Dear Oliver,
You've been out twice as long as you were in! 18 months really sounds a lot more toddler-y than baby.
Let's see.
You're not a big talker, still, but you are getting better and better at communicating. You don't say "no" (which I suppose I should be glad of), but you definitely shake your head when you don't want something. You point a lot, both when you're interested in something (the bird flying by, the tree, the neighbor) and when you want something in particular. You wave hello and goodbye, usually with a huge smile on your face. You sign more correctly and often, all done, clean up (sometimes), milk, eat, again, and most recently, please. You have a sign for water, or maybe thirsty, which is one finger pointing into your mouth.
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| Not a smile to be had that day... |
You've also started throwing your hands up in... bewilderment? It's adorable. For example, we were walking Chloe, and you were holding her leash. She pulled it out of your hands. You stopped where you were, threw your hands out, palms up, and your jaw dropped. You just stared at her, and then at us, as if you couldn't believe what had happened.
Words. I'm going to admit right now that I've talked to your pediatrician about this, because you really don't say a lot. You can't blame me for being (a little bit) worried. We read to you every night, we name things around us, we talk to you, we ask you to repeat what we say (you don't). I've been told "normal" for 18 months is between 5 and 50 words, which is a pretty big spread. If you don't gain words over the next few months, that's when we'll look into more. But until then, this is what you say:
- Waaah-ter, which only sometimes has the ter part, and is always accompanied by that finger pointing into your mouth.
- Bah, ball.
- Dada, Dad
- Mama, Mom
- Nana, Banana. You would eat three bananas a day if we'd let you. I would venture to say that they are your favorite food, even.
- Uh-oh, ALL THE TIME. "Uh oh," I threw food on the floor. "Uh oh," the ball went over there. "Uh oh," that paper didn't need to be on the table. And so on.
- Woof, Dog. And you click your tongue for Cat.
- Ba, Bird.
- Buh-ball, Bubbles. A favorite game.
- Ah-da! All done! Said along with the sign.
- Whoa and Wow! Appropriately.
Back to walking Chloe. It's your New Favorite Thing. You want to carry the leash all the time. And you know what? She's good with you. She doesn't pull (that one time aside), and if we remind her to slow down, she sticks with you. I think that will be your first chore.
You're loving your new daycare. Your teachers tell me how far you've come over these past two months. You loooove art! They told us that you're now the first one to the table and the last one to leave. You love the sensory table, you love playing outside, and you love eating. Pretty much, you love everything you do at school.
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| 1.5 going on 16 |
The one little issue we're dealing with is hitting. When things don't go your way, you hit the closest thing. Maybe it's the wall or the floor or a chair, or maybe it's me, or the dog or cat, or another toddler. We're working on it. We're working on gentle hands and no hitting and redirecting your attention.
SLEEP. I know my bad habits have become your bad habits. I nursed you to sleep for fourteen months, and then for three more I laid in the Big Bed with you and let you play with my hair until you nodded off. And you really don't sleep through the night. You wake up usually once, sometimes more. What would I do? I'd put you back in the Big Bed and sleep the rest of the night in there with you. I love your snuggles! And it was easy to get back to sleep that way, for both of us. But it wasn't doing either of us any favors.
A few weeks ago, we cracked. We finally did some sleep training. The first night, you cried for 35 minutes with us checking in on you every five. The second night, you cried for three minutes, and when I checked in on you at five, you lifted your head, I said "Goodnight," and you laid back down. The third night, you whimpered for about ten seconds, and that was that.
Now, you still have been waking up at least once, but all it takes is for one of us to go in and ask you to lay back down, and you do. A little back rubbing and you're asleep. By our next update, I hope to report that even that doesn't happen anymore. Fingers crossed!
You are a Boy with Bumps and Bruises. You took a couple trips while holding something in your hands, which you did not drop, and thus face-planted. Right into the street during AIDS Walk (you came away with some nice road rash on your forehead), and into the sidewalk a few days later. You've had skinned knees, and once you clotheslined yourself on Chloe's leash while you were playing with her and got a nice, thin rope burn across your neck.
You are a joy and a snuggle bug. You run full-speed into my arms for a big hug. You play with my hair when you're tired or sad. You make hilarious faces. You figure things out. You climb. You stack things. You're an awesome kid.
Happy 18 months (and 11 days).
Love,
Mom
