Word to Yo Motha

In anticipation of Baby Z's two year check up, I have been faithfully chronicling the words that Baby Z can currently say. From what I read, from 2-3 years old a child will have between 50 and 300 words. It's probably obsessive, but I want to be completely accurate when I talk to the doctor about it. The list is 30 words long right now. And I am counting things that don't sound quite right, but are close and he uses them consistently. He seems to favor sound effects mostly- my favorite being "doh," as in Homer Simpson, which I admit I say quite often.

I think Baby Z is on the later end of speech development, but perhaps only slightly so for boys. But it's not hard to see that within a year he will have A LOT more words (well within the range I noted above). Anyway, for peace of mind, I'm going to talk to the doctor about it. He shows lots of understanding and communicates well with signs and the words he does have. I don't think I would want to intervene in any way until after 2 1/2 years old, if we didn't see continued improvement. So far, there has been steady growth but I just want to keep an eye on it, you know. I have friends who've told me their boys started suddenly speaking in full sentences after the age of two. I have talked myself out of the idea that he will wake up the day of his birthday and say, "Good morning, Mama. Cereal, please?" However, recently I've noticed he is trying more sounds and imitating what I say occasionally (usually when it is a moment that will push my patience, such as when I say, "Get down, now," in the full Mother voice. Then Baby Z decides it's a good time to say "now.").

Who can understand the wonders of an individual child's development. Why did Baby Z start walking at 15 months with near perfection, hardly a spill or fall. And why does he now say "ush" for hush, as in "the little old lady whispering hush," when he has never said "ball" or "baby." Hm. Well, he is his own little person and I'll just keep encouraging him to try new sounds and words. If speech development followed interests, his next word would be "trash" or "lawn mower" or "sprinkler."