Although the date was ingrained in Mom and Dad’s minds for months before Archer was born, it probably won’t ever mean much to Archer. Yesterday was Archer’s 1st “adjusted” birthday, or the age he would be had he been born on his due date. He will actually be 16 months old in just a few days, but adjusted ages are sometimes used to reflect the fact that a baby was born prematurely and may therefore take more time to meet growth and/or developmental milestones.
Archer has been doing really well at “catching up” to his actual age peers as far as gross and fine motor skills go, but his language skills seem to have been on the back burner. He does use a few signs, frequently jabbers, and says what sounds like Mom and a couple other words occasionally, but he doesn’t use any consistent words yet. We may make a visit to his old speech therapist after RSV season to see if she thinks more visits are necessary at this point.
Archer may have more time to devote to practicing talking now that he has accomplished one of his main goals: walking! In the past week or two he has been gaining confidence and attempting steps on his own, and in the last few days he has been getting faster and more steady on his feet. It’s so cute to watch that grinning face toddling toward you from across the room! The video is from last weekend.
Archer’s pediatrician was very pleased at his well-check the other day and just recommended that we be proactive in regards to speech. Archer, however, was not thrilled with the measuring, weighing, inspecting, or shots and was determined to avoid them as he voiced his opinions with the nurse and doctor. His pediatrician exclaimed how strong he is, which is something we've heard from many others as well. We have no doubt that his strong-willed personality has helped get him to where he is today, although lately he also likes to use it to try to avoid naps and bedtime.
Although still not “on the chart” for a 16-month old, Archer continues to inch closer to that elusive line! He is 17 pounds and 29 inches, which has earned him a new convertible car seat. It seems much more comfy than his old one and will hopefully make for a better road trip to visit some family members for the first time this summer!
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| Pantry raid! Daddy's cereal is so much better! |
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| Loving his ride-on car, until Dad stops pushing! He also loves hide-and-seek and being chased. |
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| Meeting his look-alike, Great-Grandpa, for the 1st time. |
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| New obsession: books! Especially this pop-up one! |
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| Archer loves to pull this book out and bring it over to read over and over! |
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| Pulling things out of the cabinets is no longer good enough. |
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| Figuring out how to take his diaper off : / |
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| Feeding himself with a spoon |
