Mommay

Austin has figured out one word that is pretty consistent, and that is "Mommay." He sounds like a little British guy when he says it, and I can't hear it enough. His communication has grown in leaps and bounds in the past couple of weeks, and it's something I attribute to a little guidance we have received from a speech pathologist. 

He still doesn't have words, but he has a way of communicating that is growing from just whines and screams (which yes, is typical at this age, but still, he should have some other tricks up his sleeve!). He has mastered the Yes and No with the shaking of the head. This is HUGE! I remember a couple of months ago I was babysitting for a friend whose daughter had finally figured out the difference between yes' and no's and it was so much easier trying to figure out what she wanted. We "practice" these two words daily, almost hourly. He is able to show me when he wants to eat, mostly because he knows how to get into the pantry and grab the food down, but still, I'd rather that the whining. It's actually fun to see what he chooses to bring out to me, sometimes it's lasagna noodles, other times it's a bottle of olive oil, and sometimes it's the dog bones that he loves to chew on until I find him with the milk bone hanging out of his mouth! 

I think the most beneficial things we have adopted into our routine so far is the kicking of the pacifier habit and the way we answer when he points. I wrote about the pacifier a while ago, and while it doesn't bother me to let him have it, the number of sounds he makes now that he doesn't has increased a significant amount. Not only the number of sounds, but the way he says them, and the constant babbling I have waited so long to hear from his little mouth. As for him pointing, I now wait for him to point, then look at me, and then I repeat the word. This is different than me just saying what he's looking at while he's still looking at the object. I can see him studying my mouth, and I think it's fun for him to stare at it while making the right sound for the object he's looking at. I also stares while I sing, and sometimes I can see him really studying what my mouth is doing, so I know he's thinking about these words. 

This Thursday we are starting speech therapy here in the home. I am really REALLY excited to see what she has to say! I'm excited to see if there are new things I can do to help encourage our little guy to express himself. I just feel so bad for him sometimes as I try to imagine a world where people don't understand me, and I can't help but think that I would show my frustration in a series of whines and pouts as well. 

One thing that is on our mind though is his little tongue tie issue. If you know Austin, you know his tongue. He has it resting between his lips most of the time and it is a classic picture of him to have his tongue peeping out at us. It turns out that the crease going down the middle of his tongue shows us that he is tongue tied and he possibly does not have full use of his tongue, which could make it difficult to talk. Talk about a lot of possibilities though! He MIGHT have a severe enough case that MIGHT effect his speech. I guess this is one of those things that we will have to study more and more on and talk to more and more professionals to figure out the best course of action for his little tongue. The thought of clipping the underside to give him more freedom makes my tongue hurt, but the thought of letting him be able to use his mouth gives me a little thrill. And I'm sure, just as I have loved hearing "Mommay! Mommay!" Chris is waiting very patiently to hear this little man of ours call out for his "Dadday!".