Early Development

I had an extremely easy pregnancy. In fact, I didn't even know I was pregnant until I was almost 4 months along. It wasn't like we were trying to conceive, but we weren't exactly *not* trying to either. It happened fast, like right away. We were both 28, and engaged to be married the following summer, so we were more than happy to learn of the news. We knew that it was a baby boy, not that the gender mattered, but there was no way I could go another 5 months without knowing!

All of my prenatal checkups went well, and the baby was growing and developing at the normal rate. Besides being tired, I felt great. I did everything right. I never did smoke, so that wasn't a big adjustment. I didn't drink. I didn't do drugs. I wouldn't even take a Tylenol if I had a headache. I walked, I stretched, I took prenatal vitamins and folic acid. I upped the protein, the fruits, the veggies. I even drank milk for this baby! It was a text book pregnancy.

Post natal, everything went well too. Riley was eating and growing well. He was always in the 95th percentile for height. He was happy, healthy, active, and hardly ever cried. He was always the centre of attention, and people always commented on how beautiful he was, with his soft white/blond hair and bright blue eyes.
I was breastfeeding, and did so until Riley was 10 months old. The only reason I stopped, was b/c Riley caught a bad cold and seemed to have an easier time with a bottle. He was reaching all developmental milestones within the normal range. He had his first smile at a month old. His first teeth appeared around 6 months (just in time for our wedding...) He crawled and sat up at 7 months . He cooed and giggled and babbled. He started walking at 13 months. He made us smile and laugh, and we loved him more and more every day.

It was shortly before Riley's 2nd birthday that we decided something wasn't "right". He had started saying simple words around 18 months, but then suddenly seemed to "forget" them. Being first time parents, we didn't think anything at first.
Every other week since birth, I had taken Riley to a well baby group, that involved the public health nurse weighing and measuring the baby. Of course there were those moms that loved to brag about what their baby was doing, and when they did it. They annoyed the crap out of me, always trying to one up each other. I was relatively new to this town, and didn't know many people, so I mostly just kept to myself. Anyway, it wasn't until they were all bragging about the cute little things their babies were saying, that I started to wonder why Riley wasn't doing the same. I mean, he had been so on with all the other milestones, why not talking? I will never forget the day that two of the moms were bragging about how smart their kids were, and what was my son doing? Banging his head repeatedly on the wall. Not hard, it just kinda seemed like he was playing. I honestly didn't think anything of it at the time. But, was that a sign of things to come?

1st smile, Feb 17, 2004

My gorgeous boy at 5 months
(Daddy's favourite picture of Riley)



1 Year Old!



Walking and "talking"