Today you are 19 months old! I never forgot to do your 18 month update, but I have been having a hard time keeping up with everything lately, including this blog and your update. Sadly I’ve not been as good at keeping notes as I once was, so I have to do this all based on memory. Knowing how hard that would be, I kept putting off the update until I could really sit down and focus, but that rarely happens anymore so I’m just going to go for it before I get behind on two updates!
Since your last update (17 months) you’ve had your 18 month well-check. It was actually on your 18 month birthday. That’s the second time I’ve scheduled your well-check on your “month birthday” and I feel really bad about that. I’m sure it doesn’t make any difference to you when you have the well-check because never fun to get the shots regardless of what day it is, but I still feel bad. I’ll try never to do that again (for my own sake).
At this appointment you weighed 25 lb 9 oz (67.22%). I may have misstated your percentiles in the past, but according to your medical record your weight has consistently been in the mid-60th percentile range for your last three doctor visits (not necessarily all well-checks).
You are 34” or 2’10” tall (92.09%). You’ve shot up on height because you went from the 74th to 94th percentile in two visits and are now still hovering in the 90s for height! Thank goodness you don’t seem to be following in my height-challenged footsteps!
Dr. C was pleased with your growth pattern and had no suggestions for me. I even asked if we should start you on a daily vitamin (because you sometimes refuse to eat), but he said there really was no need and he has no cause for concern about your nutrition since your growth is steady.
Your eating habits are a little funny lately. You seem to want to graze more than eat, so this weekend I started to put out plates of fruit and other snacks for you to nibble on as you please, but we still sit down for regular meal times as well.
We are still working on potty training, but taking a very relaxed approach. Usually I just put you on the potty at set times each day (mainly before your bath) and talk to you about making pees and poops. Dr. C asked if working on it and I told him we are really easing into it, but that we had introduced you to the toilet. He said that was perfectly fine, especially if you’re showing interest, but he reminded me that some kids are ready at 18 months, other kids are not ready until they’re 4! I can’t even imagine…
With all the talk about pees and poops you have picked up on what those words mean. Sometime last week you started to be able to tell me whether you’ve peed or pooped. Either by answering me if I ask you directly, “Son, do you have pee in your diaper?” or by tugging on your diaper or lifting your shirt, pointing to your diaper and saying “poo”.
I’ve started asking you to bring me a clean diaper and you can do that now too. I’m hoping all this awareness about pees and poops will help you transition out of diapers with ease.
Daddy and I have started teaching you how to take your clothes off. You know what your shoes are, but don’t yet know the names of all the other garment pieces, so this is our attempt to teach them to you. The first time you tried to take your pants off was hilarious. You got them down to your ankles and couldn’t figure out where to go from there, so you just walked around with your pants at your feet. So funny!
We have not taught you how to take off your diaper. The last thing I want is you ripping off a poop filled diaper, that would not be so fun!
Your temper is starting to explode, mostly it happens when you want Daddy and he just can’t be with you for whatever reason. Like when he’s working on the computer or in general doing something that you can’t or shouldn’t be involved in. You get so mad and act hysterical. It’s very frustrating, but I know that you’re still learning to understand and express your feelings, so despite how frazzled I may get sometimes I always try to remind myself that those are the moments in which you need me most. Whether you’re upset because you want to be with Daddy or whatever the case may be.
You have also developed a whining voice. Some days I will feel myself becoming very impatient because I have very low tolerance for whining. Again, this is an instance where I know it’s my responsibility to help you make yourself clear, but as with everything it’s taking us both time to get there. Daddy is much better at dealing with you when you’re like that and he encourages me to just try and listen to what you’re trying to say and help resolve the issue. Sometimes the item you’re whining for is something that you know is off limits, and even after I’ve taken the time to stop and listen to you I still end up with a meltdown because you truly cannot have what it is you’re asking for. It’s all a part of the toddler stage though, so we’re working through it.
Nap times and bedtime became a bit of a challenge in the last couple of months, but it has helped that you’ve started to grow attached to one of your stuffed animals again.
