At the weekend Gabe turned two and a half so I thought it was probably time for an update. There have been quite a few changes for my little Gabey in the last six months since I wrote his two year update so there is quite a lot to catch up on.
I always start with the vital statistics so Gabe is currently 92 cm tall and weighs exactly 2 stone. He is wearing age 2-3 clothes still too. He is quite a bit smaller than Toby was at this age – at two and a half he was 98 cm and starting to wear age 3-4 clothes. He also had a lot more hair than Gabe at this age too!
Gabe’s speech has come on leaps and bounds in the last few months – it’s very rare that we can’t understand what he’s saying these days, and he speaks in full sentences most of the time too. He can count to 10 reliably but knows more numbers than that, and he can recognise written numbers too. He knows his colours and shapes too – and I think his recent obsession with Team Umizoomi has definitely helped with that!
There have been a few big changes for Gabe in the last few months as well. I wrote in his two year update that he had started to refuse his bedtime bottle, and we did stop giving him bottles altogether at that point. We had also just started to reduce his reflux medicine and I’m very happy to report that by Christmas we had managed to wean him off both ranitidine and omeprazole and he his now reflux free! Toby started taking reflux meds at 6 weeks old and didn’t stop until well after Gabe was born so it has been nearly four and a half years of coping with reflux – I am so glad it is finally over for us.
I also mentioned in Gabe’s last update that he had started dropping his naps, and they did go altogether not long after he turned two. He will sometimes still sleep in the car but that’s the only time he has a nap now, and even that’s not very often. Dropping naps also meant that bedtimes went from taking hours to about 20 minutes most days. And in the last six months Gabe has started sleeping through the night more and more often. He still probably wakes up once a couple of times a week but usually a quick rub on the back and putting his dummy in will settle him back to sleep quickly. I think finally growing out of reflux, and getting all his teeth is definitely what has led to the improved sleep. Oh, and he still sleeps happily in a cot. Toby was in a big bed by this age but he was much bigger than Gabe. We will move him into a bed at some point in the next few months probably but while he’s happy, and sleeping in the cot I don’t see any point in changing things.
Speaking of dummies, Gabe has (almost) completely given his up in the last couple of months. For quite a long time he only had it at night for sleeping. I always used to give it to him as we started getting ready for bed, but then one night I didn’t. And when he was going to sleep I asked him if he wanted it and he said no. So we went with it, he fell asleep without it and hasn’t had it at bedtime since! I have to admit that I do give it to him if he wakes up in the night but really that’s just be being lazy, because I know it’s the quickest way to get him back to sleep again! I’m sure we’ll stop using it completely at some point soon though.
Food wise Gabe is still a bit of a fuss pot. He drives me mad with liking something one day but refusing to eat it the next, and although he eats most things eventually he quite often needs a lot of encouragement to get there. Unless we’re talking about cake of course, which he never needs any encouragement to eat! He only really drinks water, or the occasional apple juice or chocolate milk. One legacy of his reflux though is that he still chokes on liquids a lot. He’s always fine but it sounds very dramatic. The paediatrician told me it was quite common with reflux and he should just grow out of it eventually so we’ll just keep an eye on it I guess.
Probably the other main change for Gabe in the last six months has been starting preschool. He now goes to a preschool which is held in our local community centre. Up until Christmas he was going three mornings a week, and now he goes two mornings and one full day, which means I’ve had to start making packed lunches too. He loves it there though, it took him a month or so to settle in and not cry when I drop him off but now he goes off to play without a backward glance.
And lastly a first for Gabe and us as a family – our first broken bone! On Monday night Gabe jumped off the sofa, which he has done a thousand times before. He must have landed awkwardly because he started crying but instead of stopping after a few minutes like he normally does he just kept crying. He couldn’t bear weight on his right leg either so we decided a trip to A& E was probably in order. It turned out he has broken his first metatarsal (the big toe bone that is inside the foot) and is currently in a plaster cast up to his knee!
He is actually coping remarkably well, although is understandably frustrated with not being able to walk. He’s doing a good job of getting about by crawling, and can stand up if he’s got something to hold onto for balance. We have to go back to the hospital next week to see the consultant and possible get the cast changed. When they put it on in A&E they said it would probably be on for two to three weeks so hopefully it will be a fairly quick recovery for him.
Other than all of that Gabe is still a lovely, sweet boy (most of the time). He still gives the best cuddles and kisses and often tells us that he loves us. He absolutely adores his big brother, even though they bicker and squabble all the time. We have definitely seen the arrival of the terrible twos in the last month or so though, and he is capable of having some epic tantrums when he doesn’t get his own way. We never really had big tantrums with Toby so I don’t always know how to deal with them for the best. I’m sure we’ll find a way though and he’ll stop having them sooner or later. I hope so anyway!
I’m sure I’ve forgotten all sorts of things but I’m going to leave this here. I can’t believe that in another six months Gabe will be three, and we’ll be on the last day of our first foreign holiday as a family of four!
