Deep Breath

I took Milly to her 18-month checkup last week. She's growing like a weed and is getting more adorable every day. We've had a rash of ear infections over the last few months and it's left a good bit of fluid in her ears. We've been seeing an ENT to see if she needs tubes and it's been established that she can't hear us very well. While speaking with the pediatrician and trying to wrestle Milly into giving up the tongue depressor she kept using to gag herself, we turned to her vocabulary.

I realized that Milly doesn't speak. She says "Dadadada" and she smiles. That's it.

The pediatrician asked me to call ECI. We need to get on this as soon as possible to find out the cause.

• Is she imitating her siblings?
• Is it because she can't hear us?
• Do we have another spectrum kid?

So I took a deep breath. I prayed. I cried. Then I picked up the phone and called ECI and her ENT. We will get to the bottom of this.