1. “As long as it’s healthy.”
It doesn’t matter.
I said this a lot during both my pregnancies – especially when people would ask what gender we were hoping for. It was an easy response… “Oh, we don’t care, as long as it’s healthy.” I worry a lot about that qualifier and the message it sends to other parents – as if anything less than healthy makes a child unwanted. Nobody wants their child to hurt. However, I really cannot say that I would prefer a child without extra needs. In this family, if a child is not healthy, it will still be loved.
2. Is he (_____)ing yet?
It doesn’t matter.
It’s become a predictable habit of mothers these days to talk at length about what babies are doing. We share their weights and heights like trophies of our success as mothers –
the bigger, the better. It’s silly, really. And to a mom who is worried about her child for any given reason, it can be alarming.
I’ve said this before – it’s very freeing to have a diagnosed child who we know is on her own schedule for pretty much everything. But for those children who have no extra needs and are just a little behind, or those who do have extra needs but aren’t diagnosed yet, the comparisons can be unsettling. Even scary. So I’ll leave the milestone questions to the doctor.
3. Can I hold the baby?
When offered, I will, on occasion, accept. However, I’m not asking for the simple fact that I don’t want a mom to have to feel awkward about telling me no.
When Tessa was a new baby and people asked to hold her, it freaked me out. This really wasn’t about the germs, it was about her floppiness, lack of head control, and preference for hyper-extending her arms. I once (jokingly) asked the PT if I needed to coach every person who held her, fully expecting that she would tell me no, as long as it was a short period of time. And then she said “umm…. Unfortunately, yes.” Oookee dokee. It got really awkward for me, trying to explain to so many people why they couldn’t just hold her like they want. And since you can’t always “see” extra needs, nor do you know if a mom is uncomfortable saying no, I prefer to just avoid the situation altogether.
There is no need to walk on eggshells around other moms, but sometimes, a little empathy… a little consideration for others and their stories… that is what can make all the difference in our interactions with each other.
Yo soy La Lay 
I’m sad that October is ending. Selfishly… I will miss your daily posts! I suppose you deserve a break. 😉
Thanks! 🙂 I promise that I’ll keep writing, but my fingers are seriously tired.
I will too! I look out for them.
It’s amazing how much your perspective changes once you have a child with extra needs. Everything looks different, including simple statements that we never thought twice about before.
I struggle, too, with even knowing if she qualifies as “unhealthy.” Is she different? Yes. Does she have special needs? Yes. Is she unhealthy because of it? I’m not sure…. I’m not sure what that means!