Eva's doctors warned me that she may be a month or more behind in meeting her developmental milestones compared to other babies her same age because she was a premie. So, I was prepared for that. I wasn't as prepared for her to meet so many of them EARLY!
Our "premie" was lifting her head all the way up by 2 weeks, pushing herself up on her arms during tummy time around a month, social smiled before 2 months, slept through the night at 3 months, rolled over and belly laughed at 4 months, sat up unsupported at 5 months, crawled at 7 months and walked at 10 months.
Physically, our little nugget was a beast. At her 1 year appointment, her doctor remarked that she is the strongest baby he has seen in a long time and had to call in TWO nurses to help me hold her down for him to simply check her ears when there was absolutely nothing wrong with them. This didn't surprise me in the least. Eva's fine and gross motor skills were never something I worried about. She never seemed to have an issue using her pincer grasp to pick up the smallest item on the carpet to stick in her mouth and was climbing the stairs and the couch before she even had her first Valentine. Don't worry, we already put her in soccer this past spring. This child should be an athlete.
What did concern me was her communication. She simply refused to mimic...anything. From my career background, I know that some children just aren't parrots, but I didn't realize how frustrating and upsetting it would be as their parent.
It's not that she wouldn't babble. She did. LOUDLY! She just never babbled when I wanted her to like the other babies did in her Little Gym class. I would sit her on my lap and snuggle her and look deep into her eyes and say, "baba. baba. babababababababa" like a lunatic and she would look at me like this was the most ridiculous and embarrassing thing her mother ever did. Sometimes she'd even look around to make sure no one was around to witness it. Other times she'd push me away and start saying, "dadadadada" 10 seconds later as if to tell me, "FYI-I will do the exact opposite of anything you ask me to do"!
I should have taken this as a serious warning and prepared myself better for stubborn toddlerhood!
18 months later, Eva is talking more and more. She is much more willing to repeat what I ask her to say now because she is genuinely interested in the world around her and wants to know what things are called. I am not naive enough to think that every person on the street can understand everything she says (sometimes Matt even has no idea!), but I do. The most significant thing she has said recently is, "i love you, mommy". Not mama...mommy. That small switch from mama to mommy opens my heart to wrap this child in more love than I even knew I had room for!
Mommy loves you too, Eva!
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