Monday, February 18, 2008

Worries

I've been told so many times not to compare my children's development. Not to each other, and not to other children. All children develop at different rates and all that blah, blah, blah. Even though I know this, I still find myself doing it. At 7 months, someone asked me if Ashlyn was walking yet, since both of their children were walking by then . She wasn't crawling yet, and momentary panic arose. Even when I knew better.


So, that's what I've been doing with Christopher. Ashlyn started smiling around 4 weeks. She smiled at Allen, and the smiles just seemed to get bigger every day. Christopher wasn't smiling (socially) at 4 weeks, or 5, and then 6 rolled around. The thoughts went through my head that maybe he wouldn't be as outgoing as Ashlyn, or maybe he was never going to smile due to some type of developmental disorder that would keep him from interacting with other people ever in his life and what I thought was a good baby was just a baby who never was going to interact with the world. And then you see this:




And, my beautiful boy, it was worth the wait.

15 comments:

Smitty 1, 2 , 3 and 4 said...

Yes it was. Precious!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful smile!

Grandma Vicki

Anonymous said...

He has to be the cutest little guy that I have seen since Bennett was born (and that was over 10 years ago).

Lysandra said...

Gorgeous...totally worth the wait! I love it!

Anonymous said...

Quit comparing. He is perfect the way he is. Love the smile.

Unknown said...

Oh, he's so adorable. What a great smile.

I think Olivia was close to eight weeks before she smiled. Then, she replaced it with a frown and the smile has only recently come back, from time to time.

I know what you mean about worrying, however. Olivia was an early walker, as you know. But as month 12, 13 and 14 passed with Lila, Matt was really worried. I wasn't too much b/c she was cruising well enough. But, still, in the very back of my mind, I was miffed. But, now, you would think she's been walking for months.

Cherie said...

Angie, it is hard not to compare. I found myself constantly comparing Lexi and AJ. AJ never seemed to progress as quickly as Lexi, and he still is not at the same level as Lexi when she was 4. However, I have found that AJ has introduced me to a whole new world because his personality and take on the world is so different. Enjoy your little man and his gorgeous smile.

Anonymous said...

Doll baby!

Katie said...

OOOOOOOOH! That is so so cute!

The Dunns said...

Angie, you know what that smile is saying, don't you?

"Mom, you want personality? You want interaction? Just you wait... Bwahahah...." ;)

Angie said...

Too funny, Holly!

House Dad said...

That boy is going to be trouble!!!

As Campbell gets older, I try more and more not to compare her to Ellie. They are such completely different kiddos. Ellie still likes to crawl up on your lap and sit still forever while Campbell can't stop moving.

Enjoy this calm before the storm. Soon, he'll be causing mayhem and destruction. Both in tandem with Ashlyn and on a wholely separate level.

Anonymous said...

He is so sweet! What an adorable little smile. You are right, all babies are so different! It's amazing they can write baby books with generalizations in them at all with the wide range of normal development! I can't believe he's already 6 weeks old!

Andrea and Ben said...

Very sweet!
Remember, boys generally develop a little slower than girls, even often into grade school.

Anonymous said...

Ashlyn is a beautiful name (hehe it's mine) and ur kids r really cute 2, photogenic