If I say terrific, then I'm hoping to ward off the terrible. So far so good.
I still call myself a 'new mom' to strangers. I don't feel like I'm an expert by any means but I'm hardly new at this. I guess it's because it's hard to believe that 2 years (almost) have gone by from when Mason emerged from the warm comfort of my body and into the world to grow into this amazing little dude.
Mason's vocabulary has increased quite a bit and we have quite the chuckle over the new words that come out of his mouth and even though he's just speaking in 3 word sentences, so much character comes out! I think one of the reasons why parents think their kid is 'the smartest' is the fact that we don't really know when each stage happens so when it does, we are so excited about it!
Sleeping through the night is still hit and miss as Mason's schedule has been changing. We have been on a 7 day on, 7 day off rotation which isn't working out well when Mason is at my house. He hasn't slept more than once in his crib all night and I can expect him to stand up at about 2am and yell at me to get him and put him in with me. Because his crib is next to my bed, there isn't really an option to ignore him with hopes he'll go back to sleep. One great thing is that we finally retired Mr. Binky. YES! For real this time. He does have a favorite blue blankie and a little toy digger (excavator) that he adores and that goes in the crib with him. He knows it's a toy but it's more of a comfort thing for him. By the morning, he still has both items in his pudgy little fists.
Eating is a hot topic for parents of any kids 6mo+. They eat too much, they don't eat enough. They hate veggies, they love veggies the next week. It's a foodie roller coaster and the child is in charge. I try to give Mason a varied diet but I'm not as adventurous as his Dad. Mason comes back with all these neat foods in his lunch so it gives me great ideas when grocery shopping. He's a huge fan of cheese and hummus and pizza. He has a pretty good appetite at daycare but tends to eat less at my place. He's still on whole milk which I may reduce to 2% but I'm always worried about his weight (which is now 25lbs) and am not sure he'll getting enough fat. Who knows, it will probably always be something I'm paranoid about.
Speaking of growth. I just measured Mason. 34" tall, 16" head circumference. One blog states:
Height: 25th to 50th percentile
+ Weight: 10th to 25th percentile.
If Mason continues to grow in the listed
percentiles, Mason's approximate height and weight when fully grown will
be 5' 10') and 64 kilograms (141 pounds)
respectively.
The 5'10 sounds great, good height but 141lbs is my weight-ish (well maybe not after eating all those brownies I made last night). We gotta fatten this kid up! :)
Another website says (based on his actual birthday)
Mason's height and weight is 50th percentile. His BMI is 15.2 which is also in the 50th percentile.
I think that's great. Not too big, not too small. Just right :) Because Mason is on a restricted diet (vegetarian) I am always worried about him not getting enough nutrients etc but it looks like he's doing just fine!
Socializing. Mason is a pretty social kid, a bit shy around adults but plays well with other children and gawks at the older kids as they zip around him at warp speed. I attribute this to his year in daycare. He shares really well and is very polite.
Manners. He's better now with his thank you's but is improving with the pleases without direction. If I say, "where is your manners?", Mason responds with 'pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease'. He even is polite in his sleep. I asked him last night if he wanted a drink of water and he said yes please but I then realized he wasn't awake.
Tantrums. According to my March edition of Canadian Family magazine, there are 3 types of toddler's personalities. Easy, Careful and Spirited. Don't know what kind of personality type your toddler has? Try this test.
In an uncrowded mall (is there such thing?) let go of your child's hand and pretend to turn your back for a second.
Does your toddler...
Just stand there? (Easy). Grab your coat and cry? (Careful). Runs to whatever interests her/him without looking back. (Spirited)
Mason is probably between 'Easy' and a 'Spirited'. More on the easy side I think.
Mason tends to tantrum when he's ask to stop something or hearing 'no'. Which obviously is completely normal. I'm a fan of the 2 minute timeout (a minute for each of your child's age). His naughty area is his crib which some may be confusing with night time but it works for us. I tell him why he's going in his room and I shut the door. No toys, no lights. Sometimes he wails (and then is all smiles when I come to retrieve him) and other times he sits in there and sings. For the most part, when he comes out, he behaves.
Today for example was successful discipline. He was in one of my drawers and pulled out my battery charger and two double AA's. He wanted to put them inside. Fine. But when he couldn't, he decided to toss the charger on the kitchen floor and threw the batteries across the floor (he's a thrower). I asked him to pick up/clean up the batteries and he refused. So off we went to our room. No crying in the crib but about 2mins later I hear "MUM!.....MUM!" which made me giggle. When he came back into the kitchen, I asked him nicely to pick up the batteries and he did so immediately. Problem solved. The threat of a time out also works when we are out and about.
Health. Aside from the eczema which is still present (sporadically), Mason is a very healthy kid. He gets the odd cold but I don't think he's even been on antibiotics yet. He has all his teeth and they came in pretty straight. Not that it matters as 'most' of them will fall out. I say mostly because *I* still have a baby tooth in my mouth and it's still holding on. There is no adult tooth below it so if it does give out, I'll have to get a bridge.
Despite finishing the teething phase Mason is still a drooler. Not super slobbery but his shirt is wet 80% of the time. I googled this to see if other parents were experiencing the same thing and some are but it's a result of an infection (which he doesn't have) so we'll just have to live with it until he grows out of it. Mason still takes his Vitamin D drops daily and I have him eating the Iron Kids Gummies (+Calcium) as I was testing them for PTPA.
A few of his favorite things. Mason is just at the point where he recognizes cartoons off of tv (Elmo, Dora, Rolie polie olie and Handy Manny). As I mentioned he has two things he sleeps with and he also enjoys playing with wooden puzzles, trucks, diggers, excavators, backhoes (thanks to Papa) and coloring. Reading is now a big deal in our house and I get loads of books from the library. Some topics are books on potty training, mommy & daddy, cars, planes and animals. He's still a huge fan of YouTube and regularly asks for Digger, Elephant and ABCD's. Mason's YouTube channel can be found here.
Learning - Thanks to excellent teaching at Mason's daycare, he can count up to 11 and knows his alphabet. He likes singing them more than reciting them but if you get him in a good mood he'll do the whole alphabet or count the stairs he climbs.
Travel - Mason still is a good traveler for my frequent trips to the Island. We received a mobile DVD player as a gift from my parents and it is a great entertainer for Mason for long car trips. Throw in an Elmo DVD and he's happy for a few hours. He no longer sleeps the whole way there but is in a good mood and enjoys the ferry. Instead of spending the whole time in the playroom, Mason likes to explore and now we go out outside for short periods. The time goes by fast as Mason isn't one to sit for long.
I imagine my next post will be Mason's cupcakes for his birthday in 2 weeks. Til then...