Rosie's 18 Month Update..

I think this is the first update post I’ve ever written on Rosie, unless you include the emotional wreck of a post I wrote when she turned one ha! I love reading other peoples’ update posts and I think it’s nice to look back on when she’s older too. 

I can’t even believe I’m saying she’s 18 months old. I honestly feel as though this year has gone quicker than last year and all of a sudden people are asking when we’re having another. I tried to keep hold of the newborn baby stage for as long as I could, because the old ladies that stop you in Tesco aren’t joking when they say it flies by. 

When did she start to walk?

Well Rosie was a little late to the party in terms of walking, she started walking independently at around 15 months. We got asked the question a lot of ‘is she walking yet??’ but I’m so glad we didn’t rush her. Every baby is different, there are babies in my family that were walking at 9 months which is amazing, but they go when they’re ready and if it takes a little longer then that’s okay too. She now insists on running everywhere so she’s definitely caught up!

Rosie was in a hip brace for six weeks when she was only four months old, and had to have several check ups because one of her hip sockets was more shallow and needed to catch up. She had her latest check up a couple of months ago and we were told her hips are now perfect and she just has to have routine check ups once a year until she’s five. 

Sleep

Rosie was a really good sleeper at the beginning and then around Christmas time she would wake in the night for milk and that lasted about three months. I think it was around March I left her one night to cry for ten minutes (pls don't judge) and she started sleeping through again after that. She only really wakes in the night now if she has a tooth coming through or a blocked nose etc.

Speech 

We are actually amazed by Rosie’s speech if I’m honest. Her speaking in the last couple of months has come on amazingly, she can say her family names clearly (Mama, Daddy, Nanny, Nonna, Heather, Matt, Chez, Nancy) and has now even started saying my friends and their kids names; Jade, Laura, Pen, Emma, Katie, Dottie, Freddie. 

She also says more general words that help us to have a conversation with her, such as drink, more, shoes, all gone, night night, hello, bye, please and thanks. We are always laughing at her because if anyone asks her what she has had to eat she says every time without fail, ‘eggs, beans, sausage’ even if she hasn’t had that ha! 

I’m not sure where she’s up to in terms of being advanced with her speech or if she is just at the right level for her age but she continues to amaze me everyday. If I point to anywhere on her body she will happily tell me what part that is, whether it’s legs, knees, head, toes, hands or anywhere on her face. We do sing heads, shoulders, knees and toes so I think that has helped her a lot with that. More recently she has started to string words together like 'shut door' and 'Daddy up now!' when we're waking Connor up! No idea where she gets the bossiness from..

Appetite

As you’ve probably seen if you follow my Instagram, Rosie has a great appetite at the moment. A lot of people have told me if she eats well now, she will be fussy in the next couple of years so I’m making the most of her enjoying her food in case she does start turning it away! I try to give her a balanced diet whilst also keeping it as varied as possible. She loves her veggies and fruit, but also loves chips cheese and pasta. One thing I do struggle to get her to eat a lot of is meat, particularly red meat. She will eat ham, but any sort of minced meat and she usually chews it and spits it back out so I’m still working on that. She loves olives and peanut butter which are two things I really don't like, but I love that she will try anything and usually likes it.

Personality

Rosie’s personality just gets better everyday. She’s already turning into her own person rather than just a baby. She loves dancing, playing shop, and bossing the dog around. She’s always telling him to sit down and tickling him under his chin.  It’s so funny because she loves tickling people, if you’re in our house with no shoes on, your feet are getting tickled whether you like it or not! Rosie’s still enjoying her swimming lessons and we started Chapter 6 last week which is the start of the toddler classes, very exciting! Over the last month or so, Rosie has become so independent, she doesn't want help with anything and sometimes gets a little frustrated when she does need help.

The tantrums have already started which I don't think I was prepared for, and it's usually because we have to leave somewhere or if she has to go in her pram. I'm usually bad cop whilst Connor either gives in and throws chocolate at her (not literally) or laughs at her.  

This post has accidentally ended up longer than I planned because let’s face it who can’t talk about their baby all day long? One thing I have learnt in these 18 months is that every baby is different, and it is important not to compare one from another. Some people may read this and think wow she was late with her walking, and others may read it and think she is way ahead with her speech. They will all catch each other up eventually and as long as they are happy that’s all that matters. 

Thank for reading!