I hate that I now dread Camden's well baby check-ups. I think Dr. Obsessive really did a number on my nerves all those months ago. And even though I adore his new pediatrician, I can't help but get that familiar knot in my stomach before each visit.
This month, I have been worried about Camden's verbal development. Physically, he's always been ahead of the game: an early sitter, crawler, walker, and runner. His verbal development has been a different story. He didn't start truly babbling consonant sounds until he was 9 months old. Since then, he has added a few words, but still favors babbling. His receptive language, however, is outstanding. For months, he has been able to understand and follow simple instructions. It just seemed to me that his expressive language was lagging behind a bit.
It certainly doesn't help matters any that speech posts have been running rampant on my "birth board"-- the community of mothers who also have toddlers that were born in November 2009. There seem to be two types of posts making appearances lately: the "My 15 month old only says 3 words and her pediatrician is referring her to a therapist" post AND the "My 15 month old has 50 words!" post. Both were concerning to me for obvious reasons.
So, I went to his appointment yesterday feeling nervous but hopeful. Dr. Wonderful opened by asking his usual question: "Any concerns you'd like to talk about?"
I immediately voiced my worries about his verbal development.
"Before you say anything else or tell me about his verbal skills, let me tell you what he should be doing. He should be saying 3 words. Probably Mama or Mom, no, uh-oh, or something along those lines."
I breathed a sigh of relief. Camden does have 3 words, and he demonstrated just how well he can use "Mom" in context when Dr. Wonderful was trying to take his measurements and he reached for me while screaming, "Mooooooooooooooooooom!!!!"
He did say, however, that he should have 12 words by his 18 month appointment. So, based on a fantastic mom blogger's recommendation, I ordered him some First Words Flashcards and we're going to read and practice and read some more. I want to do everything I can to help him get there.
And, just because it's been such a popular topic in my posts, I'll give a weight update: Camden has gained a pound and a half since his one year appointment. He is weighing in at a whopping (ha) 20 lbs, 8 oz. He's still holding steady in the 5th percentile for weight and has been consistently following his own curve for months now. My skinny guy is tall, though: he continues to be in the 75th percentile for height. After taking his measurements, Dr. Wonderful looked at Matt and said, "He's built just like you. He's going to be able to eat whatever he wants and not gain a pound." Must be nice!
Overall, it was a good visit. Dr. Wonderful declared Camden to be "perfect" before saying his goodbyes. My goal is to walk into his 18 month appointment completely relaxed, my stomach void of those familiar knots. I'll just have to remember to leave the Crazy at home that day.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
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4 comments:
I wouldn't be worried yet. My nephew JUST started saying a few words at 22 months old. Seriously. And he maybe only says 3-5 words now. But he has fantastic receptive language skills, too.
I wonder why some kids talk so early and some later. My son is only 11 months old but it "bothers" me that he doesn't really say any true words yet. Nothing that we would say he is 100% FOR SURE saying, anyway. He says "dis" and "dat" and "dad" and "uh uhh" (after we say uh oh), but I don't know if he really gets them, because he always says "Dad" in contexts that have nothing to do with Dad.
How do we stop obsessing??
Oh gosh, I don't even read my birth board. I don't think I've even read it since Lexi was like 2 months old because you always read those stories about "my child is reading at 8 months old" or "my child can do cartwheels at i year old", or "my child is studying for their phd and is only 14 months old!". Pahleeeeese people. Give me a freaking break. It gets old, you know?
And coming from a mom whose child has always lagged in pretty much every area, it really isn't the end of the world if they are behind a little in one area (or even ahem, like 5 ;)). Lexi has always been lagging in several but she is starting to catch up quickly. Many of her therapists say that by the time she's 3 you won't even know she was ever lagging at all and it won't matter. Camden is perfectly healthy and a smart little man. He is doing great and has wonderful parents! You have nothing to worry about (coming from a fellow obsesser, so you should take my advice ;)). Glad that your new doctor could ease your mind! And his weight sounds FANTASTIC! Good news on all accounts!
Ellie- Totally agree about BBC. I am thisclose to just cancelling my acccount. I loved our IF board, but we all (mostly all) blog now anyway, so there's no reason for me to keep it anymore since I can keep in touch w/ you guys through blogging. Plus, it will be so nice not to read those annoying bragging posts anymore.
I obsess all the time, about pretty much everything, especially when my baby is sleeping (weird? kind of). For some reason, when she's awake, it all seems fine - she's usually happy and seems content. But I do worry about her language alllllllll the time. I don't really get WHAT my big fear is though. She really says zero true words right now, at 13 months. I've heard some maybe words, but nothing concrete, and she only follows directions maybe 20% of the time. It's so hard to not obsess. I just try to catch myself when I start doing it and tell myself that she's happy and healthy and we're doing all we can for her development - that will have to be good enough!
Oh, and she's also a "late" physical developer too, which for some reason doesn't bother me at all - I can see clear progression there so that all seems a-ok.
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