Communication

more planes please

Somewhere between 18 months and 2 years, I think most parents start to worry about their kids lack of communication skills. At the 18 month check-up our doctor only expected Noah to know 2- 5 words and sign language and animal sounds counted. So, we proudly passed with flying colors as

Noah could sign eat, more, all done, thank you and please. And he knew all the animal sounds I could think of to teach him. At the end of the appointment the pediatrician said that we should expect an explosion of words before we came back for his 2 year appointment. This term "explosion of words" has stuck with me and Chris. I am impatiently waiting to hear my son's voice ask me for things and tell me what he is thinking. Yes, I know that once he begins speaking and won't stop, I'll be nostogically remembering the days before he could speak, but its a major milestone I want my child to get to when "they" say he should. So, Chris and I kept waiting for this explosion... There were days when I'd get him out of his crib and he'd look at me and make a new noise or look like he was trying to say a word and I would think this is it - today is the day Noah will begin speaking. Because most parents say that once they start it all comes at once. But, alas nothing. At 18 months he was only saying dada and duh for duck and bah for ball. Recently he has expanded his vocabulary. He now says mama as clear as he has always been saying dada. He says ball, milk, bill, go, stop, and a few other sounds that we know what he means, but may not constitute for actual words. But, what I find truly amazing and which other haven taken note of too, is that he is a great communicator. Noah may not say many words, but he knows how to communicate. From waving his arms for plane, flapping for a fish, pulling down and saying choo-choo for train, or smacking his lips together to let me know he wants to watch Nemo (his favorite movie). He seems to be dying to learn new signs or ways to communicate, but just doesn't want to have to say the word. In recent days I've been amazed that he was recalling what we did earlier that day or week by not just answering yes to my questions, but showing some type of sign. We went to the zoo and he saw how the chimpanzees walked using their hands and feet and when asked how they walked he would show me. He knew they were playing with a ball so he started kicking his feet. I ask him what he did with his watertable and he happily laughs and points to his head, because he dumped the water ontop of himself. Before having kids, I didn't think much of how many ways there are to communicate. I knew about teaching babys sign language, but for the most part everything I read measured kids by their ability to say words. I for one am amazed and proud of how well Noah communicates without saying much at all!