Tim the Tool Man Titus

In large part, I'm using this blog in lieu of a baby book. I write funny stories, updates and milestones in the lives of my children... and you get to 'listen' in on our fun.

So, here's an update on Titus: He grunts... like Tim the tool man Taylor from Home Improvement. He simply speaks in manly grunts making plenty of noises and sounds to get his point across. He'll hold entire conversations without saying a single English word. He mimics sounds, uses inflections in his voice and points adamantly... but he doesn't actually talk. My friend Jessi (Hi Jess!) has a little girl named Halle that is a few weeks older than Titus. I started reading about Halle saying all sorts of words around a year old. Now she seems to be talking in full sentences and Titus-- Well... grunts!

I also started reading several months ago about my friend Becky's daughter (Hi Becky!) using all sorts of words, and holding real conversations also. She's three months younger than Titus!

I thought Leeann was a late talker because she didn't start using her first words until she was 18 months old. Between 18 and 20 months she was regularly picking up words.

Titus is nearing 22 months old! Today, I got a babycenter.com updated on my "21 month old, week 4". It gives articles and polls, milestones and concerns for the average baby at that age. One of the questions today was, "Should you be concerned if your child isn't speaking in sentences?" Ha... I'm concerned that my son doesn't speak english!"

It stated that by the time a child turns 2 the average child will know 50+ words. Titus regularly uses: mama, uh-oh and bye-bye. He used to say papa a lot and sometimes says dada. He's said one time each amen, Jesus (though I missed those), banana, Brenna, and kitty. Oh, and he occasionally says ball too. That makes approximately 11 words if you count those that he's only used once. Oh, and thank you. He says thank you quite frequently, but he says it like a ventriloquist. He doesn't actually open his mouth, but he 'says' in under his breath, like in his throat. It's quite strange!

I don't think there's any reason to be concerned because he responds to commands, he engages appropriately and he uses plenty of sounds. They say boys sometimes talk later; as do those with older siblings that do all of the talking for them.

Oh, and I was reading today that the binki sometimes interferes with a child's ability to speak. My child is very attached to his binki. We try not to give it to him during the day much, but he still seems to have it a lot (you know... like last night when we were at a friends house playing cards and we wanted him to calm down. The binki and blanky did just the trick! Or, when he's throwing a fit in childcare at the YMCA. Or, if he wakes up in a bad mood we'll let him keep it a while. Oh, and then there's the occasional binki for our sanity in the car. The list seems to go on and on...)

Anyway, I think I'm going to call early intervention this week to see if there's any reason to be concerned or to see if they can just give us some simple tools to help encourage him to speak more. I'm almost 100% sure that he's just fine, but I know that early intervention can be a huge asset if there is something to be concerned about.

So, there you go... an update on my Titus! I'm going to try to attach a picture soon of him with his binki and his blanky... because that's how he is most of the time! I don't usually blog those, but it would be fitting for this post :0)