Etta at 19 Months Physical Development Etta has gained several pounds in the past month and a half, which I attribute to her recent acceptance of whole cow’s milk in place of my breastmilk, which was on short supply because of my pregnancy. I noticed that her feet looked huge all of a sudden. They must be in a growth spurt, because two months ago she could still wear her size 4 ½ , and now she’s in a size 6! Luckily I continue to score great bargains at Nordstrom Rack, with $40.00 shoes priced at $12.90. One thing Etta loves to do is knee bends, where she’ll stand and then start squatting, then pop up, then squat, etc. She also likes to hunker down and walk along as if she were a cat stalking it’s prey. She used the potty for the first time on June 3rd. She’d been sitting on it before bed for about a month, but didn’t really have a clue as to its purpose up until now. She was in the tub and started to make a serious face when I asked her, "Are you pooping?" She nodded "yes," so I lifted her out of the tub and placed her on the potty, wrapped a towel around her to keep her warm, and then let her do her thing. When she stood up she was so surprised to see something in the potty – she kept squealing and pointing to it. I cleaned her up and put her back in the tub, then dumped the potty’s contents into the toilet while explaining to her what I was doing – I didn’t want her to get upset about my throwing away her creation! Despite this success, I still expect another year to pass before she is actually trained for the potty. I don’t think she can anticipate or communicate her need to pee at this point. On June 6th Etta figured out how to climb out of her crib. Luckily she chose to go over the rail facing the twin bed, so she landed there instead of on the floor. I’ve since moved the crib lengthwise along the twin bed, lowering the rail, so she can easily climb out onto the bed without hurting herself with a fall to the floor. One way to keep her in her crib would be to zip her into her European sleep sack for naps as well as at night, as it would prevent her from getting a leg up and over the rail, but the summer days are getting too hot for any covering. Her room faces south, and even with the window coverings, heat seeps in through the poorly insulated walls and ceiling. Many mothers would move their toddler to a real bed at this point, but to save space I’d like to keep the crib as Etta’s bed for at least another year. I slept in my crib until I was nearly 4, and I came to appreciate it’s coziness. In another month or so we’ll be moving Etta and her crib to the room next door, keeping her old room set up as a nursery for the new baby with a new, smaller crib. Language Development Her spoken vocabulary remains small, but she understands most everything I say or ask her to do. She gets extremely irate if I tell her she can't have something she wants, or can't continue doing something naughty. As soon as she hears the word "no" or hears that tone in my voice, she throws herself down and has a tantrum. Her feelings are hurt very easily! I try to distract her with something more appropriate, but sometimes she just will not be consoled, so I have to ignore her outbursts until she’s gotten it out of her system Another funny thing, at the park lately she'll throw herself down and cry if another child comes over and tries to play with the same thing she's using. She won't fight or push or anything, she just gives up and throws herself down in distress. Sometimes the other child doesn't even reach Etta, but is just on the approach, and Etta dissolves in tears at the sight of someone coming toward her. We MUST get this resolved before the new baby comes or I'm in trouble! She loves to go outside and will climb up into her stroller by herself and call to me, pointing out the window and nodding her head "yes." Most of her communication continues to be with grunts and gestures, despite my reading about 20 books a day to her and consistently naming objects and activities for her. Other Developments She's a big fan of puzzles, and can now do a 12 piece puzzle in less than a minute! To increase the challenge, I now take four puzzles, dump all the pieces together in one pile, and lay the four puzzle boards in a row on the table for her. It usually takes her 5 minutes to get all 40 or so pieces into their proper spots. The next step is to get jigsaws, with interlocking pieces. I have two that I bought recently to keep her occupied when the new baby arrives, but I think she’s ready for them now and that they’ll be too easy if I wait another 3 months to give them to her. The puzzles she has now are supposedly for 2 to 5 year old children, and the new jigsaws are for 3 years and up. She’s definitely ahead of the pack when it comes to her fine motor skills. |
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<---- "Mmmm, I found a strawberry!" -----> "I like taking baths outside under the Dogwood tree!" |
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