Tween a rock and a hard place

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

When my oldest daughter, Eva, turned 9 last May, I took her to the pediatrician for her annual birthday check-up. As Dr. Brown was finishing the exam, she was asking me some routine developmental questions about Eva's school performance and sleeping habits. Then, she hit me with one I wasn't expecting. "When did you start your periods?" "Me? Oh, um, uh ... the summer before seventh grade. So I was ... 12?" She then told me that puberty often begins two years before periods start, so I should be looking for signs in Eva soon. Was the room getting smaller? Was it getting warm in here? Didn't I just lay down my 2-week-old baby Eva on that examining table over there and then worry I would look like an amateur because she pooped all over it when I took her diaper off? We talked about potty-training and got kindergarten shots in here -- how had we come to this so quickly?

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