I have to say it. I'm getting quite sick of hearing this question. Every phone call we get starts with, "Anyone walking yet?" Trying to see humor in the situation, I've even thought of putting an update on our answering machine. I don't feel challenged by the question. It's just getting annoying.
Which brings me to The Mommy Wars. Maybe I've been in one and haven't even noticed, because almost all moms complain about this, but I haven't run into it yet...that I know of. Maybe I'm a little too naive, but I have to wonder if it's as bad as some say.
I have one friend who immediately gets on the defensive if another mom says their baby has done something her's hasn't. Do you think moms really are trying to one-up your baby with stories of their own? Again, maybe I'm naive, I just don't get that. The way I see it, most moms are just excited to have other moms they can exchange stories with. Let's face it, who other than another mom is going to see the excitement in your child's first solid meal, first word, or that maybe they finally pooped after three days. They tell you their child's glories in exchange for listening to your's.
Maybe it would be different if I had only one child. I can compare all day if I want all by myself in my own home. I know firsthand without ever walking out the door that all babies are different. They all have different personalities, different likes and dislikes, and different timeframes in which they want to do everything. So it's never bothered me when people ask me if any of our babes have done this or that. I've never felt the need to defend any of them for being late at achieving any of the many firsts babies have.
But now...now I'm starting to get a few of the comments like, "Is the doctor okay with that? Are you worried?" Or when I tell them, no, none of them are walking yet, they give me the surprised look - like this is so out of the ordinary. All I can do is keep doing what I've always done, just answer their question politely with a smile - because I'm not worried. Early on I would worry because SA took much longer than the others to lift his (extremely large) head or it took SJ longer to crawl or because they didn't sit up on their own around the time they were supposed to. What I've found is it always happens. Before you know it, you're asking them to slow down. Until the doctor tells me to worry, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy my crawling babies. Besides...when they're up and walking, they just don't seem like babies anymore. :(
Or maybe I could just add to my t-shirt - the one I keep saying I'm going to make - the one that reads:
Yes, I have my hands full.
Yes, we used fertility medicine.
Yes, I'm tired.
No, they're not identical (please note the one in pink).
No, they're not twins, they're triplets.
And, NO, they're not walking yet. :)