When you were really young (4 months?) you showed a fondness for your stuffed puppy, Skip. That quickly faded despite how much I tried to encourage it. You also were really fond of your monkey, George-y, but that also dissipated. Lately, however, you are becoming very attached to George-y again and also love snuggling with a blanket. When I attempt to rock you at night you’ll reach out toward your bed and cry “Mony” or “peese” so that I will give you your monkey and cover you with a blanket. You say please because that is just what you say when you want something in general, but don’t know the word for it. You’ll point and say please.
One of your favorite words of the moment is “wa-wer” or water. You always want to play with water, whether it be from the water hose outside or the kitchen/bathroom faucet you are crazy for water. You love to pull up the step ladder and play in the sink. If we’d let you, I bet you’d go at it for hours.
You also love to help me cook. I will have you help me get dinner ready. You’ll walk over to the utensil drawer, grab a spoon or spatula or whatever it may be on any given day and you’ll ask for “more” which is another filler word you use when you want something you don’t know the word for yet.
One night I didn’t go straight to cooking, instead I sat and talked to grandma for a little bit. The next thing we know we hear you get into the drawer and we all stop to look in the direction of the kitchen. Shortly after you came walking out holding a serving spoon and you came up to me, tugged on my shirt and said “More?” You must have been telling me it was time to cook!
Lately, you’ve been wanting to be held a lot. I think Daddy and I both felt like someone was doing something to encourage this, but from a weekly email update I got, I guess this is a normal phase for your age. We usually try to get you to walk by holding our hands. Sometimes it works sometime sit doesn’t and we have to just put our foot down. Especially me, I can’t hold you for long stretches of time because my pelvis is very achey lately and holding you seems to aggravate it more since you’re so much bigger now. It makes me sad, but I know it’s really something we should not encourage anyway. Unless of course we’re out and about or just doing something where it’s safer for you to be held or in a stroller, in which case we do take turns carrying you or use the stroller.
We turned your crib into a toddler bed a while ago, but you hadn’t really used it much. Lately you’ve been using it more often and even take most of your naps in it again. That’s been sort of nice, although it’s comforting to snuggle you at night too.
Your vocabulary is exploding and you’re definitely piecing together simple two word sentences. Some new words you’re saying are: moon, turkey, baby, monkey, pumpkin "mun-yen", ‘mon (come on and is usually accompanied by you tugging at a person to “come on”), hi (you have been waiving for a long time and saying bye weather you’re waiving hello or goodbye, but recently you’ve added “hi” when waiving hello), you make a hard “T” sound for “thank you”, you also now say done, water, nod and say “mm –hm.” I’m sure there are plenty of others, but I can’t seem to remember them off the top of my head.
(This morning at 19 months I got you to say “gobble” for the sound a turkey makes.)
Some things I have been particularly impressed by these past several weeks are:
You recognize what a mom and dad are and not necessarily just who me and Daddy are. What I mean by that is you made the inference that a woman holding a baby (in one of your books) was a mom. When I pointed to the baby and asked what it was you said “Baby” when I pointed to the woman (out of curiosity what you’d say) you said “ma!” same thing with a man and a baby. At the end of that particular book there was a man holding a baby and you made the connection that he was a dad and pointed to him and said “Da!” It was really cute and I was thoroughly impressed.
In the bath tub, you will take the wash cloth and wash my arms then use your cup to rinse the soap off. You’ll even do it to yourself from time to time. It’s really amazing to see you mimic these acts and causes me to realize that the day will soon come that you don’t need me to wash you up anymore. As sad as it makes me when I think of all the things you won’t need me to do for you one day, I’m happy that Daddy and I are raising a capable little man.
You also know all of the parts of your face. You give us a hard time with the mouth as you get fixated on your nose most of the time, but you do know where it is, and you know where your belly is too. You lift your shirt and say “bell!”
One day out of necessity, I handed you a napkin from the front seat and asked you to clean your face with it. You had dribbled water everywhere and needed your face wiped, but obviously I couldn’t get to it. I wasn’t sure you’d know what to do, but sure enough you took the napkin and wiped your face then handed the napkin back. I was shocked!
I don’t know if you can tell from these updates, but I am totally in love and completely amazed by you. Everyday it’s harder and harder to leave you because so much happens while I’m away, but as much as I regret missing out on things with you, I’m so happy that you’re thriving and that you’re turning out to be such a pleasant and loving little guy.
It’s been a wonderfully enjoyable 19 months of being your mommy and I look forward to so much more!
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