Look Who's Talking...

When your child says his or her first word, it's a time for celebration. You should celebrate every milestone your child achieves. But for me, when my youngest son, Nolan, at 8-months started saying "mama" and my 2-year-old barely spoke, it was a mix of emotions.

Nolan cheesing it up for the camera.

Celebrate! Celebrate!

Celebrating your baby's milestones is incredibly important for you but especially important for them. We celebrated every milestone Roman had, from rolling at five-months old to crawling at 11-months. But at his 9-month checkup with our pediatrician, we were told to get in touch with a state program because Roman wasn't reaching his milestones at the ages he should.

Roman celebrating his first birthday, and a pro at crawling by then.

"Skills such as a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye-bye” are called developmental milestones. Developmental milestones are things most children can do by a certain age." Source: CDC

And so it began...

We started physical therapy with the state program a month before his first birthday. Up until that point, he wasn't crawling. But the moment we setup the virtual session, because COVID, he decided he wanted to take off across the floor on all fours. All I said was well... he just made a liar out of me! At that point, my fears about his development, no longer worried me. But after talking with the therapists, we decided it wasn't a bad idea to keep him on for speech, just in case. A year and a half later, we're still waiting to have a conversation with our son.

The one who calls me "Mama"

Nolan enjoying his first fudgesicle.

"Mama: one's mother" - Source: Merriam-Webster

There it was. "Mama." My 8-month-old son, Nolan, said the word. While I was so excited, at the same time my heart dropped. My eyes welled up with tears. Roman, still, at two, barely says 'Mama.' And here's my 8-month-old saying it with ease.

Roman sporting his "bed head hair."

Everyone kept telling us Roman was delayed, but the therapists while saying he was delayed told us they weren't worried. My mother was convinced Roman was autistic. I denied anything of the sort. Not because I would be embarrassed, but because I didn't want him to struggle in his life. I wanted him to have everything I never did, and so much more.

I never knew one four-letter word could bring me so much joy, and break my heart at the same time.

Connect with me!

Please, feel free to reach out to me on social or email. I would love to hear your stories, share your stories on this platform, but also do the research and ask experts what we can do to give our kids the best future possible.