Giggles rolled over by herself yesterday.  Twice.  All by herself.  Not the kind of “all by herself” where I position her arm and give her a push either.  Really all by herself. 

I’m very excited.  Its a small thing, but its really the first big developmental checkpoint. 

I am very aware of developmental issues.  I tell myself not to be so worried.  But its like the 800 lb gorilla in the room.  The odd thing is that Pookie was 100% on track with ALL developmental goals other than language, until he was 3 years old.  He did not fit the autism mold back then.  He made eye contact.  He didn’t stim.  Even now, he still hits all the milestones.  He’s 5.  He catches a ball, swings a bat, walks up the stairs one foot per stair, cuts with a knife, brushes his teeth, strings beads on a shoelace, dresses himself, uses a proper pencil grip, zips his coat, does puzzles, follows multistep directions, has impulse control, shows affection, makes eye contact, etc.  He just has a few “extra” things that he should not….he flips his hands occasionally, he is echolalic, his conversations are one sided, he gets obsessive about certain things. 

So, if Pookie met all his developmental milestones until age 3 and is still developing at great strides, why do I worry about Giggles? 

I worry about Giggles because that’s what parents do.  I don’t think I would worry any less if she did not have an autistic sibling.  Its a weird thing, and in the back of my head, I am completely aware of the fact that it is crazy.  But, that’s what I do.  That’s what we all do.