Little Eco’s 23 Month Old Update

On the 28th January 2018, my little Eco turned 23 months and now the countdown to the milestone that is his 2nd birthday begins please god.  I cannot quite get my head around it all and no doubt I’ll be an emotional mess the closer we get to the date my sweet boy entered this world via a fast and smooth waterbirth. With all that said below is his 23 month old update.

Sleep

Little Eco continues to sleep in the family bed which suits us perfectly but have been struggling with getting him to sleep for the night a time which isn’t 10 pm +. It appears Eco still needs his only afternoon nap but even if he takes it earlier (12-1 pm) than his usual time between 2-3 pm he will still be up at 9 pm and not fall asleep until gone 10:30 pm (pic below is of Eco still up rocking his sunglasses at 9.30 pm).

I have tried seeing how he copes when we drop the afternoon nap but he gets ridiculously grouchy around 5 pm and has a few hysterical meltdowns due to being overtired before retiring for the night at 7.30 pm.

This of course is an ideal bedtime but the problem we then face is Eco waking up and staying awake for 2-3 hours anywhere between 3:30 am – 5:30 am before going back to sleep for a further 2 hours. Now I’m not sure about you beautiful readers but I’d much rather be up with Eco just before midnight where he’ll sleep through until 8 am than having to wake up at the ungodly hour of 3 am AND stay awake  with him for 2 hours or more.

Health

There has been no real change in weight this past month and is only up by 0.3 lbs. As I type he has a rotten cold and chesty cough for coming up to 2 weeks now so hoping he recovers to full health in time for his 2nd birthday celebrations please god. Eco was due his 2nd year developmental check at our local children’s centre today but had to reschedule for next Monday has he is still unwell.

Feeding

No two days are the same when it comes to Eco’s eating habits. Some days he’ll eat everything in sight and other days he can be ridiculously fussy which in turn causes me to get a little stressed out over it all. I know it is just a phase most toddlers go through but on the days when he outright refuses to eat anything offered I feel helpless in giving him the nutrition his needs on a daily basis. 

It honestly feels like I am going through the whole weaning stage again but this time around I have a very vocal Son who will make it known if he doesn’t want to eat a particular item so have been paying close attention to the things he does eat and request frequently like rich tea biscuits and ice-cream and attempting to make my own healthier versions without the refined sugar (banana nice cream and oat biscuits has been a particular hit!).

Development 

Speech

Eco’s language and speech is coming on with every day that passes. He can now combine 3 or 4 words though sometimes the pronunciation is not always 100% accurate. He can be often be heard singing the words to nursery rhymes, theme tunes to cartoon programmes and some of the old school songs we play in our household. He definitely takes after his Mama in remembering melodies to songs after hearing it the first few times!

Amongst the many things Eco can now say it I almost cried when Eco said ‘Love You Mummy’ when putting him to sleep for his nap or just before bed which completely melts my heart!

Eco has been counting from 1-10 by himself and recognising each number for a few months now but has recently been attempting to recite numbers 11-15 though skips some numbers or says them out of sequence but the more he practices I know it won’t be long until he grasps it.

With the alphabet mastered using phonics sounds and correctly identifying all 26 letters in lower case he has taken an interest these past few weeks in singing parts of the actual song whenever Daddy or I sing it to him. At present he is at home with us (my other half also works from home) and we have no plans to send him to nursery until he is 2.5 years old in September please god.

Understanding

This is a new sub heading I thought I would add to show his level of understanding about the world around him, especially now that he will be a big brother in June please god and to help him understand Mummy’s ever-growing tummy and why I do not toddlerwear as much as I did during the first trimester my other half came across a super awesome children’s tv show via Netflix entitled Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood.

Amongst the episodes that sees Daniel being prepared by his Mum and Dad to welcome a new sibling into the fold and his new role he will play as a big brother aka big brother in the family, it always has real life experiences and scenarios young children can relate to where a lesson is learnt at the end of  each show. Eco absolutely LOVES it and so do we as he picks up new words (sometimes difficult ones) and adds them to his ever growing vocabulary just from watching shows like this and taking it all in!

Movement

Due to Eco’s flexibility and love for dancing my other half and I decided introduce ballet into his activities last Summer and goes once a fortnight when he is not unwell or if I do not have any other commitments. He is one of the youngest in the class so can often be found doing his own thing as opposed to following the teachers instructions (as pictured above) which I am reassured is total normal for young children his age. At the moment it is all about fun and getting him used to being in a dance setting as we plan for him to continue ballet lessons and complete actual gradings exams once he turns 3 years old please god until at least 11 years old.

Climbing is something Eco has always wanted to do but must admit I always stop him whenever he attempts to climb on his table or chairs for fear of him hurting himself. Of course I have his best interests at heart and do not want to see my baby fall or have an accident but I have now come to the realisation that 1, he has to learn for himself the consequences of his actions and 2, being able to climb is part of their development and can now see I may have been restricting him in that department. 

So whilst my heart will forever be in my mouth worried at the thought that Eco could fall awkwardly when attempting to climb I will not interfere unless absolutely necessary as I do not want to place my own fears on my child and hinder him in any way.

Self Care

As Eco fast approaches 2 I have been toying with the idea of introducing potty training into our daily routine. He has been in pull style eco friendly nappies for a good few months now as lying him down for a nappy change was proving ever difficult and often resulted in a battle of wills (no good for anyone). His stools are now getting more solid as opposed to the pasty cement type poos he often produces (apologies for the level of detail!) so once we get to the stage of more solid poos on a regular basis I will slowly start to explain the potty’s use and then be lead by him in terms of training him to be nappy free in this new stage of  his development.

Eco Loves

• Singing nursery rhymes or melodies to songs
• Playing Football with Daddy
• Watching new cartoon favourites Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood, Word Party and Bubble Guppies
• Bathtime!
• Completing puzzles
• Reading books / story time.
• Learning new things

Eco Dislikes

• Getting out the bath.
• Messy hands
• Being woken up from his sleep
• Leaving the park, soft play or anywhere he is having fun
• Having to wait for something

I hope you have enjoyed reading Eco’s 23 month old update and have to pinch myself that the next one shared with you beautiful people will be when he turns 2 please god!!!! Time really does fly by when one has a child of their own.