Saturday, February 26, 2011

The things I worry about

I am not a big worrier about Raf's 'progress'. He is such a happy boy. Yet sometimes I do worry 'a little' bit! He's super active, loves to climb and tumble and empty cupboards. He runs, squeals, giggles, and hugs, he spends hours going through the recycling, trying to eat cat food, putting dog food in the water bowl. He runs around the kitchen island as happy as can be.

At times, though, I do worry a little bit about his language development. He understands a lot. He cries when I say 'Rafi, time to change your nappy'; he picks up the ball/book/train when I suggest that he does; he looks for me when I shout 'where's Mama?'... you get the picture. Yet he doesn't utter a lot of words very clearly. He says:
mama
dada
bye-bye
chee chee (cheese)
baloo (balloon)
appal (apple)
Choo choo (train)
ba (ball)

He does have other words, I think, but I can't remember them or I can't really understand them. He has a different word for nursing almost every week, though lately he just follows me around with his boppy pillow(!). This past week he learned the word 'apple', which he says absolutely adorably. And now he walks around saying 'appal', as though he just really enjoys saying it! When he points to his or my nose he says something not even approximating 'nose', but when I ask him where his nose is he does point to it. I also think he may have tried to say 'I love you' in response to my incessant declarations when he said 'I la' over and over again.

Other things that I worry about...

His diet! Being vegan I feel as though I need to be extra vigilant about what he eats. The fact that he's still getting a lot of milk puts my mind at ease, but, you know, that worry slips in sometimes. Mostly I think he eats very well, but he only likes a narrow range of foods. For instance, he doesn't seem to like pasta or potatoes - but loves bread of all kinds (oh, so much like his mama!). He doesn't really like protein type foods (again, like his mama), and mostly eats hummus/Daiya cheese/yogurt/nut butters for his protein. Here's what he ate today:
Breakfast:
Left his almond butter and apple butter on toast - though he usually eats it
Dried cranberries
Combination of coconut yogurt, soy yogurt, applesauce with almond butter mixed in
Green shake made with spinach, almond milk, flaxseed, banana and strawberries

Snack
Half a peanut butter/apple butter sarnie
Few cranberries and pretzels

Lunch:
Whole wheat wrap with hummus and spinach
Blueberries
More yogurt/applesauce mix but with tahini

Snack:
Same as before

Dinner
Hummus on toast
Peas and sweetcorn
More mix

And lots of milk.

I worry about other things... watching too much TV, not getting enough reading time, not enough time with other kids, too much time inside (this winter has been LONG), and on, and on. Mostly I don't worry too much.. just a little bit :)

9 comments:

  1. Oh yes, I also worry that he doesn't like to play with his baby doll and cuddly toys! lol

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  2. Carson's day of eating-- b'fast: nutrigrain bar, some banana, 3.5 oz yogurt, and some of my oatmeal squares cereal; snack: 3.5 oz yogurt; lunch: 3.5 oz yogurt, potato soup and cocoa goldfish, dinner: 3.5 oz yogurt--for a grand total of 14 oz of yogurt. IN ONE DAY. He's a pooping machine on a bright note. But when I read what Raf had eaten today to my husband he said "he ATE all that?" So, I personally think you can cross the eating thing off your list of worries!

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  3. al, re: language development, i have spent LOTS of time with LOTS of toddlers, and i will tell you that there is such a wide range of paces that all turn out "normal" in the end. rafi says less than lots of kids his age, but more than others, and for most kiddos it all evens out by two or three. when asher was raf's age he said less than that, i think, and i know arjuna, the little boy laur looks after who is just raf's age, has very few words. no one's worried about his development at this point, and he is doing great. chances are he (and rafi) will be chatting away before you know it. it IS true, too, that boys (overall) seem to talk later and develop vocab more slowly than girls (overall). anecdotally, when i think of kaya and cady vs. asher and juna, that comparison pans out. if rafi is happy and healthy and communicating his needs (all of which is clearly the case!), there is no cause for worry. of course, it's easy for me to say, isn't it?!

    re: diet, well, his diet is a lot more varied than the vast majority of toddlers in this country! seems to me you offer him plenty of great choices within the parameters of what you are passionate about (veganism, i mean!) and he eats many different things. you couldn't really ask for much more than that. there are so many kids his age who will only eat one or two (usually very processed) items - i honestly think you're way ahead of the game with lots of whole, simple foods, lots of fats for his developing brain, and a nice mix of sweet and savory :)

    you are such an awesome mama.

    love you guys!
    xo fia

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  4. First of all I love your sweet child Alex :) He is soo adorable!!

