It is hard to believe but Ben is now older than Liam was when Dave deployed (and I am forever grateful that I don't have a 7 month old in addition to him at home).
Ben continues to slowly add words to his vocabulary. He still frequently speaks in single words but 2 and 3 word phrases are becoming more frequent. He does not have the echolalia that Liam had at this age. For the longest time, Ben's words were not very understandable, but some of his sounds are becoming more clear. He still doesn't say his name (except when playing peek-a-boo) and doesn't respond at all when strangers talk to him. He still signs and even created his own sign for "swimming." His Early Intevention nows includes speech therapy, in addition to OT due to his slow language acquisition. The way his language is developing is so different than Liam. Liam seldom spoke to communicate (and still like to monolgue to no one in particular) and never really did the baby talk of using the wrong verbs. Liam seemed to develop language through delayed echolalia so he always spoke grammatically correct. Ben does alot more of toddler speak and it is so cute!
His language allows me to have insight about his emotional development. One day when he did something to upset Liam he told me "Meme ryen" (translation is "Liam crying"). Yesterday when he woke from a nap, he stuck his arms out to me and told me "I ryen." He has even been able to tell me "Meme sad." It wasn't until Liam was 3.5 and it was written into Liam's IEP that he was able to understand that someone else was sad. Ben is very tuned in to the emotions I am experiencing or what type of mood Liam is in.
Ben continues to be a little monkey and seeks out all sorts of sensory stimulation. His tope walking is getting more pronouced and he has taken to walking on his tippy toes (not having the balls of his feet touch at all) and even toe walking in shoes. Ben climbs everything in the house and spends as much time as he can scaling things, finding ways to turn on water, and throwing things....and creating slides.
Ben has been off Prilosec for about 3 weeks. He is on Zantac and has been tolerating it.....but it has meant that he has gone back to refusing to swallow food and demanding applesauce and yogurt instead of real food. He is waking up from naps crying and even waking at night again. We have also had a huge excema flare-up on his wrists.
2 comments:
I had a laugh when I read Ben created a sign for swimming- caleb has too, a pantamime of the breast stroke! So cute!
Rachel, That is too cute! Ben rolls his hands in forearms in a rolling motion. I am not sure how that equals swimming but he always does it when pointing out things in the water and saying "wimmin" so I know exactly what he means.
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