Cautious.....maybe not

Three years and three months ago my son and first child was born. Although it was a fast delivery it was drug free (not by choice) and so extremely unpleasant it took me a year before I would even contemplate having another child. The delivery was just the beginning of our painful journey. My son was born with a very serious heart condition called Tetralogy of Fallot which was diagnosed when he was 3 weeks old. He was also born with a pelvic kidney and an extra digit on his right hand. On his 5 month birthday he had open heart surgery and spent a week in the hospital. When he was 16 months old he had surgery to remove the extra digit on his hand. His kidney is not really an issue. He see's a cardioligist once a year for testing and may need another heart surgery down the road.

My son has been through a lot and is very strong and courageous. He is also very strong willed and kind of beats to his own drum. Another word I have always used to describe him is cautious. He still does not like going down slides or swinging very much and he has been going to the park once a week since he was a few months old. He's not much of a climber although he loves to watch his friends climb or even tell them how to do it. This past summer at the beach he would scream if we started to walk towards the water and in the pool he was only happy if sitting on the first step. Part of me has worried that he's behind in his gross motor skills but the easy word for me to use has been cautious.

Even though summer is gone it's still so pickin hot that we are still swimming. He won't wear the floaties but he will let me half pull half jump him in the pool and carry him around while he kicks and he loves to do the "jump jump dance" in the pool. This is HUGE progress. The other night another milestone was reached. While I was out at a pre-school orientation meeting my husband was home with Rhett working on "my surprise." You might think it's a beautiful drawing or a clean house or heck a new car. No when I came home my husband said "Rhett, it's time to give mom her surprise." Rhett climbed up on the dining room table and jumped off! So in our house that night we were cheering our 3 yr. old on to keep climbing on the table and jump off. Most households might give a time out for this behavior but in ours it was a surprise of joy.

So in one week my baby started pre-school, decided he does not need pull-ups at night and started jumping off of tables. He's growing up I tell you. On a side note I love referring to my oldest child as my baby. Who said the youngest child will always be the baby. I say both my babies will always be "my baby." So maybe he's not so cautious. Maybe he is and I should just relax about it because in his own time he will do things when he is comfortable. Regardless it will be another sign that he is growing up and too soon for me.