Are we Talking yet?

Jamie - as I type - is being quite vocal in the next room. It's more of a babble than anything specific but now and again a word seems to appear. We can't be definite but I am sure he has said 'Bye-Bye' (with a little wave) 'Grandad', 'Daddy' and yesterday I am sure he said 'Milk' - that was certainly what he meant anyway!

Have been interested in what we can do to help Jamie as he learns to talk. http://www.bounty.com/toddler/development/toddler-milestones-talking
Keep talking. Your toddler may not say much yet, but he understands what you’re saying. (He certainly understands NO but chooses to ignore it!) Talking starts with listening so the more you talk to him, the faster he’ll learn to talk himself. Talk about what you’re doing all the time, and state the obvious, for example, ‘We’re going up to have a bath now, then get you into your pyjamas and ready for a story. We could read the lovely book grandma bought you. Look, here it is on the blue bookshelf’.

Listen to what your baby is saying. When you ask your baby a question, wait and see what his response is; it might be a smile or a look towards a toy. Even if you don’t understand exactly what he’s saying, the chances are his body language or facial expressions will give the game away, so talk to him as if you do, ‘Have you had enough of the bricks? Do you want to play with the trains instead?’. Speak directly to your child and listen to him attentively without trying to finish off his sentences for him. It’s very important for your child’s self esteem and his ability to listen, for you to respond to what he says.

Words and music. Read to your tot every day to get him used to books and the words on the pages. Reading helps them to hear and understand the inclinations and emotions of speech. Don't be shy about reading with gusto and silly voices! Reading can also help with labelling things, so you can point to a picture and say the word 'Fire Engine' to help them recognise what objects are called. Remember that the goal is not to get through the book as quickly as possible but rather to get your child involved in and excited by the process. Little kids love singing and don’t care if you’re tone deaf, so play nursery rhyme tapes and sing along with them together – they’re a brilliant way of getting kids to learn and remember words.

Language development can vary widely from child to child, but here are some of the key stages:
By one year, you toddler will understand what you’re saying and may have a couple of words to say himself.
By 15 months he’ll have up to 10 words and will understand a simple command like ‘Get the ball’.
By 18 months, he’ll know the names of the most important people in his life and will be able to follow more complex commands, ‘Pick up the ball and give it to daddy’.
By 24 months, he’ll have up to 100 words in his vocabulary and will be able to form simple sentences, ‘Get ball’, ‘Mummy come’, and say ‘no’ and ‘mine’ a lot.
By three years, he’ll have about 300 words and will be able to have a conversation of a few sentences and use adjectives and prepositions (‘up, on, in, under’ etc.)

Learning to talk is the key to how well your child learns everything else, so keep the conversation flowing and make sure your toddler has plenty to say for himself.

12month Check (ish)

Daddy has been a bit worried lately about a lump he says he found on the back of Jamie's head. I could never find it but I though - just to be sure - I would take him to the Doctors. Although when I rang the receptionist said they don't do 12month checks (apparently some surgeries do) I am pleased to say that I felt like we had had one!

The lump is one of Jamie's Lymph G;lands and so perfectly normal. According to: http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Lymph-Glands-Swollen.htm Small lymph glands (sometimes called lymph nodes) occur throughout the body. Lymph glands that are near each other often form into groups or chains. Examples of where lymph glands group together are: the sides of the neck, the armpits, and the groins. Lymph glands are joined together by a network of lymph channels. Lymph is a fluid that forms between the cells of the body. This watery fluid travels in the lymph channels, through various lymph glands and eventually drains into the bloodstream. Lymph and lymph glands are major parts of the immune system. They contain white blood cells (lymphocytes) and antibodies that defend the body against infection. Daddy has always had similar lumps all over his body so it must be hereditary.

I also mentioned Jamie's head shaking; which seems to have started up again. She said not to draw attention to it or it would become a way of gaining attention. She asked how he was feeding and said it was important to make sure he had a varied diet. She watched him crawl across the floor and seemed very happy with him. I mentioned that we had tried him on full fat cows milk instead of his usual formulae and that it had given him hiccups. She suggested keeping him on the formulae for a little while longer before trying again.

