18 Months: My Strong-Willed Child

Kaiden is halfway between one and two, and it's so hard to believe! Well, I mean, it's so hard to believe all that time has passed, but not hard to believe he is nearing those terrible twos. I'm certain he is already in them.

My baby is very strong-willed, and sometimes that can be super frustrating. My husband and I keep each other in check when we are getting run down by all day temper-tantrum-a-thons. I try to remind him that we can't project our adult conceptions on Kaiden, and that he doesn't know any better half the time. Our mantra is: He has so many feelings, and he doesn't know what to do with them.

I've been hoarding advice from every mommy I know, and trying out everything and anything to see what works. I don't expect him to "cure" him, but I do want to learn how to help him best.

His language is coming along. They say there are "bursts" of language between now and two years old, and I was skeptical of how quickly some parents said this happened until Kaiden went through a "burst" himself. He's a chatterbox, and even if he only knows a handful of words, he is getting better at learning new ones and repeating them back to us. He's excited to parrot us, when before he could care less.

We went to Disneyworld for Spring Break, and Kaiden got to meet his idol, the mouse himself. He ran right up to him with open arms and gave him a big hug. It was the sweetest thing ever, and my heart almost burst with love. We had a great time as a family, my husband, MIL, Kaiden and I.

The biggest thing to happen between last month and this month is that I quit my teaching job and switched to a part time teaching position instead. I wanted to be home with Kaiden more, and the stress from work was affecting my health. From the abnormal bleeding to the pneumonia and the stress...I had to consider what would be best for me and my family. Luckily, my supportive husband was on board, and now I stay home with Kaiden for most of the week. When I work, he goes to daycare a few times a week too, which means he keeps his routine and his play friends.

So, good things are happening, and I hope they continue that way. I'll have to come back and post his stats!

15 Months: Toddlers are Interesting

My boy is now 15 months old, and boy has the last month really brought about some fun changes.

Kaiden is becoming more independent, and more aware of his ability to choose. On some days, he chooses to eat a great dinner, and on other days he chooses to only eat cheese sticks. One some days, he chooses to hang on to my legs when I walk and not let me out of his sight, and on other days, he wants to sit quietly and read to himself. It's just amazing how dynamic Kaiden can be.

His 15 month appointment went very well. Between appointments, we had to bring him to urgent care a few times because he got Roseola, which is a viral bug that causes a high fever and then a rash when the fever goes away. It was a rough week, since Kaiden didn't want to do anything, was very lethargic and only wanted to be snuggled. It also meant that I had to stay home from work, which work wasn't very thrilled about, but my family comes first...and I couldn't send Kaiden to daycare with a fever.

Anyway! Here are his stats for 15 months:

Weight: 21 lbs even. This is only an eight ounce gain from the last appointment, and it puts him around the 17th percentile for weight. The doctor is not concerned because he eats well and is very active. She told me to expect him to always be on the low end of the percentiles until he's two.

Height: 31 inches. This is around the 25th percentile.

I forget his head circumference, but it was in the 51th percentile. All is well there.

Kaiden still has a big issue with his frustration and anger level. He gets frustrated very quickly when he cannot figure something out or communicate effectively, and he'll throw a tantrum because of it. We are still using sign language, but he's peculiar about the use of his hands and when he actually wants to use sign to tell us something. For example, he knows how to sign "eat" and "more" and knows when to sign it, but sometimes, instead of signing "eat" he will go over to his high chair and whine, or he will go into the kitchen and sit in front of the stove (he's strange). Instead of saying "more" he will hold his cup out to one of us and whine. It is hard for us not to reinforce this behavior, because ultimately he IS communicating, just not in the way we'd like. So, we just keep on signing.

Now, when we ask him if he is tired or if his diaper needs to be changed, he will walk to the stairs and wait for us to open the gate so we can go upstairs and take care of his needs. He follows simple directions/requests well -- when he wants to. Such a stubborn little guy!

As far as any new words, it is hard to say because he cycles through the ones he wants to use, and sometimes he uses sounds instead of words, even when he can very well say the word. He also chooses when to use certain words with intent and then will seemingly forget about them for a little bit. So, here we go:

Mama
Dada
No-no
Yes/Yeah
Doggie
Car
Clock
Socks
Shoes
Hi
Bye-bye
Cat
Moo/Dur
Cookie
Choo-choo
Thank you

...and I will think of more later. Like I said, he uses a lot of noises for words, so it's so hard to write those down. Haha.

He will respond to the following:

Go get your __________.
Take off your socks.
Come here.
Sit first (when going down a step).
Where is your ___________.
Are you hungry?
Are you tired?
Do you want more?
Do you want a snack?
Give me a kiss/hug.
Say night-night.

We will be working more on communication and signing this month. I also want to start using flashcards with him. He plays with them, but we don't really review them very often. He does know the letter "C" and the "cat" card, though. That's his favorite!

Kaiden has been going to Gymboree Gym every Sunday too. Since going there, he's gotten much better at going up the stairs, has been going down the stairs, going down the slide by himself, throwing balls, and climbing. I can see, every time we go there, that he is becoming more and more curious and brave when it comes to new things. He will crawl/walk through tunnels now, when before he wouldn't even go near them. He does not like circle time, though, that's for sure.

As far as nursing goes, we are still nursing, but it has definitely changed. He usually only nurses twice a day, once in the morning and once before bedtime. Sometimes this is less, and sometimes it is more. I am okay with this. At first, I was sad when he started to drop feedings, but now I feel a little more liberated that I don't always have to be there for him to nurse every three or four hours. I don't have to ask myself when was the last time he had milkies, or if I have to pump. I don't get uncomfortable, or feel "full" like some other women do. Sometimes, if I wear a normal bra during the workday, my boobies will hurt when I get home because they were bound too tightly, but other than that, it's not a big deal! My next goal is 18 months, then 2 years!

Here he is, out playing in the snow for the first time on our snow day home together!