The new "New Moms" thread!

[kellyf2626]

Alexander is not talking as much as I think he should be. He says Mama consistantly and makes a lot of babbling now. For a long time he was just moaning and grunting instead of trying to say words. We can't get him to say Dada or anything else. I am starting to get a little worried. We have his 15 months appointment either in early July or late July, I can't remember! IF he's not talking more then I will mention it. He is very advanced physically rather than vocally so maybe it's just going to take him a little longer.

What do you think a 14 month old should be saying?

Well, I am a speech-language pathologist and deal with this everyday!! The general rule is that around 12 months, a child should have a handful of single words, and that by 24 months, they should be putting two words together. Now, obviously there is a broad range of "normal". I generally get concerned if by 15 months a child doesn't have any single words. By 15 months (if I am eval'ing the child) I like to see at least mamma and/or dadda and maybe a couple of other consistent words. I don't think I would be overly concerend at this point, as children literally can pick up new words in a matter of days. But, something to watch....

I actually *do not* like how most ped's handle speech-language issues. Many, if not all, err on the side of "wait and see", which is the WORST thing to do in the case of speech delays. Most early intervention services are free or cost a minimal amount, and work BEST when used early. I would much rather work with a young child <2 years old, then eval a 2+ year old and the mother say to me "we kinda knew something was wrong, but our ped said to wait and see". Ugggg....so frustrating. Anywho....not to say your little guy needs an eval, but go with your GUT....mom's know best!!!!! Your ped see's him for like 15 min every 3 months!! They don't have the time to really observe your little guy's speech like you do!!

Good luck! Feel free to pm me with any questions!!

 

[DMickey28]

Well, I am a speech-language pathologist and deal with this everyday!! The general rule is that around 12 months, a child should have a handful of single words, and that by 24 months, they should be putting two words together. Now, obviously there is a broad range of "normal". I generally get concerned if by 15 months a child doesn't have any single words. By 15 months (if I am eval'ing the child) I like to see at least mamma and/or dadda and maybe a couple of other consistent words. I don't think I would be overly concerend at this point, as children literally can pick up new words in a matter of days. But, something to watch....

I actually *do not* like how most ped's handle speech-language issues. Many, if not all, err on the side of "wait and see", which is the WORST thing to do in the case of speech delays. Most early intervention services are free or cost a minimal amount, and work BEST when used early. I would much rather work with a young child <2 years old, then eval a 2+ year old and the mother say to me "we kinda knew something was wrong, but our ped said to wait and see". Ugggg....so frustrating. Anywho....not to say your little guy needs an eval, but go with your GUT....mom's know best!!!!! Your ped see's him for like 15 min every 3 months!! They don't have the time to really observe your little guy's speech like you do!!

Good luck! Feel free to pm me with any questions!!

Thanks. How would I go about getting an evaulation? I am in Florida. I think that if he doesn't start with at least one or two more words consistantly in the next month I will look in to something just for my own peace of mind. I have noticed in that last week he has stopped moaning and groaning as much for communication and will babble more ... maybe he is saying more things like "At" for that or cat and I am just missing it.

 

[kellyf2626]

Thanks. How would I go about getting an evaulation? I am in Florida. I think that if he doesn't start with at least one or two more words consistantly in the next month I will look in to something just for my own peace of mind. I have noticed in that last week he has stopped moaning and groaning as much for communication and will babble more ... maybe he is saying more things like "At" for that or cat and I am just missing it.

Ya - that sounds like a good plan. At least after the eval you would have peace of mind either way, YKWIM? Hmmmm....who to contact....I would start by asking/telling your ped that you would like an Early Intervention evaluation. They can point you in the right direction. Up here in New Hampshire, Easter Seals does all the 0-3 year evals. Be specific about your concerns and make sure an actual CERTIFIED speech-language pathologist does the eval, not an "educator". The speech-language pathologist should have "CCC" after his/her name (certificate of clinical competance) - and if she doesn't - tell them you want the eval done by someone certified by ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) with their C's. By law, they have to provide one to you. Oh - and make sure they do a hearing eval/screen. Many times that is the issue - and if not detected, all the speech-therapy in the world won't help!!!

Oh - and things to watch for in his speech. See if he consistently calls an object something. For example, Brady consistently calls a cup a "bap". Whenever he sees it, he says "bap" and that is the ONLY time he says "bap". So, that is a word. So, it doesn't necessarily have to be an English "word" to count. Also, may kids have what are called phonological processes which may inhibit how you hear a word. For example, "dog" is often hard at first, and kids may simply said "gog" or "dod" - they keep the same consonant for the whole word. Other kids drop/add syllables to words, or simplifiy a longer/harder word to make it easier to say.

