Firsts

If you read too many articles, it is easy to become obsessed with your child's "firsts." The timing of the first smile, laugh, coo, head turn, roll over, scoot, crawl, pull up, etc. are very important in the "stages of development." These articles, after covering what your child "should" be doing at a certain age, do remind you, in the last sentence, that every child is different and may not follow these exact guidelines. It can still make you nervous. Daniel rolled over from his stomach to his back at 3 weeks, but he hasn't done it much since, and so now, I have been practicing rolling with him everyday so that, hopefully, he will do so independently in the next few weeks or the next few minutes.

(Question for my Mom and Dad - did you practice anything with the four of us?)

This barrage of expectations starts during pregnancy and, in my opinion, can make you lose sight of what is really important. I think that babies need to feel loved, and they need to be stimulated and engaged, but not pressured to perform. Daniel's first smile, coo, laugh, and roll were milestones for him, but every day involves some kind of first for him. Today, he saw snow out the window for the first time, and he had his first fever.

So, I need to stop with the practicing of the rolling, and just do something fun with him off to the side that will motivate him to roll over to me. And, I need to remember to delight in his reactions to the first food he samples next week (because formula-only isn't enough for our 17-lbs wonder) and not worry about how quickly he adapts to the spoon.

Daniel memories for the last two days - flirting with the grandmothers in the post office, rectal temperature taking, belly laughing with Scott, pulling his blanket over his face when he falls to sleep