Comparison Is the Thief of Contentment

“Gracie gets super excited when her big brother comes into the room and calls out ‘bubba!’ Plus she says ‘doggy’ and ‘book’ and ‘ball’ and ‘milk.’ She’s just so bright and never stops chattering!”

My Facebook friend was enthusing about her 9-month-old.

My 15-month-old son was currently stuck on “dada” for everything. Even “mama,” which had shown up for a while, had dropped out of the rotation.

I gritted my teeth and scrolled down past another friend’s professional family photoshoot in a...