A baby’s milestones are the obsession of pretty much every new parent.

It makes perfect sense: you have put all this effort into bringing a tiny human into the world, and now you want to see them learn to do all of those things that most humans can do. The sleepless nights and spit up can all seem worth it when a kid finally learns how to use their legs, or their babble starts to turn into actual words. It can be one of the most euphoric parts of parenting.

The flipside to this is the anxiety that is felt when a baby doesn’t seem to be learning things on the expected timeline. It can leave people feeling like they have already failed in their job as parents, even if it isn’t their fault. At least it makes every bit of progress extra special, although that might not happen in the way that they first envisioned.