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As many of you know Daniel hasn't said his first word yet. He was evaluated on July 13th and it was determined that he needed speech therapy. It takes some time to get the paperwork going and find a therapist but we will officially start therapy this Sunday. He will have therapy once a week for an hour. They assured me anything more than that may become counter productive.

Today we had his hearing test at Lutheran General Hospital. He passed. We were never really concerned with his hearing so this wasn't too surprising.

I want to hear his first word so badly so I can fill that blank space in his baby book next to First Word with something that sounds like a word and the day he said it.

I was very emotional for quite some time and still worry what late speech really means as it relates to any delays later on but I have learned to be patient and accept things. He is a happy little boy and speech is the only concern right now. At his 15 month check up his "other" Dr. said sometimes we just expect too much too early. I trust the experts that evaluated him and their opinion that Daniel does need some help and we are being as proactive as possible.

The evaluator asked what my expectations were for him in 6 months and that was simple "hear the word mama and having it actually mean ME". When I asked the same question of her she said "we can't say," that simple. It will be up to Daniel to tell us when he's ready to talk and how quickly he will progress.

Besides speech he is a happy little boy, he is just quiet, well.. except for shrieking and running around the house like a little mad man.

I will keep you posted on his progress and what goes on in therapy regularly. Everyone has been so supportive and understanding but those that don't know about his situation sometimes ask me "is he talking a lot?" and that sometimes ruins my entire day. So, please don't ask, is he progressing?, has he said his first word?, although I know these questions are sincere, you may catch me on a bad day and not expect an emotional breakdown. If he says something I will be updating this blog ASAP.

I do recognize he is a healthy, happy boy and there are so many other parents in this world that have much bigger problems but he is MY child and my first priority so of course I sound more dramatic about the situation.

We'll keep you posted!

Here is a cute pic of my little munchkin from my cell phone. It's the best I could do. Don't judge me by his bib, Daniel is allergic to plastic bibs so we have to reuse our cloth ones. I call it being green and responsible.