Milestones

I'm just curious to see how any other mother feels on this topic. So please comment on this post to let me know what you think! I was reading a friends blog post about milestones and it made me think.

Milestones

From the beginning of pregnancy I always kept up with the milestones that my little baby was supposed to be going through in my belly. Then when she is born it doesn't stop. I received emails and always heard what milestones  Baby Bear  should be going through at each month . Then at some point it seems to become a competition between some parents. Which I think is absolutely REDICULOUS. Don't get me wrong. My best friend's son is two days older than  Baby Bear , and I LOVE hearing how he is doing and what he is doing. But not to compete, I am just curious about how she compares on the physical things because she was a preemie and Parker was born beyond his due date. I have however had someone say that my daughter wasn't smart because she wasn't potty trained by the age of two! When I heard that she said that I was appaulled. 

When it comes to milestones I personally think they are just a GIUDELINE of what to expect around certain ages. That doesn't mean that there is something wrong with your child if they aren't doing something by when the milestones say they should be. 

Baby Bear was three and a half weeks premature. She has NEVER been right on the milestones. She started crawling on September 4, 2010. She was 11 months old. She saw a little boy do it at a birthday party that day and decided she wanted to try. Then she started walking around on her own on December 9, 2010. She was 16 months old. We were moving into our apartment and I put her on the floor. she pulled up and just took off. She is now 25 months old and is doing great. She will talk your head off, play with everyone, and is the most amazing little thing that has ever entered my life. Guess what... She was NEVER on the milestones and she is great. I think its sad when people think otherwise about their own children.

Has anyone else ever been aggravated by the milestones and how they are kind of pushed on you? Every child is unique and does things at their own pace. There is nothing wrong with that!