Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Even the Experts Struggle.

I took my children to the doctor this morning for Tyler's 18-month checkup. (Please look past the fact that he is twenty months old today. Such is my life.)

Tyler is healthy and weighing in at a whopping 22 pounds, which means he really looks like a very long 10-month-old. He's a peanut, and he has only just now tripled his birthweight (a prescribed milestone for that first birthday). He is my string bean.

We were there for Tyler's checkup, but I had far more questions on Tucker's behalf. Dr. Sarah (whom I adore) listened and listened, which is the largest task of being a pediatrician: listening to the moms. She is brilliant and so very encouraging. I love her... and you know how I feel about smart women in general.

As I told her my woes of potty training, she equipped me with a new toolbox of strategies. But most importantly, she empowered me with these words:


"He is definitely not the oldest child
to not be potty trained.
Dr. Huff's son was 3 and 8/12
before he was doing the real deal every time.
You're not doing anything wrong,
and this is very, very normal."

Well, how about that. Dr. Huff is another pediatrician in the practice, another one of my favorites... and his son was late in the game, too.

It sort of makes sense... he is the pediatrician whose son won't adapt to the prescribed milestones. And I am the teacher whose son is on his own journey to language, no matter how much I teach him. And in one of Tucker's many evaluations, we met an occupational therapist whose son couldn't hold a pencil until he was in fourth grade.

Funny how it works. Sometimes even the 'experts' need to be reminded that life isn't always about expertise. It's about loving the one you've been given and meeting him where he is.

And I do love him.

(And I will love it when I don't buy Pull Ups anymore.)

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