Baby Milestones and Inevitable Comparisons

Had a mom-date today with a friend of mine and her son, who is a month younger than E. It was a fun day – watching them interact was fascinating, just trying to imagine what they’re thinking.

That being said, it was impossible not to compare the two blond, blue-eyed little boys. Baby L, although younger, is literally leaps and bounds ahead of my E. Okay, not quite literally, but this kid is physically accomplished. Firstly, he crawls the “real” way, but that’s the least of it. Soon after arriving, he crawled over to me, climbed up my knees, and held onto my shoulder with one hand and balanced, standing up. I mean, he’s practically walking. It was crazy – E is nowhere near doing anything like this. (I told him to take notes.)

I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised – L is a baby who rolled over for the first time when he was barely two months old. His mom, my friend, commented that E sure does get around efficiently [with his gimpy crawl]; she also pointed out how long he is, how much more verbal his sounds are and how much more luxuriant his hair, and that he seems, in her words, more mature and “with it” socially. (She was impressed when he waved bye-bye. Yeah, baby.)

Neither my friend nor I is overly concerned about the timing of the “baby milestones” – we are pretty laid-back and assume they’ll get there when they get there. But comparing is inevitable – and only natural, I suppose. In any case, it was a very interesting experience, watching these two boys interact. We laughed ourselves silly at L trying to grab the cup that E was holding, and E simply gripping harder, not a trace of concern on his face. They reached out to each other, stared at each other, as if they were different species to be investigated. They were so cute.

We spent some time in the backyard, where E demonstrated his aversion to grass: you put him on it, and he rolls onto his side, keeping as much of himself off it as possible. Stand him up on it and he’ll pick up his feet so they don’t touch it. We’ll have to spend some time getting used to that.

I would include a picture of these two adorable babes, but I haven’t requested permission yet… so you’ll have to settle for just one. I hope you enjoy this contemplative shot of E on our walk today. Kickin’ his legs and eatin’ cheerios by the river. With his frog hat on crooked, resembling a sou’wester.