot about you as a mother, don't lose that, worry or not.
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for the kind words...It is funny because it really opened my eyes when I sat down and started writing out all the things she can do I realized that she is achieving all of her milestones plus some! I think it is just part of parenthood...wanting the best for our children and making sure we figure out how to give it to them.
ReplyDeleteJust wait until you have more kiddos. The worries then multiply, trying to divide your attention to both evenly to be sure they are each progressing correctly. Whew, it can be exhausting sometimes. Then you have the worry with comparing your second born to your first born, and when they don't match up......those feelings set back in, oi!
ReplyDeleteAndrea is so right! I thought that I'd worry less about number 2, nope... I worry more! And rightly so because the girl is so much more crazy active then Landon was. She bangs her head about 20 times a day and she's into everything!!
ReplyDeleteI'm a natural worrier too. You should read, Power of a Praying Parent. It has helped me so much with a lot of my big worries for them. Instead of worrying so much (which I still do), I try to focus my energy praying for those worries.