ebels

That’s really stressful to get that message from the pediatrician but without any actionable steps and without feeling like they’re on the same page as you. I would seek out a second opinion from a different pediatrician, and then maybe seek out speech therapy if they don’t have a word by 16 months. Early intervention is incredibly helpful and even if your child doesn’t end up “needing” it, then at least you don’t have the regret of waiting and then realizing they did need it. Some kids are just late talkers, but others really need support, and you don’t know which group you’re in until later when you’ve missed some of the window for early intervention. I thought my son was just a late talker, but it turns out he has childhood apraxia of speech (rare) and waiting for us would have been the biggest regret of my life. Instead, we started therapy early and he is now fully understandable when he talks, plus we learned sign language (75+ signs that speech therapy helped me with) early on so that he didn’t fall too behind in language and was less frustrated. Everyone’s situation is different, but I will always be thankful for early intervention, and I hope you find a doctor that creates less stress.

It’s a very personal decision, so I acknowledge that. I have all of the thoughts that people always mention, about how much you love your kids and it’s true that I’ve never regretted having them even though some things are harder now. But one thing I’ve thought a lot about is how it has changed me. I understand so much more now about what my parents went through and what other parents experience and it’s given me so much understanding and empathy. I am a better human being because of trying to be a good parent, and I wouldn’t trade that for the anything. Having nieces and nephews, being a nanny or teacher, etc are all experiences with kids but it didnt teach me what being a parent has. There’s nothing else like it.