Comparisons

Comparisons...do we really need them?? My kid does this, your kid does that...who is normal? Is there a normal?

I understand we need a spectrum to understand the difference between excellence and failure, but my child does not need to be your level of normalcy or not. In the short time I have been a mother there is one thing I know for sure, they learn EVERYTHING on their own and at their own speed. As frustrating as that is, I can't do anything about it...as much as I want to. They all bring different gifts to the table and they all have their own struggles. My child walked way before his cousins, but took longer to point. My child still likes to eat #3 baby food, but babbles more than his cousin...who is normal? My child still wants water in a bottle when he is sick when he goes to bed, but my nieces still have pacifiers, which Taylor does not have. My child is very large for his age, but my niece is tiny...does that make us bad mothers? I know it doesn't, but sometimes in public we may feel like it.

I say this because the next time you want to comment on someones baby or child in public, think first before you say it. I have a friend who has a bigger baby who gets the same comments I do and I have a friend whose child is talking a lot for his age, who also is nervous about it. We all get "those" looks, and as much as we want them to be, no child is perfect. You can have six of one and half dozen of the other, but that doesn't make it any different. We need to understand that they are children, they make their own rules and as much as we want to understand them or even write them for them, we can't. God created them perfect in HIS eyes and they all are.

That doesn't mean I don't want to hear about your child or what they are doing. I am talking about the people that make comments in public and the family you don't see very often or aren't very close to that have their own opinions. That also doesn't mean I have any clue what I am talking about or doing...but I'm a new mother, at least I can blame it on that :)