Day 510: The sounds of silence

So Maddie continues to give us the silent treatment, for those of you who are keeping track. And I, like the totally together and accepting mom that I am, continue to take it in stride and not worry for a second. Well, that's the official story. Off the record, I may stress out just the tiniest bit. I may have read an article or two on developmental delays. I may beg and plead with her to speak. I may cry myself to sleep some nights. Actually, the last one is not true at all, I was just on a roll there.

People always seem to say that the second baby is easier, and in terms of the amount of guilt and worry, it must be. It has to be. Nobody could survive it twice otherwise! I imagine that to a seasoned mom a kid that doesn't talk at 17 months would be a blessing, because they know that once she does start she'll never stop. And that seasoned mom likely doesn't obsess over what she may have done (or not done) to contribute to said lack of talking. (Have we played the wrong games? Not paid due attention to the alphabet? Spent too much time tickling and not enough teaching? Oh, if only we'd bought those damn flashcards sooner!) No, an experienced mom would know that none of that matters. And when someone tells an experienced mom, "By the time they're in kindergarten they're all caught up," she'll actually believe it because she knows firsthand that it's true. But every novice knows those are just empty consolations.

The thing is, it's not so much worrying as it is frustrating. I mean, she was batting at objects at 3 weeks - if that's not a sign of Einstein-level genius, I don't know what is. I am convinced she's just being stubborn about the whole thing. Sometimes I just want to say, "Talk, dammit! Talk!" Okay, sometimes I do say that, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. Honestly I can't even imagine her speaking. I just cannot picture her opening her little mouth and saying something that actually makes sense! But apparently they do it, and I'm sure she will too, when she's ready. I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

Ah, I'm so glad that I've resolved not to worry.