My Child is Different Than Yours, and I'm Trying To Get Over That.

I announced on Facebook quite a while ago, that my son, Ben, is developmentally delayed. Not just in one area, but all across the board. 

While other moms seem to be counting all the ways their kids are surpassing the norm, I catch myself often tallying up the things my son doesn’t do. And there’s quite a laundry list, let me tell you. 

It’s extremely difficult to not feel like I’m failing my son in some way because of where he is at. Logically, I know that’s not true, but telling yourself the truth is so much easier than actually believing it.

I love my son. He is the sweetest, happiest little boy I've ever known. And that makes things a little easier. He’s so content with his life. He doesn't know he’s different or lacking particular skills that other kids have mastered.

A lot of parents tell me that “kids all develop in their own time.” Or “He’ll catch up. My kid didn’t walk till X months either.” And I just think – yeah, that’s true – I’m sure Ben will get there eventually, but he’s nowhere near walking or talking yet and he’s 19 months in about 3 days (he only started crawling about 3-4 months ago). I’ll be blown away if he’s walking by the time he’s two. And the older he gets, the wider the gap becomes between him and other kids.

We took him to get an MRI at the recommendation of his pediatrician. That came back normal. Now we have a referral to take him to a developmental pediatrician, and may possibly end up doing some genetic testing to try to get to the root of the issue.

We are working with an occupational therapist who is wonderful and comes over to our house 2x per month and works with Ben and teaches us some exercises to practice with him. Friends say to me, “well at least you’re doing something.” That’s true. But it’s hard to feel like patting myself on the back when he’s been having therapy sessions for about 6-7 months and it seems like the only thing he’s gotten nailed down is crawling. I know it’s helping, but it just seems sooo slow.

I keep reminding myself of something my grandma said to me: 

“Just raise them, don’t race them.”

My grandma, is awesome, isn't she?

My son is happy and has no serious health issues and he gets along with everyone. What more can a mom really ask for?

I have a great life and a beautiful family. And 99% of the time I can keep that perspective. It’s just that pesky 1% of the time that really gets to me some days. But it’s okay. I’ll get over it. Things will get better, or maybe they’ll get worse – but either way, it’s out of my control and all I can do is trust in the Lord and count my blessings.

Here's blessings 1-100, right there: