STATS
At 18 months our little peanut is just over 19 lbs and nearly 31 inches long. This equates to long and lean. Just like mommy and daddy. At least we know where you got it from, kid. This puts him smack into the 9-12 months size range, depending on brand. Not surprisingly, he's wearing size 12-18 months in pants- not for roominess, but for length. Those legs are nice and long. He fits exactly into a size 3 shoe, but I have a feeling this will change very soon.
His hair is super long, has the faintest hint of strawberry blonde, and is starting to curl at the ends. As of now, Colden has eight teeth, six on top including two molars. With just two on the bottom, I'm surprised at how fierce his bite it. He certainly knows how to work those chompers. He's been chewing things like crazy lately; and upon inspection- his molars are definitely coming in on the bottom. This whole 'teething' phase can disappear anytime now, really. Thankfully, Colden's sweet nature makes it hard to tell when he's ever in pain. Most often, he's quite the happy camper.
DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRESS
I'm not sure what is about 18 months that's different from 17, but whatever it is- it's HUGE, that's for sure. In terms of language, Colden's signing has exploded. He's learning 2-3 new signs each week. I've been keeping tally, and at last count, he knows over 50 different words/phrases/commands in sign language. It's remarkable.
He's on par with a typical child in this category- it's just he signs instead of verbalizes. He's putting together two word requests such as more books, and baby time when he wants to watch his baby signing time DVD. It's as cute as you can imagine. The fact that the door of communication has swung open- is not only a milestone, but a cause for celebration. I'm so thankful (and not to mention proud) that our little peanut is actually telling us what he wants. Hallelujah! Here he is signing a full deck of various animals, and nailing every one.
In terms of gross motor, this kid motors like nobody's business. He loves to move. Having perfected the commando crawl months ago, he's fine tuned it and honed in on speed. If there's ever a diaper challenge, he'd take first place as the fastest baby around. In the last couple of months, he's taken an interest in the stairs, and can't get enough of them. He actually giggles as he climbs them. What a great full body work out, too. Keep it up, Colden!
Over the last month he's really started to cruise- around his crib, the sofa, the fireplace, etc. He pulls up on everything he can find. He has no problem side stepping to get what he wants, either. The bathroom is especially fun.
He also loves to climb up, on, or into things. I've said this before, and it's only becoming more apparent as Colden gets older: he's ALL boy. Looks like spiderbaby wants IN that ball pit.... He's nothing if not determined.
This month Colden took a massive leap in gross motor with the addition of his very first steps. I'm saving this story for a separate post; but I will say it's absolutely incredible to see his little body actually walking. What a star.
As for fine motor, Colden is officially holding his own sippy cup! This may sound like a small feat, but this is huge for our little guy. Given that his arms and jaw tire quickly, it's that much harder for him to hold his cup for long periods of time. It's always been easier to simply hold it for him. He's very eager to do it himself now, and we're cheering him on all along the way. Go, Colden! He's also been perfecting his pincer grasp. We've been working on self feeding with anything he can pick up himself. Blueberries and peas are still his faves.
In regards to developmental tracking, Colden is seen by the wonderful professionals at Strong Memorial in Rochester. What a wonderful facility. It is 100% worth the drive. Colden loves the all the toys in the waiting area, too. Especially this little red car...
We're specifically seen by the doctor who used to run the Down Syndrome program at Boston Children's Hospital. How lucky are we? We're so thankful he relocated back home. Each time we've been, we've taken a photo with the resident kangaroo. At 6 months, Colden didn't even know there was a kangaroo. At 12 months he was bewildered. At 18 months he reached out and signed doggie. How's that for developmental progress?
In terms of play, Colden loves books. He really LOVES them. He asks for them constantly, too. He could sit for hours and read book after book. I've set up a little book nook in the corner of the playroom, and I often find him doing a little 'independent reading' quietly on his own. How this makes my heart smile, you have no idea. His favorites include absolutely anything by Sandra Boyton (especially the Pookie series, Horns to Toes, and the Going to Bed Book), along with simple picture books with one word per page. His favorite thing is to speed read though these books by identifying the sign for each word/page. It's a game, and it's obvious he loves it when he asks for more books as soon as you finish one.
Colden can't get enough of, and is always asking for his Baby Signing Time DVD. Like any kiddie themed show, the music and graphics are absolutely heinous- but you know what? He loves it, AND learns from it, so I'm thankful. Plus it's super cute to see him sign 'baby time' repeatedly until I turn on the TV. He lets out the littlest squeal of delight knowing it's coming. Then he nestles right in, leg up and all. Ohh Colden.
Colden also just loves to rough house. He loves to go fast. He loves it when he sits and Matt or I runs at him and jumps over him. He thinks it's hysterical. He loves to crawl up, down, on, off, and over anything in sight. He loved Rollie Pollies while we were in session. He loves going up the stairs, and playing peek-a-boo. He loves being tickled by Daddy. He loves playdates with all of his sweet friends. Most recently, he gets super excited when he's pushing his little walker around the house. It's the best. Videos to come in a later post.
As for the eating department, I don't want to say Colden is a picky eater, but rather, he's happily selective. Having finally gotten over a hyper sensitive gag reflex that would send him puking at the first taste of something new (those days were super fun, Colden!), he's entered a whole new realm of finger foods. His days are fairly consistent in that he has quinoa or gluten free oatmeal with fruit for breakfast (faves include bananas and blueberries along with a bit of pear or strawberry puree), coconut yogurt and side of veggies for lunch (faves are avocados and peas), and eggs, tofu, or beans for dinner coupled with another side of veggies and a dollop of flaxseed meal (faves include peas, squash, and spinach in that order). The other day he began signing 'wash' for squash. It's the cutest thing ever- I just don't have the heart to correct him. Now if we could just get him to eat meat...
