I don't usually compare Jackson to other babies (or at least I try not to). I know that all babies develop at their own pace, and so I haven't really worried about Jackson not walking yet or anything like that. That is one thing I like about What to Expect the First Year, is that it is very reassuring about developmental milestones, and so far Jackson has hit every one of the "should be able to's" and "probably be able to's," and a few more.
But yesterday we went to the doctor (and you know how I hate doctors) for Jackson's 1 year check up, and she seemed kind of worried about him. She kept asking me questions about what he is doing and when I would answer 'no' she would give me these weird looks and say, "Well, I'm sure he'll catch up by his next appointment. We can wait until then to worry about it."
Let's just say, that isn't very reassuring.
Jackson isn't walking yet. I wasn't really that worried about it before. I mean he's a good crawler so I don't think there's really a problem. I know he'll do it on his own time.
He isn't talking yet either. I mean, he babbles ALL THE TIME. He "sings" to me going through the grocery store. He was saying "Hi" for a while but he has stopped doing that. So the doctor was worried that he hasn't started saying any specific words yet and was especially worried that he hasn't said "mama" or "dada." I am more worried about this one, but I don't know what I could be doing differently. I talk to him all the time, I repeat words to him, I sing to him, we listen to music and we read books several times a day. I know that he knows what some things are even if he can't say them. For instance, if you say "snack" anywhere near him and then don't give him a snack, you will have a tantrum on your hands. If you say "ball" he usually goes and gets the ball. If you say "mine" he will come try to take whatever you have away from you, even if he wasn't interested in it a minute ago. But the doctor says she will be worried if he doesn't know at least 6-10 words when we go back in three months.
She also told me I need to get rid of his pacifier, but I'm not going to. not yet anyway, because he's teething and if he doesn't have it he continually bites me. Plus he will not sleep through the night without it.
The last thing, and another one that I really am worried about, is that he is all of a sudden very afraid of taking a bath. He used to love bath time, he would stay in there splashing around for 20 or 30 minutes every night. He would hear the water running and get excited; he would try to crawl into the bathtub before I could even get his clothes off. But all of a sudden a few days ago, he has started hating bathtime. He screams his head off and tries to crawl out. He acts like he is so scared, but I have no idea why he would be. Nothing has happened that should make him afraid. I thought maybe it was just a stage, but when I asked the doctor she said she had never heard of anything like that.
So please, reassure me if you can. Give me advice if you want. Just please don't comment and tell me you had a baby genius who could read at 12 months or something. Tell me your kid didn't walk until she was 3 and kept her pacifier until she was 7. Just tell me I have nothing to worry about, please??
