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Something that can be particularly crushing for parents who have been eagerly awaiting their baby's key milestones is if they miss out on the first time that they do them. This can happen even when they stay at home with them all the time, but the odds are higher if they have other responsibilities, such as work.
One woman felt immense guilt when she was the sole witness to the first word of her colleague's 1-year-old, whom she brought into the office every day. The mom had been stressed out that her son had not been hitting his milestones on time, but he repeated the word “mommy” to her coworker while she was not in the room.
The non-mom was left pondering if it was best not to tell her. She didn't want to ruin a special moment.
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My Co-worker’s baby finally said his first word and it was to me…WIBTAH if I didn’t tell her?
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1-year-old says first word to mom's coworker when she leaves the room, she wonders if she should tell her: 'It might be nothing'
A baby's milestones are the obsession of pretty much every new parent.
It makes perfect sense: you have put all this effort into bringing a tiny human into the world, and now you want to see them learn to do all of those things that most humans can do. The sleepless nights and spit up can all seem worth it when a kid finally learns how to use their legs, or their babble starts to turn into actual words. It can be one of the most euphoric parts of parenting.
The flipside to this is the anxiety that is felt when a baby doesn't seem to be learning things on the expected timeline. It can leave people feeling like they have already failed in their job as parents, even if it isn't their fault. At least it makes every bit of progress extra special, although that might not happen in the way that they first envisioned.
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