Striving for . . . . . AVERAGE!

Camdyn and Cade were assessed at physical therapy using the Peabody developmental exam.  They were only tested in gross motor skills during this assessment.  I was elated to hear the results show they are right at average for their adjusted age of 14 months.  This is great news!

Let me take a detour to explain adjusted age.  A lot of time I think of them as 18 month olds because I know that is how old they are based on their bithday to now; however, when looking at milestones, we think of them as the age they should be.  Think of it like this - all other babies conceived in Oct./Nov. of 2009 like our babies became embryos, turned into fetuses, grew in the womb for 40 weeks, were born and are now 14 month olds just as our babies should be.  So babies with the exact same conception date as ours are now 14 months old not 18 months old. 

You've heard the phrase "Striving for Excellence".  Around here we have been "Striving for Average"!  To hear that they are doing exactly what they should be for their adjusted age is fantastic.  We are so happy and blessed they are able to do the things they can.

In the "mommy rat race", you hear mothers comparing/bragging about the achievements of their children all the time.  I found it sickening when I had just one full-term child, but I find it particularly annoying after having micro-preemies. 

Today, I decided to let the babies walk into pre-school with Brenna for the first time instead of me pushing them in the stroller.  I figured they needed some practice, and it would be good for them.  I was so proud of them!  It was a long walk for them, and although they fell down several times, they kept getting back up and trying again.  On our way out, another mom said to me, "She looks so little to be walking already.  How old is she?"  I replied, "She's 18 months old; she's just very small."  The mom asked if she was born early and I told her she was born very early.  Even after hearing that she had to let me know that both of her kids were walking by 10 months old.  I wanted to tell her, "I really don't care.  I'm just happy she CAN walk at all."  Instead I just said, "Every child develops in their own time."  I hope I become less nice sometime soon so I can tell these ignorant people what I really think!  Is there really a pressing need to compare babies?  Next time someone tries to compare their child to mine, I might just tell them, "My baby trumps all your baby's achievements by simply surviving!"