The importance of play.....

It's the morning of the dreaded Developmental Test and so far the biggest test is getting up and out the house in time to beat the traffic and make it there on time. That in itself is a mammoth achievement. LBM is not in the best of moods due to this mild cold that seems to be lingering.

Luckily they don't keep us waiting too long. The doctor is lovely and her room is filled with toys. Sadly, LBM is in his own little world and he insists on playing with his buggy. Pushing it round and round in circles is his mission of the moment. He refuses to partake in any of the tasks she asks him to. I sense her frustration as she asks me to keep him on my lap and she tries once again to engage him in stacking some blocks. He is just not interested. We eventually get him to do a few things and she frantically starts making notes while he toddles back to his buggy pushing. She then digs out a picture book and asks him to identify objects. He gets 90% of them wrong. This is frustrating as I know he knows what a dog is but alas he pointed to the cat. I am hoping it has something to do with her particularly foreign accent rather than his deliberate intention. She tries to engage him in pretend play and asks him to pour her a cup of tea. He tries to eat the tea-pot. I feel her disgruntlement. But he's still relatively happy and I guess tolerating her until she asks if we can undress him and weigh and measure him. This, my friends is where it all goes a little bit Pete Tong. Although I can honestly say he is the most gorgeous little boy ever, he is I'm afraid, a very 'ugly crier.' She begins to worry and I tell her not to, while I sing a zillion verses to some random song and he eventually calms down. That is, until she re-appears and makes him lie down on that measuring mat. And so it all kicks off again. We are 1 hour in and she decides to call it a wrap. I think she's had enough of him already. She begins to chart his progress in his red book and I sense her uneasiness as she keeps double checking. Once again he has dropped a centile on the height front. They are worried about this and it needs monitoring. This together with his lack of ability to pretend play and the constant need for something in his mouth concerns her and she wants to re-test in four months. Sigh...more tests.

And as if we don't have enough to worry about, the distinct lack of cake in our house is becoming serious. It's just not possible to bake with him about. And I just can't seem to muster up the energy while he naps. This time is spent cooking our suppers and baking is the last thing I feel like. Worrying? Tell me about it! There is of course one positive spin on this. I've lost all my IVF weight. Result.