Noah - 2 Years Old

Noah turned 2 back in November and with the madness of his second birthday, Christmas and New Years I am only just getting round to writing his 2 year update, but here it is!

Character

Turning two has certainly given Noah more confidence and independence. He loves to do things for himself, in his own time and in his own way. He knows his own mind that's for sure. He isn't too bad when it comes to tantrums as of yet but when he does have one there are two different types. There are the frustration tantrums which usually arise when he doesn't understand why he can't have his own way. These usually result in him crying out of frustration. With those type of tantrums, I usually get down to his level and talk to him, tell him to calm down and he usually does. We wipe away the tears and 2 minutes later he's over it. The other type of tantrum is rage and thankfully these ones don't happen very often. With these tantrums I usually just ignore it, don't give him rise and again he's usually over it within a minute or two. Like I say he isn't bad at all when it comes to tantrums, he perhaps has 1 or 2 or week but when they do happen we have thankfully sussed out the way which helps him through it. Every child is different and once you've found something that works for you tantrums can be a lot less stressful for both you and your little one.

There isn't a day that goes by where he isn't performing and trying to make you laugh. He is always moving 100 miles an hour and never wants to sit still. He's into everything, especially things he shouldn't be in. He's very clumsy too and probably has an accident every day!

Anyway, apart from all that he is just the same as he's always been, funny, inquisitive, hyperactive, silly, caring, considerate and very polite.

Size

Noah now weighs 2 stone! 2 stone at 2 years! He's at the 70th percentile for his height and around 50th for his weight. He's tall and slender but is solid too. He wears a mixture of 18-24 months and 2-3 year clothes. Most 2-3 is still too big for him but a lot of the 18-24 is too small, so he's in the middle really. It just depends on what brand of clothing he's wearing. He wears a size 5 shoe but I really need to take him to have his feet measured again soon.

Health

Just before Christmas (a week before in fact) Noah had his worst illness to date, he contracted Hand, Foot, and Mouth. It all started when we were at the Christmas party at Playgroup. Noah was so out of sorts, he felt hot and he was crying a lot, he really wasn't himself. When we got home later that day he developed a really high temperature and I noticed a few spots on his bottom. He struggled to sleep that night and then in the morning I noticed lots of sores and ulcers in his mouth. He couldn't eat, drink, have his bottle, have his dummy, it hurt for him to speak. He just cried and cried and cried and it was heartbreaking to not be able to do anything. He would lead us into the kitchen by our hand and tell us he was hungry but there was literally nothing he could manage to eat. In two days he probably had 2 mini milk ice creams and that was it. By the third night, I resorted to using a syringe to get milk into him and thankfully he managed it. It felt great to be able to get something into his belly. Those 3 days were the hardest few days as a parent for both Nick and I. It's heartbreaking when your child is in pain and is grabbing your hand and putting it to their mouth for you to make it better but there is nothing you can do. Thankfully it only lasted those 3 days and once the ulcers had gone Noah certainly made up for the lost time when it came to eating, drinking and sleeping. I can't tell you how much of a relief it was to see the back end of that horrible illness.

Feeding

Noah is still fantastic when it comes to food. There's not much he won't try or eat and we hope that won't change. His favourite meals at the moment are chicken stir fry, roast dinner, spaghetti and meatballs, and tuna pasta bake. He still loves his fruit and veg too. He has 3 set meals a day, with a snack here and there. He also still has his milk, 12oz in the morning and 12oz at night.

Sleep

Sleep has been a bit hit and miss lately and we have put it down to the 2-year sleep regression. Every age-linked sleep regression he has had so I'm thinking this will be no different. He's like a teenager in a toddler's body, he wants to stay up late at night and then sleep in in the morning. Some nights can be a battle when we put him down as he just doesn't want to sleep or will just start playing up. We will get there. He still enjoys a 2-hour nap in the afternoon too which is great but he doesn't always have one because sometimes I have to keep him up if he's had a lazy morning due to a bad night. I hope we can get back on track soon.

Speech

Noah isn't speaking in sentences yet and he doesn't put many words together but he does know a lot of different words. He's not as ahead with speech as some toddlers his age but he's also ahead of others. The way I see it is they all catch up with one another eventually and they will all get it in their own time. Noah recently stopped calling us Mama and Dada and now calls us Mummy and Daddy instead. I find this really odd because no one referred to us as that, so I don't know where he picked it up from! I know that in the next few months the switch will flip and he will be chewing our ear off.  

Potty training

We have introduced the potty recently and when we are at home we tend to keep Noah bare-bottomed. I'm unsure if he is fully ready yet but he has no problem using the toilet or potty when prompted. We are going to keep at it but we aren't pushing anything, just taking it easy and in his own time.

Milestones and new tricks

Noah now knows a lot of new words.

He is learning to count (2,3,2,3) and knows a few shapes (star, circle, moon) we work on these every day but it's hard to teach a child who has the attention span of a gnat. 

We've started potty training.

He can now walk a lot longer without needing to be picked up or go in the pram. Last week he walked an entire mile! 

Favourite things

TOY STORY, Woody and Buzz, the outdoors, going for walks, jumping in puddles, dogs, cats, Milo and Hadley, Teddy and Baby, animals, stickers, cars, dancing, Peppa Pig, fruit, play dough, playgroup, spending time with his family, hide and seek, chase, the park, helping Mummy, snack time, kiki, jumping on the bed.