Cute Kids Have Delays Too

We were at the feeding clinic yesterday and the Little Man gained half a pound in the last three weeks, so he's finally doing well. He's between the 10-15th percentiles now, which is just fine by me. The psychologist said, "in a way, you have to be super parents because your child is not like the other ones and you have to work harder." Yes, THANK YOU! I knew that, but it's nice to be validated. I always knew he was different. And people always go, "oh, but he's cute," "oh, but we still love him." Ok, but being cute doesn't change the fact that he's different and it can be extremely challenging to teach him even the simplest thing, like eating. You would think eating would be easy! And it's tough when you look at other kids, some much younger, and they're sitting down happily chowing away, using forks and spoons and your kid just gags and spits things out.

Please people, give mommies some credit. If mommy says she's having a hard time because she knows something is weird or different about her kid, don't tell her her child is cute. Don't tell her it will get better on its own by magic. Don't patronize her. Tell her you'll listen and see if you can help.

Yes, my child is cute and "a unique and special snowflake," but he also has delays and sensory issues that I haven't even begun to understand. Those things don't stand in contrast or negate each other. Those things just are the complexity of my child.