Now that Jamie is One Year it seems that there are a lot of changes happening. We do not necessarily have to sterilise his bottles - although I am aware they still need to be thoroughly cleaned in HOT water - but I am still a bit apprehensive about the changes. I know he should be feeding himself (or at least attempting) but so far this has not happened. And I still find it difficult to clean his teeth every day....

Finally, she asked if I was going to have another one....

We need a bigger car!!!

Following my last post on the amount a child costs, I must add expenses that occur as a result of having a baby - rather than the baby itself. Last week we went on a long weekend with some friends and their two girls to Derbyshire; staying in a converted chapel. We had fantastic weather and a brilliant time and hopefully Paul really enjoyed his birthday!! This was the first time we had left our house and actually gone somewhere other than friends houses. And the village we stayed in didn't have any shops (it did have 2 pubs!!) However, this meant the need to ensure we had everything packed and we soon realised our car is not quite big enough to fit everything in. We had wanted to take the heavy duty buggy but after the travel cot, our suitcase (medium size and containing toys as well as clothes) and a box of Jamies clothes and bedding, there was only just space for our cheap alternative in the boot. A box of food sat precariously on the front seat all the way there - with my large pizza on the floor - and I was squashed up to Jamie (in his new front fitting seat) with his change bag, a bag of toiletries and another bag of 'goodies' at my feet. We nearly didn't have room for the booze!!

What will it cost?

Introducing a new little person to the world is one of life’s great adventures (it says here) but there are practical considerations, like the £186,032 price tag of raising a child from birth to the age of 21 (from the Liverpool Victoria Annual Cost of a Child Survey 2007). This figure includes education and childcare costs.

In 2005 the average cost of bringing up a baby from birth to the age of 5 was put at £52,605. Pregnancy and Birth Magazine based it on the spending of the average parent in Mothercare. This total equates to all the baby basics if bought new and childcare. Childcare costs come in about £30,000 or more over 4 years for a full time nursery place.

Because I am so OCD I have kept a record of all the money that we have spent on Jamie since September 2009. This figure includes costs of scans, car parking etc. as well as clothes, toys, nappies, tissues, milk / food and all the other items we have purchased for him. The total to date is £3811.22 (which includes the £275.14 we spent on his party).

I must say we have been very lucky as most of the essentials; cot, buggy/pram, car seat, we have bought second hand or been given. We know the car seat has not been in any accidents so were happy with that, and we simply bought a new mattress for the cot. We are also thankful for the Child Tax Credit (currently £8.64 a week) and the Child Benefit (£80 a month) and the fact daddy has just got a new job with better prospects / pension/ death in service and mummy is still able to work 2 and a half days a week. The only problem now is the need to replace the boiler and the quote from British Gas of over £3000!! But we still hope to pay off the mortgage this year....

I can thoroughly recommend Becky Goddard-Hill's book; How to Afford Time off With Your Baby: 101 ways to ease the financial strain, Vermilion 2009 and her blog: http://babybudgeting.co.uk/category/blog/ which contains lots of help and advice with regards to saving money.

Your baby at twelve months

Babies of a year have usually trebled their birthweight. The average weight for a one-year-old boy is 10.04kg (22lb) and 9.5kg (around 21lb) for a girl, so Jamie is definitely average!!

According to www.mumsnet.com :
Your baby loves toys and increasingly understands how they work. He may look as though he's more interested in the paper but that's just because it's colourful. Jamie likes boxes. At 12 months your baby wants to feel secure so that he can investigate the world and assert his independence.

How he thinks: Sometimes you'll catch him looking at you before he does something - like sticking his fingers in the CD player - to check it's okay. There's no point looking disapproving as he'll do it anyway and laugh because it's become a game. Everything is a game at the moment; unless its mummy leaving the room! He'll start using objects the way they should be used, miraculously using a brush on his hair and trying to brush yours rather more relentlessly. (Jamie prefers chewing his brush). He discovers ways to makes things happen, for example he'll pull the tablecloth to get hold of his beaker. He's become a more complex character, capable of doing more than one thing at a time. He can remember where the cupboard is where the crayons are kept, crawl or walk to it, open it and find the crayons. What else he does while he's there doesn't bear thinking about. I can identify with this. He knows where things are after I have taken them off him - usually the TV control! His memory starts working and instead of the end of "This little piggy went to market" being a constant surprise, he will remember how it ends and start giggling before you get to tickle him under the chin. He will be strongly attached to whoever cares for him most often and this gives him the confidence to make a bid for freedom. If you are going out and leaving him, make sure you say goodbye to him. He realises that people come and go, although he'd rather you didn't, and he may feel more insecure if you disappear all the time without telling him.

