When you have children people always tell you ‘no two children are the same.’
You do your best not to compare but sometimes it’s impossible. So and so’s little one down the road walked at 10 months, that other baby is already eating solids at five months, matey boy’s son slept through the night from six weeks.
I hate the competition of it. Most of us learn to eat and talk eventually. I mean, I’ve not yet met a person who crawls everywhere like a baby, pointing up at the coffee cups at work when they want a coffee. Plus, there’s a point where babies sleep through the night, it’s just some of them do it at different speeds. Although to be fair if I drink too close to dinner time I don’t even make it through the night (bloody bladder.)
Rupert rolled over at four months, sat up unaided just before he turned six months, and took his first steps just before his first birthday. At none of those moments did I look up whether it was done in a normal timeframe compared to any other children, I was just delighted and enjoyed the moment.
Right now he doesn’t say a lot of words, but he understands a hell of a lot. Although, saying that, he now babbles at us in sentences and then finishes by looking at you, waiting for an answer. Which is way better than calling everything ‘dada’ – although a lot of things are now ‘Debra’ – not sure who that is.
Am I worried? I am a bit, I don’t know anyone called Debra. But seriously, no, not really, he’ll get there, and I think it’s important he understands what we’re saying as much as he can say the words. I can’t lie and say we didn’t ask the nursery teachers if this is all normal, and in reply they said he will just suddenly start talking and then he won’t stop… and we will want him to!
However, now that we have Emilia I can’t help but compare the two of them. So far, we have deduced that, as of right now, Emi is the more smiley baby of the two. Ru has always been a fairly serious baby, but Emi is so full of smiles right now. If you look at her for long enough she’ll smile at you, and it melts your heart every time.
Rupert though fed a lot better. He was one of those babies who would feed pretty much every couple of hours, on the hour, drank what he wanted and then was back down, or asleep, or happy.
Emi on the other hand…. a lot of the time will feed nicely and then be ok. But the poorly little sausage has suspected reflux, so quite a few times she cries when Jess is trying to feed her and on a few occasions she’s full on projectile vomited all over poor Mummy – before then settling down like a little angel.
And as for the sleep – lets not jinx that one, eh?
The point is, whereas you CAN compare children, you really shouldn’t, there’s plenty of competition and comparison as they get older, they don’t need it as children.
I still compete with my brother and we’re both in our 30’s!
