"You May Notice This Week..."

I really like the book Your Baby's First Year: WEek By Week. I read it while I was pregnant, and now I try to read Lydia's current week and the upcoming week every Thursday. I like the book because it seems to address questions as we have them, and it also gives suggestions for playing with your baby. (Sometimes it's not so easy trying to figure out what to do. One can only hand her a rattle for so long.)

Every week has a Developmental Milestone section. It lists physical, social, and developmental milestones that the baby should be hitting. I try to take these timelines with a grain of salt. Lydia is always ahead on physical milestones; she's a bruiser. She usually is right on track with the social milestones. This generally makes me feel good.

This week, it said, "Baby should be uttering several consonant sounds." Lydia utters no consonant sounds. Next week, she should be able to turn when her name is called. Robin is convinced she does this already, but I think she would turn if I said "Telephone" in the same tone that I usually say "Lydia."

I know that I shouldn't have any anxiety about this. As Robin and I have discussed, comparing babies to other babies does not help anyone and really, one week is not a big deal. We're doing everything we're supposed to be doing. We are constantly reading to Lydia, talking to her, even making fools of ourselves emphasizing consonant sounds. (Buh-buh-buh-buh-baaaaaay-beeeee!!! Muh-muh-muh-muh-mooooo-mmmmmyyyyy!!!) She'll get there, I'm sure. In the meantime, I am trying to ignore the paranoia in my head.