"Average" is the sweetest word in the world

The boys had their big appointment with the developmental specialists yesterday to assess their development at 6 months (adjusted age).  Our last appointment was 4 months ago and they recommended the boys begin seeing an occupational therapist to help them catch up developmentally.  Since then, the boys have seen a therapist once a week and have been under the watchful eyes of many other physicians and specialists in order to keep them on track.

When we headed in to the appointment, I had Carter undressed first for weigh in and he started to lose it.  Usually we have Carter go first at all appointments, as he is typically the better behaved baby, so I took it as a bad sign that he was crying hysterically.  I fed him and he seemed to calm down, but he was very wary of the doctors and nurses.  In an unprecedented move, Anderson was very calm and compliant, smiling and cooing at the doctor (perhaps trying to charm her so that she didn't notice that he still doesn't stick his thumb out?).  They took the boys through a series of tests and asked me a million questions, some of which seemed completely valid and others seemed more than a little asinine (does anyone really know how often their child grabs objects with the palm first or with their fingers first?  and how often?  and which child does this? etc., etc., etc.).  Several things seems a bit contradictory (e.g., you are pleased to see that they do have wariness towards strangers, but then are concerned that they aren't smiling and talking to you immediately?; I guess I am unclear on the appropriate reaction to strangers then....).  The boys actually did a few things that I had never seen them do before and then chose not to do some things they have been doing for months (really Anderson, you're just going to stare at something and make no move to roll over for it?). After a little more than 2 hours of tests, forms and observation, the team finally came back in with a whole stack of papers to go over.  It didn't look good.

But then they said the sweetest word, a word that doesn't typically cause me to rejoice, but a word that has never before been used to describe the boys.  When you start off 11 weeks ahead of schedule, weighing in at 1lb and 2 lbs respectively, with limbs the circumference of an adult pinkie finger, and heads the size of a baseball, many words are used to describe you, your stature, and your development, and many of these words do not have a positive connotation associated with them.  But these sweet, sweet, doctors and nurses (please ignore the disparaging remarks I made about them in the previous paragraph), described both boys as completely within the "average" realm of development for their adjusted age.  They even had a few things that were "slightly above average."  I almost cried I was so happy.  Our little guys are doing exactly what they should be doing for their adjusted age and Ty and I couldn't be happier.