It's not forever

Robert recently developed a habit: he makes a V with his fingers (like scissors) and runs them across his nose with one finger on the bridge of his nose and one finger across his nostrils. He alternates left and right hands in a few quick swipes. He does it without noticing. He does it often throughout the day...like he just needs something more for his hands to do.

Before developing this quirk, there was a period of time when he would shift his hips in a weird way and grab his bum. I thought he had a wiping problem, but he later informed me that he didn't like how his bum cheeks stuck together. He was trying to separate them.

Before that, it was a snorking sound with his nose.

And the first one I ever remember was this one:

Why do I share this with you? Because I fretted over each quirk as it developed. I completely forgot about the earlier quirks as soon as they disappeared, and suddenly feared that Robert would be stretching his face or separating his bum cheeks for the rest of his life. The truth is, so far, the quirks have come one at a time and only persisted for a short time. Is it something he'll outgrow? It is autism? I have my secret theories, but I don't allow myself to explore them too far because guess what? It's (probably) not forever. This is something I must choose to chill about. I'm just recording it on the blog so I remember better :) And to give y'all a chance to contribute your thoughts.