How he speaks: He may be able to say one or more words with meaning which means he can point to a dog and say 'dog'. By this he means there's a dog, rather than just dog. The difference is subtle but means he names objects that do things. He will understand simple instructions such as "can you get your shoes?" although don't expect him to do so. He begins to understand why people talk all the time and being sociable, wants to join in, so don't hurt his feelings by insisting he speak up clearly and distinctly or not at all. Praise him for his babbling and the way he tries to add inflection onto his baby words. Remember in old age you may be the one who's not making much sense. No definite words as yet but he loves pointing at thinks and being told what they are.

How he behaves: He will be keen to kiss you but won't be very good at it unless he's an early kisser. Most babies press their mouth to your cheek and dribble before they get to grips with puckering up. He loves laughing and enjoys a good joke, which in baby terms is you putting your hat on him and lifting him up to the mirror so he can see how funny he looks. YES!!

His physical achievements: He may be an early walker in which case you will be hunched over from holding one of his hands as he staggers along. He'll walk with his feet wide apart, like a little drunk baby. If you want him to walk with a trolley buy one which can hold a baby's weight and not topple, it must be heavy. If yours is light, try weighting it with telephone directories.
He may be an expert crawler, in which case he will probably be pulling himself up on furniture and weight bearing. He is certainly cruising around the furniture and he loves his trolley! His ability to pick things up is now masterful. He has a fine pincer grip using his thumb and forefinger that can manage 5 pence pieces (and pinching mummy and daddy) Be obsessed with checking what's on the floor and what money has leaked onto the sofa from someone's pockets. He will use his grip to pick up and throw his toys with one hand, often with some force, so get ready to duck or to weep. He may be able to draw a line with a crayon, which counts as his first drawing. He has signed a number of birthday cards! He can feed himself with his forefinger and thumb and likes using a spoon, although the food to mouth ratio may not be 100%. But he will rapidly get better at feeding himself. He'll manage to eat a piece of his first birthday cake, unless it's one with concrete-hard royal icing. Building towers of bricks is easier for him now and he may manage three, although he still prefers knocking them down. He's into stacking stuff and putting objects in and out of containers because he is now learning about the relationships between things.

What he can see: Virtually the same as you. He can follow rapidly moving objects and understands that things can be two-dimensional.
What's in his mouth: He will start showing his molars, which are useful for chewing but can seem to take a lot of effort to push out. Jamie has 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom and they are sharp. Most children have all their first (‘primary’) teeth - 10 at the top and 10 at the bottom - by the time they are 2½. Remember to start good habits early and clean baby’s teeth with a special brush and toothpaste. I admit I don't clean then every day as he won't give the toothbrush back!!
What he likes to play: He'll enjoy books, especially ones with babies. He may well say Baba in a rather superior voice when he sees one. He likes physical games like being jogged on your knee while you pretend to drop him. He loves "this little piggy went to market" and laughs with the anticipation of a tickle. Nursery rhymes and that old favourite "Incy wincy spider" are fun for him. He loves his Dear Zoo and other pop up books and can sometimes be left to play on his own for a little while.

He is turning into a little boy....

Happy 1st Bday - Hints on Holding a Party!!

Where has the year gone? Organised a party for Jamie and a ‘few’ friends and stressed myself silly about it all week, but thanks to some wonderful helpers the afternoon was fantastic. Jamie didn't want it to end. He was a model baby all the way through and we couldn't get him to sleep at his usual time as he was still too excited; what with all the cards and presents he received (and don't forget all the boxes and wrapping paper they all came in!)

As Jamie has always loved the Iggle Piggle that Nanna B gave him, we decided to do an 'In the Night Garden' themed party. Most of the tableware (Plates, Banners, Tablecloths) were purchased from ebay along with some 1st birthday banners and balloons. And I also bought a few multi packs of Night Garden bubbles which went down a storm with the children (and also in some cases went all over the floor!) It pays to have a creative friend and Kerry was fantastic. She not only made the wonderful Iggle Piggle cake but also did a 'Pin the Blanket on the Iggle Piggle' game and made two Nicky Nonk Piñatas!! I made my very first pass the parcel and had to be told about the protocol of making sure there were enough wrappers so that every child had a wrapper to open (and prize) each. I don't remember it being like that in my day!! I also wrapped a number of extra prizes, and with it being Easter was able to get away with Kinder eggs, Cream Eggs and more chocolate! Towards the end I gave every child an egg or small mars bar. I had though of an egg and spoon race but I don't think the hall was quite large enough....