Hope that helps!!

 

[TiggerStac]

Awww ... How old is Brady again? My DS is going to be 14 months this week and I can't get him to stop squeezing the juice boxes! He gets how to drink out of a straw and will as long as I hold the juice otherwise it goes everywhere.

Brady is 16 months. He isn't saying too many words, yet either. He says a few...but Uncle was new and very exciting for my brother. We don't get to see him that often, maybe every other or every 3 months. But he knows who he is and isn't scared of him (like he is w/strangers) we think he sees me in him...we look a like, except he's got a scruffy face.

I was thinking the same thing the other day about him not saying many words, but then I remembered thinking that about other DS, as well. We have the basics, momma, dadda, Ta Ta (that's what he calls Tyler, who we say Ty Ty) Uncle, Hi, Bye, cracker ( sounds like he is saying Cucka) And of course, his favorite word No.

 

[TiggerStac]

This cracked me up because I think kids are born with a gene for predisposition to Elmo and Cookie Monster!! I swear she knew who Elmo was before we ever even watched the show.

Vaylie loves her "Melmo." She's also big on "Nella" (Cinderella). She has a stuffed Cinderella that's like 3 ft tall from the Disney store, and she'll pick her up and hug her and say, "Awwwww, Nella" and pat Cinderella on the head. It is so cute. She does the same thing with Elmo- "Awwwww, Melmo."

Oh, that's a word I forgot that he says, Elmo, that was one of his first. Yes...I think there must be a commercials in the womb, showing Kids what would drive mommy and daddy crazy.

Vaylie loves to hug them, Brady is all boy, he wrestles with them. Last night I look over and he's rolling around on the floor tackling his elmo (one of his many)

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Mo's milestone is his scoot to crawl....he hasn't quite gotten the crawl down, but he's SO close.

And as far as sippy cups, I haven't even begun to introduce anything like that to him yet.

And for the BPA stuff, hubby and I use drop ins so I'm not too concerned.

And thanks EVERYONE for your kind words about Mo and hubby and my hormones being out of control. I'm a bit better, but it comes and goes still.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Do I sound like a self-help book yet?

You're the BEST! Thank you for your words of wisdom!

 

[Villain-lover]

Mo's milestone is his scoot to crawl....he hasn't quite gotten the crawl down, but he's SO close.

And as far as sippy cups, I haven't even begun to introduce anything like that to him yet.

And for the BPA stuff, hubby and I use drop ins so I'm not too concerned.

And thanks EVERYONE for your kind words about Mo and hubby and my hormones being out of control. I'm a bit better, but it comes and goes still.

So I guess Mo is doing the same thing as Sam...get on all fours..rock..throw self foreward onto head..repeat....

 

[Tiggerlover91]

So I guess Mo is doing the same thing as Sam...get on all fours..rock..throw self foreward onto head..repeat....

 

[Pamlur]

Fifty-five years ago, my 4-year-old brother asked our mother a very, VERY embarrassing question about a little boy in his Sunday School class. In front of the little boy and his mother. My mortified mother was thrilled to realize that only she could understand what her 4-year-old was asking her.

My son spoke single words, with a few doubles mixed in, until he was three. At that point, he opened his mouth and delivered an oracle that was several paragraphs long. He hasn't shut up since, he will talk to inanimate objects if there aren't any animate ones around. During his childhood, he talked in his sleep, I haven't asked his wife lately (he's 39, btw).

Usually, when they decide that they have something they really need to say, it will get said.

 

[7beasley]

Morning moms!

Hope everyone had a good weekend. We did -- Izzy now sleeps on her tummy - that is a new move for her -- everytime I put her in her crib this weekend - nap or bed - she rolled onto her tummy! So cute. Also -- since so many of you liked the Nuby sippy cups - I bought one for her this weekend and success - she is actually drinking from it. Thanks for the tips.

Have a great day!

-Nicole

QUESTION OF THE DAY What are your sleep routines/rituals at night with your little one?

 

[kellyf2626]

Morning moms!

Hope everyone had a good weekend. We did -- Izzy now sleeps on her tummy - that is a new move for her -- everytime I put her in her crib this weekend - nap or bed - she rolled onto her tummy! So cute. Also -- since so many of you liked the Nuby sippy cups - I bought one for her this weekend and success - she is actually drinking from it. Thanks for the tips.

Have a great day!

-Nicole

QUESTION OF THE DAY What are your sleep routines/rituals at night with your little one?

Yay Nicole! That's great that you had success with Izzy with the Nuby sippy cups.

