In Her Own Time

My not so little girl is turning 9 months old in a few days and I can hardly believe it. It seems like for all of her life I have been waiting for the next stage to begin. Being a child development specialist, I am cursed with a constant worry of if she's developing on the right time, at the right pace. I was worried because she wasn't talking, worried because she wasn't pulling up, worried because she didn't have teeth...pretty much worried or anxious about every developmental milestone she hadn't reached. Well all that has changed in a matter of two weeks. It seems as if my baby has sprung to life in the past few weeks and I can't keep up! She started this "growth spurt" by pulling her self up in her crib (which she does constantly now, making nap time a little more difficult). She then said "Dada" (which she now screams constantly all day long, so much for 'soft spoken'), she then started teething and in a matter of two weeks has gotten both of her bottom front teeth (which causes her to be a lot more cranky than we're used to). She now cruises around the furniture, holding on and walking around anything within her reach (which blasted that whole "I know where you are at all times" stage out of the water), and finally she is now sitting up by herself (no more easy diaper changes). So, while I am extremely excited about these milestones she's reached I have been completely slapped in the face with the reality of how my baby just isn't a baby anymore. My worries are gone and I now have the peace of mind to know that Peyton is doing just fine and in her own time she'll reach every milestone, I just hope it's not too soon!