Thursday, April 29, 2010

What's She Doing?

This morning I signed Raphaela up for a baby swim class at the pool down the street, and the teacher asked me (for developmental and group assignment purposes), "What can she do?" I responded with what I thought might be useful information; such as the fact that Raphaela can hold her head up, roll over in both directions, crawl backwards and holds a bridge position in preparation for crawling forward. The teacher seemed quite pleased.

This somewhat absurd question, however, comes up on a regular basis in the office, when patients will ask me, "What's she doing now?" I am normally tempted to answer that Raphaela is playing the cello, going on an humanitarian mission to Nicaragua next month, and is starting Harvard in the Fall.

What is she doing? She is behaving like a normal, happy child who will be turning seven months. Maybe she should be sleeping better through the night, and maybe once we both get over jet lag, that will happen. But she is basically a baby, doing baby things, and entertaining her mother enormously with every new skill and smile.

As a competitive and driven person myself, I am trying very hard not to get caught in the comparison game, rather allowing Raphaela to develop at her own pace and enjoy herself along the way.

3 comments:

home reno said...

your patient's are probably asking b/c they feel they are in a relationship with you and want to hear about your baby in the photo they may see in your office or see around the office every so often. Friends used to ask me that question when my kids were little;instead of being annoyed being asked these questions, it gave me a chance to be a proud eema

Doc said...

The problem with your explanation -with which I agree BTW - is that there is already such a fine line between the professional and the personal in this country, and I feel like I don't need to let my patients into my private life any more than they already are.

Commenter Abbi said...

You personally might feel that way, and your feelings might be more logical if you were working in a non-helping profession. Since you are, part of the job is developing some sort of relationship and asking about the family is an acceptable conversation, even in America.

It has nothing to do with Israel and it has nothing to do with competition.