Talking time

Harry is starting to understand a lot more about speech and is now using words and sounds to communicate with us.

For instance, when he wakes up in a morning, he will ask for his juice; when he wants to watch his favourite television programme, Noddy, he will tell you.

Harry’s also good at following instructions (when he wants to, that is). If you ask him to pass you something, he will go and fetch it for you. Or if you ask him what sound a train makes, he makes a ‘toot toot’ noise.

According to my very limited research, the next six months will see his talking increase rapidly. One article I read said that between 18 months and two years, toddlers can learn up to 50 words a day, which means I’m going to have to start watching what I say.

As I’ve said before, Harry’s full of energy and he’s not afraid to explore his surroundings. The downside of all this activity, however, is that he does tend to get into a few bumps and scrapes – literally.

The other day, he tried to pick up a rather large picture frame that I’d carelessly left on our bedroom floor. Before I could grab him, he’d managed to scratch his eye, drawing blood and prompting an understandable crying fit.

But all this extra activity is having one desirable side-effect – he’s absolutely shattered by the end of the day.

Last week we broke a new record – Harry slept from quarter to seven at night until ten past eight the following morning. Even then, we had to wake him up because Melissa had to go to work.

And although sleeping until eight is still quite unusual, he’s certainly better than ever at night now. The knock-on effect is that Melissa and I are also sleeping much better – it’s remarkable how much sharper you feel having that extra hour and a half in bed.

I just hope I haven’t tempted fate.