When I committed myself to be a stay-at-home mum, for the most part anyway, I always thought my daughter would thrive and flourish. I was spending time with her, devoting myself to her, teaching her, and, talking to her always. Yes, I thought my child would be the one who spoke first.
And we gave her excuses, we gave ourselves excuses
‘You were a lazy talker’, my mum said.
‘She knows she doesn’t have to talk because she gets everything she wants from you’, said my mother-in law.
‘She will get there in her own time‘, said another.
‘Wait till she starts day-care, then she will start talking’, another friend said.
And as a parent, you never want to admit that there may be something more serious. Or that there may be something wrong.
And for months, I did as everyone suggested. Not push her. And I waited for day care to start. And then it started. And then she turned two. And her language and speech was still not good.
And then, just like that I decided that I had to follow my intuition. My gut feeling.
And I did. And I got her hearing tested.
“Her ears are FULL of fluid. Of course she can’t hear properly”.
A sigh of relief. But fear and guilt at the same time. Because why did I not do this earlier? Why did I not follow my intuition earlier. My little girl had such a hearing impairment that she was hearing muffled sounds for the majority of her life. ‘Like being underwater’, the audiologist explained to me. And here I was, not doing anything about it. Not believing in myself, not my daughter’s capabilities.
And all I can think of is what would have happened if I didn’t listen to anyone else; if I did just follow my own feelings. Where would she be today? What would her language be like today?
And we saw a specialist. And she had a procedure done to drain the fluid. And she now has grommets in her ears. And her speech has improved 300% and more. And I am so proud of her. And she is talking and talking and talking and I just want to scream with joy.
And I realise how important it is to follow your own feeling, your own beliefs, your own intuition. Because when mothers feel that there is something not quite right, there generally is something not quite right. And it isn’t mothers being paranoid, or overprotective, or anxious, it is a mothers intuition.
And that is real !
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