Timetable

I hate TheBump. com.

Right now someone is asking themselves....what is that? The Bump? Well it is not a website about speed humps or that weird lump on your head, that is the cause of you avoiding that super cute short summer do.

Thebump.com is a baby website. While I was pregnant with Connor I was a total Bumpee...I'll admit. It was a paranoid pregnant woman's dream come true. Don't know if you can eat fish while pregnant? Find it out at TheBump.com... Want to know if the gas you are experiencing is normal for being only 15 weeks pregnant? The Bump can tell you! Does this look like a double line on a pregancy test? Not sure? Post your peestick on The Bump.com and 35 women could assuredly tell you if it was a positive test or an evaporation line...seriously. (See this is why no men follow my blog...for posts like this.)

When I was pregnant with Addi, I went less to the site...because I already knew what fish I could eat, gas was the least of my pregnant woes, and you've seen one peestick...you've seen them all. But I did visit every so often to read up on an occasional pregnancy issue...

I still get emails from the Bump...at the beginning that was cute because it would give you a month by month insight as to what your baby was doing or how your baby was developing in the womb. Like...your baby is now the size of an ipod (I seriously got that one once) ....and your baby can suck her thumb now, can blink her eyes and can tapdance on your bladder to showtunes...that sort of thing....

But now the emails....I have begun to ignore totally.

Connor was one of those babies that pretty much did everything on time according to what various doctors and TheBump emails said. Rolling over: 3 months..Teeth: 4 months... crawling 8 months...walking 12 months....He could have been like the posterboy for TheBump...seriously...

But I have begun to resent TheBump and its assuming timetable of baby actions. Because of what my daughter is teaching me. My daughter has had her own timetable. And while it has caused us some concern, she is doing all things on her own time. And it's totally okay. These Bump emails werent worded " this normally happens at this time"...it was more like, "Oh, your baby is crawling!"...ummmm no she's not.

Addison has had some difficulty in the area of crawling and sitting up. She rolled at month 4 no problem. But when it came to sitting up and crawling...she just wasnt interested. So I did what any other concerned mother would do. I talked to friends with children., I talked to her doctor, I talked to another doctor..and most were nonchalent about it. She'll crawl when she's ready. But in my heart I felt that there was something more to this.

And you know what? She did eventually start to crawl! She started an army crawl at 11 months and started sitting up at 12 months. We found out this is due to a condion called Hypotonia..which is a fancy medical term for low muscle tone. She does not have a severe case of this, thank goodness, but she will be needing to go through some physical therapy to strengthen her muscles and to get her back on track. She now can pull herself to a standing position, loves to try to walk around the house, and we've seen her crawl on all 4s a few times and we could not be happier with the progress she is already making! We are in the process of starting some physical therapy for her soon. She is beautiful, smart, funny, amazing, and is so strong willed. We couldn't be more proud of our little Addi!

But all through these months of Addison not developing in the same way as many other babies her age....TheBump emails came along...."Month 6! Pulling up!" or "Oh Baby! Month 8! Start baby proofing your outlets mommies, because baby is about to be crawling all over your house!" or "Month 12...your baby is beginning to walk. Make sure you go out and buy baby her first pair of Adidas shoes and enroll her in her first triathlon because running is not far behind!"

Shut up TheBump.com

Click. Delete.

My baby has had her own time table. Nothing is wrong with her, she is doing things on her time and God's time. I resent the timetable when we stress in schools that EVERY child is different...and while I undertsand a time table is needed in order to make sure children are developing and are also needed so that we can have intereventions early on....I feel like sites where I can view a complete stranger's peestick is not the most credible source to tell me what my baby should be doing or how she should be developing. Send me recipies for homemade baby food, Thebump.com. Send me a list of the hottest baby name trends...send me a recall list of toys that contain lead. Dont send me an email, congratulating me of what my baby is doing...when she isn't doing it at all.

Yes, I unsuscribed by the way.

Listen to your mommy instincts when it comes to your children. Talk to your doctors with your concerns. Talk to mothers around you who have gone through similar issues.

And don't panic if a mom site sends you an email that your baby should be reciting Hamlet at age 15 months. Remember, ladies, every baby is different and if that baby can recite Shakespeare at 18 months...all is well. We must accept our own timetables after all.