Little Eco’s 22 Month Update

Good Morning Beautiful People. My little Eco turned 22 months this time 2 weeks ago. How my baby is only 2 months away from turning a whole 2 years old is beyond me but am fully appreciating every day  I spend at home with him whilst juggling freelance writing and blog related work. My attempts to document early years hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped as I tend to live in the moment and create memories as opposed to document it all but know he would like to perhaps read about his early years when he is old enough so will be making a conscious effort to document his early childhood more via this blog this year and beyond. So without further ado, here is Little Eco’s 22 Month Update

Sleeping

In his 17 month old update I mentioned that I was seriously contemplating gently transitioning Eco from our bed into his own space in his cot which is flushed up against our bed but after much consideration we are both are perfectly happy with him sleeping with us until he is ready to make that transition himself. He loves to snuggle right up against either Daddy or I and will also admit we love it just as much! 

Some may think (family members included) that I am creating a rod for my own back the longer he sleeps with us but truth be told neither my partner or I are ready for him to sleep in his own room yet as we prefer our Son to be near and feel he is still too young to be away from us. That said I know he will adapt well to the transition when we feel he is ready within himself to do so. 

Regarding sleeping during the day, Eco went through a phase of dropping his only afternoon nap for about a month shortly after he turned 19 months old but has since resumed his nap. At the moment he still prefers to take the nap very late in the afternoon (between 2-3pm) and if left he will happily sleep for a solid 3 hours.

This late nap time has been having a negative affect on his actual bedtime as he is often wide awake and jumping on our bed past 10pm! This is not great for any of us so have been working on getting him to nap earlier (1:30pm latest) and if he hasn’t taken the nap by 1:30pm then I keep him busy until around 7pm when we wind down for the day.

Since we weaned him off breastfeeding he has surprised me by sleeping through until the morning as opposed to waking up every 2-3 hours to comfort feed. Eco and I now get the quality sleep we need and are not waking up tired and grumpy.

Feeding

Our breastfeeding journey came to an end when Eco was 19 months old and 5 days. It was my decision to proceed with motherled weaning with the help and support of my other half and after successfully dropping all random, nap and bedtime feeds when he was around 15 months old we were only left with the frequent night wakings for comfort. I did attempt to follow Dr Jay Gordon’s gentle approach but found the best thing to do was to stop completely.

Eco adapted better than I anticipated and only made a small fuss the first few nights and quickly got the message when Daddy firmly told him to go back to sleep when he woke to feed. 

Health

Eco has remained on the 50th percentile since birth and now weighs 11.8 kg. Much to my delight, little Eco’s appetite for solids increased 10 fold since we stopped breastfeeding and no longer consider him to be a small eater. He’ll happily eat 2 slices of toast, a pot of yogurt, a few spoonfuls of my Weetabix and his babychinno for breakfast and still ask for more ‘nummies’ an hour later! He is definitely a foodie just like Daddy and I.

 

Since writing his last update, Eco is just shy of 90 cm tall and can already reach the door handles in our flat (though hasn’t quite mastered how to turn the knobs to open the door) I have had parents in the park, at his playgroups and toddler classes comment on how tall he is. Surprisingly he is the same height as some 2.5 year olds! He will definitely take after Daddy and maybe even surpass him in height when he is older please god.

Eco’s pre molars at the bottom have now popped through with the top not too far behind and think it won’t be long until the dreaded, painful molars start to make their appearance.

Development

I have a HUGE smile on my face as I get ready to share just how far little Eco has come over the last few months and have created subheadings to make reading easier to digest.

Personality

Eco sure has come into his own over the last few months and is not afraid to express himself. He still is a very loving, thoughtful and caring little boy but also has his own mind and is strong willed so we find ourselves having to reason with him if we want him to do something he is not keen on doing. Overall Eco is a happy boy who constantly has a smile on his face (when he’s not laughing).

Speech

Little Eco’s speech and vocabulary has come on leaps and bounds over the last month especially. As well as comfortably saying 50 + single words, he is getting very good at two and three syllables words and sometimes joins two or three words together. I have longed for the day my partner and I can actually communicate with our Son and is just glorious to ask him a question and for him to reply with an answer. 

Eco has now correctly mastered all the phonic sounds to the alphabet and can even correctly point to and say each letter in phonic sounds when shown letters of the alphabet in lowercase. The Cbeebies show Alphablocks together with regularly completing phonic activities at home, watching Peppa Pig and Ben and Holly has no doubt contributed to his comprehension, vocabulary and development in this area.

We always play counting games in our household and was lovely to hear Eco counting from 1-10 on his own a few weeks ago although he sometimes skips seven as he hasn’t quite mastered how to say it correctly. Other things Eco can say but not limited to are…

  • Correctly saying and pointing to all body parts
  • Sings along to favourite nursery rhymes and Peppa Pig songs (wheels on the bus, wind the bobbin, twinkle twinkle to name a few)
  • Starting to identify shapes and say their names (2D and 3D)
  • Correctly say and identify animals + their sounds.

Movement

Ever since little Eco discovered how to jump a few months back he hasn’t stopped and jumps around at any given opportunity. Using our bed and his cot as a trampoline Eco will comfortably jump around until he eventually wears himself out. Running on the spot and running everywhere in general is also something likes to do. He’s quite speedy but can never outrun Mummy! 

Climbing is something Eco also likes to do but we make it clear he cannot climb on something if it puts him in danger of hurting himself which he generally listens. He can usually be found climbing into cardboard boxes… hanging out playing house with his teddies. He is naturally flexible, likes to practice doing the splits and also has a strong core (hence climbing out of his cot from 15 months). 

Self Care

Our little Eco has been comfortably feeding himself since he was 13 months old and whilst still a little messy with foods like yogurt he is starting to refuse food cut up in small pieces and wants it to be served just like Mummy and Daddy. He now drinks from a normal cup without hardly ever tipping it over and wipes his hands and face when finished.

Eco has started to be more aware of his bodily functions and although still in nappies, will always say ‘poopoo’ just before going or ‘fart’ following by ‘paden’ if he passes wind. He is also able to tell us if he is wet and needs a change. These are classic signs of potty training readiness and although Eco is more than capable of of being potty trained now  we’d rather wait at least a few more months for his speech, language and generally understanding to develop further before we proceed.

Eco Loves

  • Watching Peppa Pig, Alphablocks, Numberblocks and Mr Tumble
  • Jumping around
  • Being outdoors whatever the weather
  • STEM based learning activities
  • Rich Tea Biscuits!
  • Giving kisses and the tightest of hugs
  • Waving and smiling at people
  • Babies and Children
  • Sleeping on/next to Mummy
  • Music / Nursery Rhymes and singing dancing along

Eco Dislikes

  • Brushing his teeth each night (advice welcome on how to make this a smooth process!)
  • Leaving the park, toddler group, soft play or anywhere where he is having fun.
  • Having to wait for something he wants.
  • Being woken up by the postman
  • Having his hair trimmed with the clippers

I have enjoyed giving you beautiful people an insight into my little Eco’s Development and will endeavour to keep this up every month so I can document new skills and milestones as they happen.

Until next time x