adminEvery parent is disproportionately proud of their own children. Mandy and I are no exception. Every day, we watch with awe as our child grows. Now, just a couple of days before his six month milestone, he started to talk.
Well, not actually talk. He discovered that he can move his jaw up and down. And then make some noise using his vocal cords. Before this moment, it was mostly crying, laughing, or a cry of frustration. But since today, that sound has changed. Now, it resembles something like his first words.
Now, you’re curious what his first word is. Is it mom? Is it dad? Is it poop? As a man, I think poop as a first word would be funny. But it’s none of these. His first word isn’t actually a real word. But still, we are over the moon.
Today, Ollie taught himself to say “da da”. In theory, it could still mean Pa Pa or Ma Ma, although the first is more likely. Anyhow, Ollie’s development is going like clockwork. One that runs a bit early, that is. He’s rolling, crawling, can stand and jump with minimal assistance, can sit straight up almost all by himself, has his first tooth, laughs all day, and now starts to form words. All within six months.
I know every parent thinks their child is special. Me included. But the danger lies in comparing one baby to another. Everyone has his own development cycle. That’s not only true for babies, but probably true for all of life. The world record holder for the youngest walking baby is probably not the world record holder for the 100m sprint. The new Einstein might not speak until he’s two. You can never be sure how life flows and how someone develops.
So, comparing one baby to another is not constructive. Neither is looking too far ahead in someone’s development. All we can do is focus on now. And for now, it’s the full joy of Ollie’s development. Every day, Mandy and I say to each other how special it is to have a child. And every day, we see him becoming his own person more and more. And probably, in the blink of an eye, he will be a man. By then, I’ll have written thousands of stories so we can look back on how far Ollie has come.