We've chosen to stick to a mostly gluten free diet, given that children with DS have a higher risk of celiac disease which directly correlates to a gluten intolerance. As such, he's completely averse to bread of any kind, but begs for crackers on a daily basis. The moment he gets in the high chair he signs cracker with the sweetest look on his face. Since I know a cracker a day can't hurt, I oblige; and at least give him organic Late July's as a compromise.
More crackers, please.
DISLIKES
Colden hates sleeping. He absolutely despises it. He's quite the cuddle bug, but there's just something about being alone in his crib that he really doesn't care for. Despite a consistent bedtime routine, our little night owl would much rather be up playing in the middle of the night, than catching some much needed shut-eye. Most nights this is what I spy from yonder monitor downstairs. Eyes. Wide. Open. Ohhh Ferber, you have us at your mercy.
A rare nap-time sighting. Thank goodness he's so cute.
Along with snoozing, Colden doesn't really like splashing in the bath that much either. He typically tolerates it for a short period of time, but can't stand it when his face gets wet. He loves big warm pools, so I don't think it's a dislike of water, more just the splashes on his face that catch him off guard. Special needs 'hype' says its a 'sensory issue' but I'm unconvinced. Who likes their face splashed anyway? He certainly likes to see the water pour into the bath. It's really quite mesmerizing for an 18-month old...
THERAPIES
When Colden started PT at just two months old, it was our only service, and it was just twice a month. My how things have changed. I've fought tooth and nail the past few months for increases and new services, and at 18 months, I'm happy with where things stand. Here's a snapshot of what Colden receives:
Speech: Colden was recently bumped up from once per week to twice per week therapy sessions. This was not because he was lagging, but rather because he is doing so well. Matt and I can't thank our speech therapist enough; she is really the catalyst for his giant leap in signing and communication. I don't mind driving him the 30 minute trek twice a week for these sessions, because I know Colden is really thriving. We couldn't be more proud of all his accomplishments in signing and speech development. Yay, Colden!
Learning the sign for tree (which he uses all the time now), and making the sound for wind: oooooooo....
Occupational Therapy: We are working on getting twice a week approved, but for now Colden still receives OT once a week at home. Our Occupational therapist is just wonderful. She has been working on all sorts of fine motor skills such as strengthening his pincer grasp, stacking, and two-handed play (she always arrives with a giant bag of toys that really gets Colden's mojo flowing). She's also spending a lot of time working on drinking from an open cup and other self-feeding skills. Surprisingly, a lot of OT is actually PT, so Colden is often working on crawling in quadraped to increase arm and shoulder strength in order to gain better use of his hands. Crawling in quadraped also helps develop your hand arches too, who knew?
Physical Therapy: Colden has been receiving PT once a week for a while now. We lost our resident PT about a month ago because she decided to have a baby, tsk tsk. Totally bummed by the loss, I searched high and low for a stellar replacement. I'm happy to report, Colden's new PT is great. She showed up her second visit with a new pair of shoes for him. She's focused on helping him crawl in quadraped before he starts taking steps independently. She's definitely one smart cookie, and we feel grateful to have found her.
Special Education: Colden missed out on this service the first 15 months of life because I didn't know to ask for it. I find comfort in knowing that all the reading, shape sorting, and pretend play I was doing with him from the beginning was the equivalent of what he would have gotten, if not much more. I like to think I am Colden's every day special education teacher. Once a week his new teacher works on a host of different subjects such as learning farm animals, body parts, singing songs, etc. She's super sweet and we're lucky to have her.
Bornhava Parent Child Group: Colden has been attending this weekly mommy-and-me type of group for over a year now. It's actually part of his plan and recognized as a therapy. Depending on the weekly turn-out, there might be as many as eight little tots (plus moms) in attendance, all mostly with DS. I have to say, I just love it. It's taught by our speech therapist (just another reason we love her so much), and is structured similarly to what a morning at preschool would be like: start out with social play, then switch gears to gross motor and or fine motor activities coupled with music, move onto to snack to work on self feeding alongside peers, and end with circle time reinforcing communication.
Gait Training: Our sweet boy and all of his 19 lbs started gait training back in August. I sought it out through insurance initially as I had read a bevy of research on the topic and thought it would be a great addition to his physical therapy repertoire. Soon after I realized this was something I'd like to do consistently, we were able to get it approved through EI. The first month we saw very little progress. By month two however, Colden actually began to move his legs.
A few weeks after that, and BAM! We have our very first steps, off the treadmill. I can't wait to devote an entire post to this amazing milestone. Lots more pics and videos await.
Aquatic Therapy: Colden should be getting his fins wet in the therapy pool for the first time over the next week or so. He'll get this therapy once per week. I can't wait to see how the strength in his arms improves from the natural resistance of the water. Plus babies in the water are are way too cute!
For now it's back to real life with our one-of-a-kind sweet boy. Colden, you continue to amaze us all with all of your accomplishments. We can't wait to see what's in store. Into the holiday season we charge. Thankfully you already know the sign for tree and the man with the red hat (Santa). Double high five, kid. You are a star.
