comparisons and perspectives

We don't get out much, given that we're supposed to practice "social distancing" throughout the colder months to help avoid Acorn catching germs. He has one-on-one care here at home, so there's no need for daycare; there aren't many playgroups for toddlers of working parents, and the few for-pay classes for kids his age that are at times we can get there are just not oxygen tubing friendly.

Because of this, we've kind of lost touch with any understanding of what constitutes normal development - lost in the world of therapists and IEPs and goals. We've spent so much time worrying about how to get Acorn "caught up" (at 9 months, he could barely roll over, much less sit independently), that we forgot to keep track of what "caught up" means.

We spent several hours yesterday evening at a BBQ/potluck for a local attachment parenting group. They've always been super welcoming of us, 
even though we aren't quite as crunchy as many of them, and even though I'm not a stay at home mom. It was interesting to see Acorn around other kids about his own age - a real perspective changer.

Sure, they all talk...a lot...though not always intelligibly. That's something that he's still far behind on.  They eat a lot - some of them eat whole apples even. That's definitely not something Acorn can do. He walks only a little more tentatively than they do, but most of them have been walking almost a year, and Acorn has not yet been walking for 4 months. Several moms who remembered him from last summer (when we were just happy that he was sitting independently) were shocked and amazed - he looks so healthy, so normal... one mom pointed out that her son is a month older (actual age), and that she saw nothing in Acorn's actions that wasn't mirrored in her son.

Even our OT has said that if Acorn came into EI right now, he'd not qualify for occupational therapy (even though he avoids using one hand and has some sensory defensiveness) and probably wouldn't qualify for physical therapy either,  even though he can't jump and trips over sidewalk cracks.


So there we have it. Perspective. We still worry about the little things - after all, we've been well trained in picking them out. But we are a lot more comfortable with the idea that things are just fine as they are, and that all this therapy is working out.