Big Thanks also to my mum (Chick Cakes), my brother and sister in law (fantastic cheesecake) who came early to the house and helped with the preparations. Do you know there are 18slices of bread in a 'Best Of Both' loaf? Also Michelle and the twins who turned up early at the hall and helped blow up a few balloons and put up a few banners for me!

Following our brilliant New Years Eve http://grumpymumtobe.blogspot.com/2010/01/happy-new-year.html we decided to hire the Church Hall again. It was truly a bargain at £7.50 an hour. We hired it from 2-5pm but was allowed in from 1.30pm and given til 5.30pm to set up and clear away. The food however, was less of a bargain at just over £100 (this does include some beer and wine for post party analysis purposes!). This was Daddy's contribution to the party; although he did burn a few pizzas as well!! A total of 26 adults came and 18 children (44 in total) 7 under 18months and 11 over 18months with the oldest being 9 years. There were a few who could not come because of prior arrangements and a few who didn’t make it due to illness on the day.

Hints and Tips for future parties:
Accept any help offered. As I said, I couldn’t have done it without my wonderful friends and family!! Afterwards I sent a number of Thank You cards and bottles to emphasise how much I appreciated them. Hopefully, I will be able to call on them again next year….

I made my own invitations and sent them electronically where possible (text or email). But not all invitations need to be to friends of the birthday boy / girl. It can be a good excuse to catch up with a few 'yummy mummy’s' whose children may be a little older. Remember to circulate and talk to all of the parents who do come though - it will be worth it!!

Allow for people to drop out and people to join in. We had 7 missing on the day from our original numbers due to illness, and after receiving an unexpected card from a neighbour invited them along (although they didn't actually arrive!)

People aren’t that bothered about the food. Next time we need to buy less; thereby saving both time and money. We made way too many sandwiches when all anyone really wanted was a pot of tea and a sausage roll or two. Both the adults and the children however, loved the chocolate!! It seems people with younger children usually bring their own food. I did have some baby biscuits and baby yogurts but all seemed happy with what they brought themselves.

Don't fret too much about having every minute organised. Children love just running around and shouting about and the church hall certainly allowed that. I would have been going insane after 5 minutes if I had hosted it at the house! Take a few toys for the younger ones to play with. My mum had been given a small ride-on car and a plastic rocking horse which both went down very well. I also bought some soft play mats for the party, but have used them nearly every day since I bought them so feel it was worth the expense. They are perfect for a little boy who is 'cruising' at the moment.

Make sure birthday boy / girl has a long nap in the morning and doesn't get too stimulated. Jamie managed to stay awake for all the party with only a couple of re-fuellings, but we had been conscious not to do too much with him in the morning and in fact he had an extended nap which paid dividends in the afternoon!

Don't forget plenty of bibs and a few changes of clothes for birthday boy (or girl). Daddy felt he should have also taken a change of clothes after Jamie threw up on him!

Don't forget your camera and plenty of 'space' on your memory card / films so you can take loads of pictures. I took nearly 150 photos and videos!! My brother did a small film on his camcorder. And thanks to Paul for bringing his CD player along with a few CDs ranging from Nursery Rhymes to Lady Gaga.

Take along blutac, sellotape and scissors for putting up banners and balloons and last minute decorations. And don’t forget tea towels, washing up liquid and bin bags to help clear away efficiently.

Afterwards, find out whose birthday it is next and offer them the banners / tablecloths and leftover plates / cups etc. Our theme was In the Night Garden and it is guaranteed that this time next year Jamie will be interested in something else.

Try to remember who brought what present. We received lots of lovely presents - all wrapped up in wonderful paper. However, some of them did not have a tag on them and so we are unsure of who bought what!!

You don't have to provide a party bag for every child but they might want a piece of cake to take home with them. We forgot to cut the cake during the party - although of course we all sang Happy Birthday!!