I have a lovely young friend who is a lovely young mom to two of the most adorable little angles out there. C is her oldest, and he's about 2 and a half, while A is almost 1. Boy and girl and complete opposites in most ways. Last time we talked, she told me of some concerning behaviors. C wasn't talking for starters. Nothing, not words, not babbles like mamama or dadadada. Occasionally he'll make some slightly repetitive noises, but for the most part he's silent. A on the other hand chats away non stop. Never stops in fact. C hates being held. Sometimes he'll want a story so he'll let Mamma read to him but if she does more than let him sit on her lap he freaks. A meanwhile constantly wants cuddles. C seems to have meltdowns at the drop of a hat while A is generally a happy baby. This is made all the worse by the fact that C can't communicate in a way that his Mamma can understand. Which of course makes her feel like a failure as a mother. The more she told me of her worries the more I just wanted to hug her. It was heartbreaking. She sees all the progress that A is making and its only causing her to worry more about her baby boy.
If you're anyone but a med wife what you hear is a tragic tale of a Mommy trying to do the best that she can with her precious babies. If you're me on the other hand, what you hear is a loud siren screaming AUTISM!
One of the awful side effects of being married to medicine is that you see and hear more warning signs than the average person. Someone talks about being tired, hair falling out, weight gain or loss, med people hear hypothyroidism. Normal people hear bad sleep, shampoo, and exercise. This hyper-awareness is one of the burdens of this life. It borders on hyphochondriasis.
Its really rather strange. Not only do the actual doctors have to deal with this but very frequently the families develop this side effect. Its always fun, and by fun I mean totally annoying. Eventually we all get used to it, and maybe that's the even bigger burden.
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