Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Second Kid

Every few days I fall into the "man, the second kid is getting jipped" camp. The second kid is a completely different beast than the first kid. The first kid, you sweat it ALL out. The second kid? Not so much. I went with the flow. The first kid, you READ a ton, the second kid? Not so much. The first kid, I have notebooks of her 'firsts'. And while I have been VERY good about doing this with Wyeth, I'm not as devoted to capturing it all.

Then there is the language issues. We talked to Seren ALL OF THE TIME. Which may have backfired on us as she now talks to us ALL OF THE TIME. :) And we talk to Wyeth too but sometimes Seren just exhausts us that when I'm alone with just him, I like to hear some silence. Just for a minute or two. I comfort myself in that SEREN talks to Wyeth. So that is good...and he just LOVES her attention.

But...

He isn't saying much at all. Seren could say a ton of stuff at 18 months. And I know that research says that boys develop language later than girls. But really? We made a list of words he says for the well visit today at the pediatrician. There were a total of like 10 words on it! (including baa-baa for the sound a sheep makes).

I remember than Seren's language really exploded at 19 months. But what if Wyeth isn't really talking because we aren't TEACHING him the way we taught Seren? What if some of these perceived delays are our fault?

Good grief. We'll just wait and see what happens and count our lucky stars that otherwise is doing ok. He has comprehensive language skills...or whatever the term is. If you say, "Wyeth, please put this in the trashcan." He will go pick it up and run off to the trashcan, pick up the lid and dunk it.

And at least he has one word down pat. And we hear this ALL OF THE TIME.

NO!!!
NO!
NOOOOO!!!
NNNNNNOOOOOO!

He even has a 'no' which means yes. It is said less emphatically! When visiting with another 18 month old who actually says YES, I worked on that a lot. I sometimes get a head nod while he says 'no'. :)

4 comments:

LauraC said...

I always have the "twins get gypped" feeling.

Hopefully you get some kind of hope from my blog that talking is SO individual? Nate was talking up a storm at 18 months and Alex had *just* enough words. He never really has talked a lot and at 4, he talks our ears off. Don't get him started on Star Wars!

Hey I was also going to ask when you need 2T clothes? My friend Irene has all of them right now but I am picking up the ones she does not want in July. Then we are going to DC the first week in October (driving) and Joanna will be there, so I could give them to her to give to you since you're both in Philly.

It is a LOT of clothes. The boys wore 2T for almost 18 months! Every season!

Beth said...

I know it probably won't make you stop worrying to hear me say this, but stop worrying! And try not to compare him to Seren. (Another "easier said than done" issue!) He will have plenty to say in no time. :-)

Jessica {Team Rasler} said...

My oldest is a constant talker, so I'm a little worried about how that will impact our second one as well. For Sebastian, our pediatrician told us repeatedly in the first 18 months that his comprehension was a better indicator of his language development than his production, and it sounds like Wyeth is doing great in that department.

I know it must feel like there must be something wrong when you compare his language to Seren's (and it must be nearly impossible not to do that!), but if he understands that much, you are doing everything right. The normal ranges for language development are HUGE. He'll decide it's time to put in his two cents before you know it.

Julie said...

I have a feeling we will be in the same boat with Lacey b/c Lana just talks and talks all day long nonstop. Lacey barely babbles at all, but I have noticed that when Lana is not around, Lacey is more vocal. Perhaps Wyeth is just too busy listening. I'm sure he will be talking your ear off in no time.