Sleep routines....hmmmm....our entire evening routine kinda goes like this:

5:15ish - dinner
6:15ish - bath
7:00ish - bottle
7:15 - bedtime

We used to have this really cute routine that I would sit and read him a book in the rocking chair in his room, and then put him down. Well....he wants no part of that now. He just wants to be on the go, even right before bed - so getting him to sit nicely in my lap while I read was turning into a circus show! It was actually getting him more hyped-up rather than relax him for bed. So, now we read at other times during the day. When I go to put him down, I literally lay out his sleep-sack, give him kisses, put him down, and leave. He is usually asleep within 5 min. It's the same for his 2 naps too.

 

[Villain-lover]

Nicole, isn't it cute when they sleep on their tummy! Sam & Zoe both have been tummy sleepers since they got good at rolling and sleeping through the night.

As far as bedtime routine, last bottle is between 830-9. When we can drop from 5 to 4 bottles a day (and pick up a third meal) our bedtime will be between 8-830. We do bath around 815 about every other night, and we feede in the living room with the lights out. We do a book or two before baths if babies are in the mood. Then it is into the cribs. Most times they are already asleep. but if not they generally fall asleep really quickly. They have done really well with not a lot of drama at bedtime. We started feedign them in the living room because we were having to keep them upright for a little bit after they ate due to some reflux. It has worked well for us!

 

[Jen_in_NH]

When do kids start dropping from 2 naps to 1? Christopher just started taking 1 nap later in the morning over the past few weeks. Sometimes he'll take a catnap in the afternoon, but usually, he just goes to bed a bit earlier.

Kelly - that's funny about reading before bed. Christopher has no patience with it. He's like "OK, you fed me, I'm in these PJs, just let me sleep!"

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Our bedtime and naptime routines are fairly similar:

1. Change his diaper (& put on jammies at bedtime)
2. Nurse/bottle
3. Sing a quiet song
4. Say a prayer
5. Put him into his bed

For bedtime, we read a story after he eats and before we sing the song. Sometimes if he's really zonked, he falls asleep while he's eating. We're really trying to get him to stay awake until he's done eating, but we're having a hard time with that.

Dh told me this week that he's sad that I get most of the snuggle time with Owen because I nurse him before he goes to sleep, and that's when Owen is more cuddly and less wiggly. So I've started pumping more so DH can sometimes give Owen a bottle for bedtime instead of my nursing him all the time, and even when I nurse Owen I now try to pass him over to DH for stories, songs, and prayer time. I figure I get the boy for nap snuggles, so DH can have him for bedtime cuddles. It's so cute to see DH and Owen together, it just makes me melt!

 

[7beasley]

We have a very quick sleep routine.

Around 6pm/630 Izzy eats her dinner - she then sits in the highchair and eats cheerios while we eat dinner. Then we play/read for a bit. Around 730pm she gets her diaper changed and put in her jammies. Around 745pm she gets her last bottle (sometimes she falls asleep while eating this). When the bottle is done - she gets put in her sleep sack in the crib - binkie in her mouth, mobile on, I/DH rub her head and her tummy and tell her to have a nice sleepy and that we love her and then we slip out of the room - shut the door - and she usually falls right asleep.

I miss her when she is sleeping. I love to watch her sleep!

-Nicole

 

[7beasley]

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Give us the stats on your little one....name, age, weight, height, what size clothes are they wearing...?

 

[kellyf2626]

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Give us the stats on your little one....name, age, weight, height, what size clothes are they wearing...?

Name: Brady Joseph

Age: 10 months, 2 weeks

Weight: ~22 lbs

Height: ~30 in

Clothes: 24 months

Favorite food: chicken nuggets and french fries

Favorite toy: Little People School Bus

 

[jennyL]

Name: Noah John

Age: 4 months 3 weeks

Weight: at his last appointment 16 lbs 9 oz

Height: 26.75"

He's only in the 75% now for height, weight and hc. woohoo down from 95% for height and weight at birth.

clothes: 6-9 or 6-12 months depending on the brand. He has a couple 3-6 that are ok but they are quickly getting too small.

Not any favorite foods yet as he's still on formula only.

He has a new favorite toy at home its this turtle that sings this counting song. Very annoying but he loves it. LOL

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Give us the stats on your little one....name, age, weight, height, what size clothes are they wearing...?

Name: Owen Rhys
Age: 6m, 1w
Weight: 15lb 3.5oz
Height: 27in
Clothes: 6m (and some 3m, and some 9m...really wish baby clothes sizes were more standardized)
Favorite foods: garlic lentils, avacado, and mango
Favorite toys: a set of colored plastic measuring cups and Beatrice (one of the cats)
Favorite book: Global Babies