Probably not a Stutter

The title is meant to be a play on words as this post is mainly about Mac's latest speech developments. 

Ever since he turned 29 months (actually probably a couple of days before) he has been stuttering or stammering from time to time. 

It didn't make it into the update because I thought it was a fluke, but it has been consistent for the past week or so. 

I was concerned until I continued reading through my "What to Expect: The Toddler Years" book. 

They address this "disfluency" issue directly explaining that its common for kids Mac's age to stutter or stammer and its mostly due to the fact that their vocabulary is still not quite caught up to how quickly their minds are coming up with ideas they want to express. 

I also read that the stammering is most often triggered by emotion. Excitement, fear, anger, etc. Mac seems to do it most when he is excited and because of that I would tell him to slow down and tell me what he was trying to tell me. 

I'm glad I read this part of his update though because apparently you aren't supposed to tell them to slow down. In fact you aren't supposed to acknowledge it at all. You're suppose to listen closely and patiently and let them formulate the words at their own pace.

There is a distinct difference between a true stutter and this temporary disfluency (impairment of the ability to produce smooth, fluent speech). The difference being the child's body language. With a true stutter the child's body usually becomes very tense as they try to get their words out. Also, the repetitions are longer (with the disfluency they might repeat 4-5 times, usually not more). Lastly, I read that children with stutters are usually hesitant to speak at all. This is not my child!

In summary, I think he's going through a normal childhood adjustment. 

And on a little less technical note, he has worked the word 'probably' into his vocabulary. He is saying it all the time. Here are some funny examples:

#1

Mac: Mama, is that auntie's car?

Me: yes, son. That's auntie's car. (It actually was)

Mac: Uh, probably that's not auntie's car, Mama.

#2

Mac: Where's my daddy?

Me: Daddy is sleeping in the room son.

Mac: No. He's probably working. 

#3

Mac: Mama, I'm going to have a cupcake?

Me: Not today son. You had one yesterday. You don't get to have cupcakes everyday. 

Mac: Probably its good for me, Mama!

Probably it's not, but he sure tried and he didn't stammer once over that sentence. Haha

Just for good measure, here's a pic of my other cutie:

I'm fairly certain he has eczema. Poor baby. Gets it from his mama. *sad* His 6 month update should be up on Friday!