Well, for starters, he officially turned 2 months last Wednesday.
He's definitely making non-crying sounds...verbalizations that I can't think how to write down and can't reproduce myself...but it's the beginning of speech (which will obviously come much, much further down the road). It's nice to hear happy sounds come from his lips, rather than just sad ones!
He's moving around a little in his crib. When I open the door to get him out of bed, I've been finding him in places that I didn't put him! It's not that he's truly rolling over (since that first time, he hasn't repeated it); but he does manage to somehow scoot or twist himself so that he wiggles to a different spot.
He's getting much better at making eye contact and smiling--connecting with people. We've had some anxious moments in this area. From when he was 4 weeks until he was 6 weeks, I was convinced that something was wrong: blindness perhaps? or other eye problems? or maybe autism? Something just didn't seem right. My heart felt pierced over and over again. At 6 weeks, I had a conversation with some women in the nursery at church that helped me to turn the corner as far as my own heart about this; they reassured me and helped me get a better perspective, as well as giving me sound advice about how to help him if there truly was a problem. From then on, he seemed to start improving quickly in this area; and I breathed many sighs of relief. At 8 weeks, I had another day of panic because he seemed to totally ignore toys that were dangling in front of him; he was completely oblivious to them. But then I again calmed down. Whew! It's been up and down, and I try to keep the monster of worry off my back, but that rascal is awfully good at creeping up on me when I least suspect it.
I can say with certainty that Tobin is much improved in this area. But sometimes I still get the sense that he's looking right past me and not really seeing me. And even when he smiles, sometimes he's just smiling into thin air, it seems. There are a few things I know: it's really way too early to worry about this! And no matter what the future holds--whether he is "normal" or there is some issue in this area that we'll have to deal with--we will love him and cherish him and parent him to the best of our ability. God knows each detail of Tobin's life, and He'll walk with us each step of the way.
With each of our boys, I have had my valley of worry to agonize through. With Josiah, it occurred when he didn't crawl until he was 16 months old and didn't walk until he was 18 months old. Imagine a 15 month-old child who sat--just sat--like a bump on a log. We were in Israel at the time and found it bewildering at times to navigate the "system" there for figuring out what was wrong with him. As it turned out, it was a simple case of hypotonia (low muscle tone); and it resolved itself without too much intervention. But for a time, it seemed that autism might be a factor; and that, to say the least, was a tough battle for my heart. Anyway, that's a long story in a tiny nutshell that hardly does it justice...
With David, I worried about him when he was close to his 2nd birthday and didn't talk. Other than a very few "words" (some of which were unique to him), he just didn't talk. Jeff had more confidence than me that everything was fine, but we were considering speech therapy. Suddenly, the floodgates opened; and David started talking. Now I can hardly believe I was ever worried about it!!! :)
Now, here we are with Tobin, finding ourselves again in a place of learning to trust...feeling so helpless to know exactly what the future holds as far as his development...fighting fear, embracing the "peace that passes understanding."
Well! I really didn't mean to pour out all of this tonight. I'm not sure what got into me. ;) Anyway, all of this makes me treasure these days with Tobin. Each feeding, each bath, each snuggle in my shoulder is a precious jewel to be stored up. I'm so blessed...
~ I couldn't decide which of these pictures I liked best, so I just thought I'd put them both in this post :)
3 comments:
He is delightful -- what a smiley, charming boy. You're just like my mum ... a worrier about so many things ... I do hope you aren't losing your precious sleep. That said, they do say that the most sensible doctors ask the mothers what they think is the problem where a child is concerned, as they're the people who really know. So try not to worry, I guess, but quietly keep and eye on things. And get lots of sleep!
He is delightful -- what a smiley, charming boy. You're just like my mum ... a worrier about so many things ... I do hope you aren't losing your precious sleep. That said, they do say that the most sensible doctors ask the mothers what they think is the problem where a child is concerned, as they're the people who really know. So try not to worry, I guess, but quietly keep and eye on things. And get lots of sleep!
He's so cute! I want to squeeze those little cheeks. :)
As for your concerns, I have 2 children who basically didn't speak until they were 3 so I understand your feelings. And, like you, I now wonder how I ever could have been concerned. ;)
I'm praying for that peace that passes understanding to be abundant in your heart & mind. I also pray for perfect health for little Tobin. His Creator is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above what we ask or think. I believe that Tobin is a perfect little creation, developing on his own schedule. They do that, you know. ;-)
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