Saturday, March 8, 2008

Baby Talk

During The Babe’s 15 month checkup last week Doc asked the usual questions. When she got to the question about how many words he had, I paused and said “oh, about six”. The look on her face indicated that was not enough. I quickly reassessed my boy’s development and realized that my boy is a little chatter box. What is it about second born or subsequent children that get the shaft when it comes to recognizing milestones? Has the newness worn off or am I too busy keeping the two from smothering each other with love? Either way, this post is an effort to document that my second born is just as brilliant as my first. I am sure I left out some words but this really isn’t about The Babe, it is about making me feel better for neglecting my Babe’s milestones! Babe I am so proud of you! You are an amazing guy and I love watching you grown and learn. Just in case our favorite Doc checks on us via the site here is a list of The Babe’s words:

A
All Done
Adam
Apple

B
Brother
Ball
Boo

C
Cat
Car
Cow
Cracker

D
Daddy
Down
Drink

E

F

G
Gannon

H
Hi

I

J
Juice

K

L

M
Mama
Matt

N
Nana
Night Night

O
Out

P
Puppy

Q

R

S

T

U
Up

V

W
Whiskey Ok not really, just wanted to see how long you stuck around.

X

Y

Z

The Babe is great with non verbal communication as well. Although Little Man was a master of sign language, The Babe uses the sign for More and I Love You. Sign language with Little Man was a life saver! It was so easy to communicate and understand him early on. It was funny to watch people while we were out, especially those of our parents and grandparents generation. They would be amazed with his sign language and curious about why he does it when he does not have a hearing problem. We would explain to them why and they were even more bewildered. There are critics of the practice that say the use of sign language will delay speech development. In our experience it only enhanced it. He will be three in June and speaks more clearly and with more conceptual understanding than some five year olds I know. For parents interested in signing with their baby, there are lots of resources available.
Check out this site for general info and items to purchase and check out this one for some signs to practice. For us, the key was patience; we started with one word or phrase and work it until it is mastered. Good Luck!

* The image is of Little Man at about one month. Look at all that hair! He has looked like a little man since he came unwrapped.

7 comments:

Nissa said...

He sounds like a little genius to me! Melodie doesn't say some of those words yet & she's 2! Yet, Doctor says she's not delayed at all.

Don't feel badly, I didn't keep up with milestones from either child. I always think 'yeah, I'll write that down later' or 'Oh, I'll remember that one!'..

Thanks for putting me on your blogroll! I added you to mine, as well! :)

Unknown said...

It's so cool that you're keeping track of the words like that. If my doctors were to ask how many words my girls were saying, I'd probably reply, "Ummm...dunno...lots?"

Caroline C. Bingham said...

My boy that's almost 2 doesn't talk much. Then again, being the 3rd child, there's not really the need... the older ones do plenty of talking for him. And he most definitely gets his point across.

Anyways, I know what you mean ;)

carrie said...

That's a heck of a lot of words! Yay for your little guy . . . and don't feel bad about the documentation, I still don't have my daughter's baby book done and she's four - and consequently, my 3rd baby, so you know . . .

Misty said...

He is darling.... so tiny.....

My second was a bit behind the word game, compared to my first when she was his age...

Kids take things in stride and at their own pace.....

Can't say it enough... darling little baby he was!

Melissa said...

ha ah cute baby. Man, my baby is 5 months and still doesn't have that much hair!

Anonymous said...

Um.. I am totally guilty of not looking up every milestone with my second.. In fact, I am enjoying the silence right now.. my first one talks enough for five kids..LOL