At my son’s 12-month check-up, the doctor said that by 15 months, he should have a vocabulary of five words, and mama and dada don’t count … ouch.

Fast-forward three months later and the boy has expanded his word bank to include book, dog, cat, and of course, his word for my breasts, booba (good luck weaning him now, I know.)

While I know he is fine, like any new mom, I tend to compare him with other children and feel a twinge of jealousy if they are already stringing together full sentences and my kid still sounds like Chewbacca. But, then I am reminded of my mother who told me not to be in a rush for him to speak as once he can talk he can talk back.

Those words also remind me to not be in such a hurry for my son to reach all those milestones new parents spend so much time obsessing over. He will get there when he gets there, and it is nobody’s business.

Of course, if I need a good retort for anyone wondering why my son isn’t talking, I just tell them he is waiting for something good to say.