Every day holds a surprise as Vee is growing up at a blazing speed. Here are his little achievements over the month:
Learning & Communication
- After learning his name for a few weeks, he suddenly started blurting out his first perfect 5-word phrase in Mandarin: “我是 _ _ _” (which means “I am _ _ _”). I was amazed!
- He loves reading and has been pulling out books while saying part of their titles. I am wondering if he is starting to recognise words.
- He “sings” parts of songs when relaxed. I am looking forward to singing with him soon!
Physical
- Finally, we brushed aside fears of hand-foot-mouth-disease and brought Vee to the play gym. He had tonnes of fun climbing, sliding and being buried in hundreds of small, colourful balls.
- After many sessions of water play, he has mastered pouring and scooping water from one container to another. (Read about water play tips.)
- He has been diligently practising scooping and transferring small items with a spoon.
- He can also put a thread through a large wooden bead.
Diet & Feeding
- New favourite foods include soup (a large bowl during lunch) and sushi (gobbled down 5 cucumber makis after his dinner). His Daddy needs to work harder to feed our little glutton.
- He has progressed from finger-feeding to fork-feeding. Still not very good at spoon-feeding though.
- Night-weaning is almost successful! (Read section on Sleep below.)
Potty Training
- On two occasions, his diaper was completely dry after nap. *Impressed Mummy*
- In the morning, his diaper is less soaked than before and he can frequently hold the first pee (A LOT!) until sitting on the potty
Sleep
- Naps are near-perfect as he falls asleep rather easily and through 1.5 to 2 hours. No more nursing during naps. Yay, freedom at last!
- Mr. Fussy Sleeper FINALLY relaxes enough to doze off in the car-seat or stroller when he is tired and ready to nap. (Instead of screaming his lungs out.) He even continued sleeping when I carried him out at home. This has NEVER ever happened in the past.
- His recent best performance at night: sleep for about 2 hours, fuss and let me soothe him back to sleep with light patting. Then suckle only once during early morning, and continue sleeping. I can finally declare that he is sleeping through the night, at 18 months old.
I am a happy and well-rested Mummy who is suddenly dreaming of organising play-dates and attending Pilates lessons. I seriously need to enjoy life before having baby #2! Time to practise my rusty driving skills again.
—
Need Your Help: Mums-who-drive, how should I overcome fears of driving alone with a potentially-fussy toddler?
—
P.S. View more developmental milestones (from 8 months old onwards).
P.P.S. Our latest homeschooling updates are posted at MummysHomeschool.com HERE,
Happy 18 months old, Baby Vee!
Looks like our boys have almost similar sleeping patterns. Like Vee, Ewan never sleeps in the car or whenever we go out. It is really energy-draining to travel to/fro Malacca every fortnight. And yes, I’m guilty of nursing him to sleep every night too. He doesn’t want his Daddy either :S I have lost hope on seeing him sleep through the night and have decided to just let him be until he’s really ready. Perhaps when he reaches 18 months old too? 🙂
Driving with baby…perhaps you can have a short-distance practise run once in a while until he gets used to riding in the car with you? For my boy, I put up some hanging toys and give him some to hold to keep him occupied. So far so good, although our farthest journey alone was only 10 minutes drive.
I have lots to learn from you 😀
Hi Joey, thank you for the driving tips. Driving round the neighbourhood seems a safe way a start then. 🙂
All along, I avoid nursing Vee to sleep as this is a very difficult habit to break. Instead, hubby or I carried and bounced him until 14 months old (11kg!). It sounds ridiculous but is our only way for a more peaceful bedtime. When he started comprehending simple instructions, we ‘psycho-ed’ him about sleeping on pillow, saying bye-bye to “milk”. etc. These are ideas from The No-Cry Sleep Solution (reviewed here). Gradually, he got the idea and made improvements.
Ewan will certainly sleep through the night some day. Wish you luck! 🙂
I did come across your review on The No-Cry Sleep Solution and went out looking for the book at MPH but to no avail. I shall try again at other bookstores.
Yes, I know it’s really bad to nurse him to sleep but I don’t know how else to make him sleep. It all started after he turned 2 months old when I was back at my parents’ for 3 weeks. We didn’t have a cot there and as such, the co-sleeping and nursing to sleep habits began 🙁 I’ll definitely handle the whole situation differently for my next baby.
The book is really hot and usually out of stock. You may try Times, Kinokuniya and Popular. I suggest calling the bookstores up beforehand to check for stocks then visit it.
Alternatively, Whoopeekiddies (based in Singapore) carries it. You may email the owner, Yee Ling, if it is available. She delivers goods to Malaysia too, at reasonable postage.
I understand the sleep trap that we fall into when fussy babies find it hard to sleep. Until now, I still find it hard to believe we bounced Vee manually until 14 months. Yes, for the next baby, I’d try different things too:
1. If he is a fussy sleeper, I’d try using the hammock (motion bed) early on instead of carrying.
2. diligently offer 1 EBM feed once every 1-2 days so that he does not reject the bottle and others feeding him.
It would be even more challenging to manage 2 children than 1. Let’s all learn together. 🙂
Hi MieVee!
Thanks for dropping by earlier. I’ll take note on the airtight containers for the leftovers!
As for how to overcome fears of driving solo with a potential fussy toddler, well, when I get into the car (after Ben is strapped in of course), I make sure I got all his toys, water and snacks ready. When there is a traffic light then I quickly pass one of the things around to him to distract him for a while. Works so far! 😛
Hi Jenny, thank you for the ideas. Preparing snacks sounds good as Vee loves eating! 🙂
Happy 18th months birthday to BabyVee!!
Anyway for driving alone with fussy baby, I’ve experienced the first time driving alone with my baby when he’s 8th months old. Scary…but it was quite pleasant. I just need to talk to him once in awhile, cooing him occasionally and look at him when stoping at traffic light. Just half an hour drive but when we almost reached home, i turned and looked at him again, he already slept in his car seat…
Hahaha…good luck. Try it, maybe you will get unexpected surprise from your Vee Vee 🙂
Thank you for the tips, Sue. It’s great that your baby sleeps easily in the car. What a blessing!
great to see vee improved so much… I am still in dilemma about the weaning.. he still no drink milk when he is wakeful..
how about the playgym?? I am thinking about to let marcus to go to playgym or gymboree classes.. what do you think about it?
Thank you, Yvonne! 🙂
Regarding weaning, if Marcus does not drink EBM when you are not around, would he take alternative forms of milk? Maybe he is not ready to wean and still prefers to breastfeed directly only. What I did was introduce him to a bit of milk (either EBM / formula milk / fresh milk after 12 months) during meals via small cup since 6+ months old. Then keep trying 1oz daily until he accepts it. I also tried yoghurt.
I also taught him the hand sign and word for “milk” when drinking from cup, so that he associates milk with it, not just Mummy.
Gradually, he got the idea. Then I tried weaning off one feed.
Regarding play gym, we went to KizSports at Bangsar Village 2, single whole day pass. This is a good age to practise climbing and play ‘rough’. 🙂
If you want a weekly activity with Marcus, attending a class together is good for bonding, having fun and knowing other children and parents. You may go for a trial class to see if both of you enjoy it.
We attend Shichida classs weekly, lots of singing and games that help develop fine motor skills. For gross motor skills, we plan to visit KizSports weekly.
Happy 18 month!
Thank you, prince n princess mum! 🙂
Pingback: 18 Sure-Fire Tips for Early Potty Training Success | Mummy's Reviews™