Sam, actually, only says one word routinely: "Good". And, gosh, it's the cutest thing! He really emphasizes the "duh' at the end. One day he discovered these sounds and put them together, and to us, it sounded like 'Good'. We can ask him to say it, and he'll happily repeat it. It's the first word he says on command, and we love watching Adam ask him, "Sam, can you say 'Good'?" and he does. (Then Adam will say, "Mom, ask me if I can say 'Good'!) And we all cheer. We ask him to say other things -- Mamma, Dadda, Car, Ball, etc., and often we just get "Good". But I love when I tell him 'Good Morning' and he replies, "Good!"
But that's all he says. By a year and a half, children should have a minimum of 8 words. Sure, he'll stumble across a Mamma or Dadda in his verbal ramblings (and he talks a lot), but doesn't use them to refer to us specifically. This is difficult for us because Adam was advanced for his age, so it's hard to make the comparison. Sam is adept at showing us what he needs by running to the door or the swing when he wants those, bringing us the remote control for the tv, reaching up to us to be held, or leading us to the refrigerator when he wants a drink.
I say he's just the Strong Silent Type.
But to rule out any further concerns and to help jump-start his verbal skills, we are making an appointment at the Children's Hospital to have him evaluated. It sounds like it will be a longer appointment where the specialists will observe his interactions with us and others, see how he plays, and get a better idea of his capabilities (versus a quick office visit). From there we will determine the next step. My gut tells me he's just a little behind, and I am all for aiding him through routine appointments with specialists and learning the techniques to help him at home. We had been harboring a fear that his bronchiolitis last year, where his oxygen intake was diminished for days, could have caused some long-term effects, and we were reassured that that is not the case.
So, aside from his these concerns (and we really have nothing to be overly concerned about at this point), Sam is a healthy, happy boy.
Weight: 24 lbs, 5 oz (55%)
Height: 33.5" (85%)
Head: 49 cm (89%)
He's long and lean (with a big head). And, oh, how I adore him! Here are a few things that he does at 18 months:
- Crawls up and down stairs now (loves sliding down backwards fast on his belly)
- Still gets a kick out of peek-a-boo
- Loves to mirror your actions
- RUNS everywhere
- Plays by himself well, particularly rolling and spinning his cups
- Gives kisses (our favorite!) and working on hugs
- Loves being outside and will run to the door whenever it is opened. (He can actually open the lever himself, so we must keep it locked!)
- Loves to watch cars go by (when we're outside he darts to the corner to better observe)
- Loves his swing
- Throws things -- food off his tray, balls down the stairs, toys when he's done with them
- Plays the Up/Down game (standing up, sitting down)
- Still takes 2 naps on most days but sometimes only 1. Heading towards dropping that first nap.
- Not a fan of baths, but it's getting better. We had been putting him in the bigger tub and deeper water with Adam. Lately I've been bathing him in the smaller tub with shallow water alone and he does much better sitting there.
- Enjoys pushing cars around, especially setting them up on a table and pushing them back and forth
- Completely on the sippy cup now. This boy was not a fan of most of the cup spouts and we had trouble switching from the bottle. We finally found the Nuk Active Cup and that made a difference.
- Wearing 18m to 2T clothes
- Loves to sit and flip pages in a board books, which I love, too
- Smiles and laughs when he looks at family pictures. (Hey, I know those people!)
- Knows his tongue, head and sometimes mouth and belly
- And, by the way, his eyes finally changed to brown. I miss the gray.
I must confess, part of me doesn't mind that he isn't developing quickly because that way he can stay my sweet little one a little longer. But it will be so adorable to start to hear him use words, tell us things, sing little songs and not be frustrated by an inability to communicate.
I feel some guilt about not giving him the attention he deserves. With Adam I was home for all this time with him and working with him daily. With Sam, we are working full time and Sam is so content to play quietly on his own. Plus, our attention is divided with Adam, who at 4, is often more demanding of our focus. It may be time consider a daycare where he can be in an environment with more interaction and stimulation. I'm hoping the specialists can give us some activities and techniques to implement at home to get this boy talking. We are anxious to hear what he has to say!
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