Little Miss is Eighteen Months Old

A year and a half ago today, our family was completed by the shock arrival of a little girl. The baby's arrival wasn't a shock, she was nine days overdue but the fact that our bundle was pink was! The past eighteen months have passed quickly, It took a little while to get used to having a daughter in addition to our live wire son but she's growing up fast, so I thought I would indulge myself with a little look back.

LM was a wonderful baby. She slept from 10pm until 6am at five weeks old and has slept through the night ever since. She breastfed straightaway despite the problems I had after her birth, and took to it easily. She's always been tremendously calm until crossed, when she'll demonstrate a fearsome temper, usually aimed at her brother! She's never had a comforter but has sucked her first two fingers since the instant she found her hands and that's always the sign she is tired or unwell now, she snuggles in for a cuddle and sucks her fingers.


Her floppy larynx has been a source of worry since she was about four weeks old. I'm convinced that it isn't improving and I'm also beginning to worry about her speech. She says very little, compared to other children her age and her brother when he was the same age, I know you shouldn't compare but I know she understands so much, it just doesn't translate into speech. At eighteen months we just hear sounds 'ya, ma, da, nooooooo', I'm sure she is trying to communicate as, we were reading a story the other day, which featured some noisy cows. Every time Bud and I made the sound 'moooooo' she pointed to the cow and said 'mmmmmmm', I was so excited, this was the first time I can actually say she has tried to communicate coherently. I'm trying not to worry too much but I will be closely observing her speech over the next six months to see if we need a referral to a Speech and Language Therapist sooner rather than later. Bud's response to LM's attempt to moo was to shout 'oink, oink' over her so it's no surprise she is quiet really, she can't get a word in edgeways. Speech aside, she has no difficulty in communicating her wants and needs to us, her pointing finger gets a lot of use and that always makes me smile.

Physically my girl is a tiny little thing. She was born weighing 9lbs 3.5oz but, despite having the appetite of a horse and frequently eating more than her brother, has been small from the very start. She's just in 9-12 months clothing, and still wearing some 6-9 months. She's very petite and dainty, lots of the girls on both sides of the family are small so I think this is genetics coming through, I do wonder if her floppy larynx is a factor in this too. LM walked at thirteen months and now there is no stopping her. She has been a dancer since before she could stand and any music will get her boogieing, wiggling her bottom and bouncing up and down. She still only has six teeth, although four more are on their way but her toothy grin is hilarious and she laughs all day long. I'd defy anyone to be miserable or grumpy with my little live wire around and she really suits her nickname of 'Little Miss Sunshine'.


Little Miss is an archetypal little girl. Before I had a daughter I swore I wouldn't have a pink princess and, while we don't use the 'P' word (princess) at all, we have a really girly girl on our hands. She is already trying to pick out her own clothes and shoes (especially when Daddy is dressing her) and is a magpie for anything sparkly. If something can be used as a handbag you'll find her wandering around with it over her arm. My Mum passed on a flowery bag to her the other day and she has been completely delighted with it. She loves cuddly toys, dollies and prams (I wonder where she gets that from?) I think assuming she would just play with her brother's toys and wouldn't get into girly things was a real error, favourite toys currently include Hello Kitty, her Oobicoo dolly and her Moover pram and Little Tikes garden. She does love to torment her brother by 'helping' with his train set and rolling a fire engine around though.

Every day with our beautiful girl is a delight. She's such a happy little soul. Strong willed, stubborn but very happy. So different to her very chilled out brother. A real force of nature. She's a monkey, a daredevil who loves to climb - I wish she was as good at going up as down - and has been the first of my children to make the mad dash to A&E following a head dive from our front step. She was absolutely fine by the time we got there thank goodness! She loves nothing more than snuggling up before bed and is very loving, with a fantastic pucker when she decides to give kisses. I do wonder if the floppy larynx is going to be a challenge in our future but, hopefully, not a huge one and her speech will catch up soon.

Happy half birthday Little Miss, I love you very much and I'm so proud to be your Mummy.