    I think few kids pick up quickly on the motor skills and few on the talking skills. Usually they say girls are faster than boys. Raami did not walk almost untill 15 months but he was babbling a lot and started to talk. Belive me once they start talking the flow will be full on :)

    Eating wise I think what you are giving is Perfect! We are vegetarians and I too sometimes worry about Abhirama's diet. His diet usually goes like this: Breakfast: Powdered whole grain mix mixed in a whole fat milk OR Cereals & milk. Lunch : Lentil, Rice, Yogurt, Few veggies, Ghee. Dinner : Dosa OR idly with Ghee and half a glass of milk. Snacks: Fruits / fruit bar / Jello in the morning session and in the evening snack time it is a glass of Almond Saffron whole fat milk.

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  5. ah al, step over here and look through my eyes and you'll see a wonderful mama and papa doing amazing things for their gorgeous, healthy little boy. He has a better diet than most of the adult population as well as the toddler pop! I think you can rest assured, as much as is possible as a parent!

    Zoey was 18months when I first looked after her and she said nothing but 'yea' for quite some time. I think she didn't really start talking a lot until 2.5years and then I couldn't keep up. Elsie who is 3 is just starting to really chatter nonstop but until a few months ago she didn't say very many words at all.

    Love ya hon, think you're great x

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  6. i suspect that in 6 months you won't be able to stop rafi talking! from my experience with elise i can tell you that the most important thing to watch for at this age is comprehension (ie, does he understand what you are saying to him...) and non-verbal communication (pointing etc.) it sounds like rafi is doing both of these just fine! i took elise to be evaluated when she was 18 months because she didn't seem to understand a lot of what we were saying (and she only had a few words). as you know, she was diagnosed with language delay and we started speech therapy. but she is a pretty unusual case :)

    rafi's diet sounds amazing! lila will have fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, a wrap with cheese carrot and cucumber for lunch, fruit and crackers for snacks and whatever we are having for dinner (pasta, vegetables, rice etc.) she doesn't like regular bread! but she loves her milk :)

    i do understand all your worries ... i have the same concerns - especially the younger two who do get a bit short changed with our time (eg, not as much one on one time for reading books). but they have other advantages (like more relaxed parents!) and we make reading part of our bedtime routine so they get at least 15 minutes of one on one reading every day (although on most days they will get more reading during the day!)

    kate xx

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  7. Alex the amazing mom. I think all these worries are normal. It sounds like you are aware and if anything came up you would address your concerns to his ped. I do know that girls language skills seem to appear before boys. Also from what I have seen with the gang of girls the ones that learned to sign didn't talk til later. That is just my observation. When I compare my nephew against the kids his age I worry too. I look up every little thing he does just to be sure he is o.k. I know my sister was also worried with what to feed Benjamin. What he eats when he is here. Here by 7am milk, bananna bread muffin, maybe some pears, 10 bottle, Lunch: Baby goyurt, pears, maybe milk with a second nap if we are lucky. He's been fighting naps lately. I know he eats oatmeal, doesn't like noodles, not too sure on the meat thing. He's 15 months. Doesn't say much either but that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to communicate his wants or needs. I think the worries are a normal part of wanting to be a good parent. I just need to remember that kids develop at all different paces and if I had a concern I would discuss it with peds and if they are concerned then would look into it more. Bottom line it looks at sounds like you are doing a fine job with Rafi! Amazing Alex!!!!!

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  8. hey, all, thanks so much for your sweet and affirming comments. I am sure that I'll worry forever about him - and that's just the way it is! I suppose when I write it all down Raf does eat a lot! lol I was a little concerned partly because he'd dropped right off his weight curve. Then again he's really had a height growth spurt, so that might be it. We have a little snack cupboard where he helps himself to pretzels, dried fruits, and crackers. He's recently discovered Lara bars, which is great when we're out and about.

    I really appreciate your thoughts on his language. Rammi's mum - THANK YOU! To the other readers, Raami has the most spectacular language development. I've never seen anything like it in a little guy Raf's age. You should check out Raami's blog for examples of his brilliance :)

    Kate, very interesting about E. Yep, Raf does a lot of pointing and babbling and gesturing, and over the course of the last couple of days I see that he does know a few other words (something approximating thank you, up, down, etc). It's just so helpful to have you share your experience.

    Everyone, honestly - thanks!

    Next topic... SLEEP! Aha!

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  9. You have such smart friends, I have little new to add! Raf has an amazingly healthy diet and of course the milk is still so good for him, too.

    My nephew was only babbling when he was Raf's age and for some time later--not saying any words at all. Babble, babble, babble, and his parents were starting to get worried, and then one day he started talking in complete sentences! So Raf is making fine progress. :-)

    But you're right about the worrying. I don't think that will ever change.

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