Mr. Opinionated

Who says a person needs words to communicate?

I cannot believe how much Zane has matured over the past year. I attribute some of that to age and some to the fact that he’s almost through his first year of school. Being with his peers has helped him immensely. As part of his maturity, I have noticed Zane expressing his opinions more frequently. It used to be that I could do just about anything with him, and he would let me. Now I find him protesting more and more.

Example: Zane is a big teeth grinder (some of you may have read this post). To save his teeth and our ears, we often will pop a pacifier into his mouth. During dinner last night, the teeth grinding started up again. I lifted his passy to his mouth, and he distinctly pushed my hand away. I tried again, and he pushed at the pacifier. He clearly did not want it.

But he makes his opinion known all the time.

• He makes loud declarations if we leave him alone by himself in a room (usually during tube feedings, as it is not easy to move Zane and his whole set up every time we move from room to room).

• He clenches his teeth and shuts his mouth when he sees the toothbrush heading his way.

• He abruptly turns his face away when he doesn’t want a kiss.

• He straightens his legs and wiggles his body when he doesn’t want to be held.

• He throws/pushes toys he doesn’t want onto the floor.

I am so profoundly excited by the progress he has made. Sure, he’s still not walking or talking, but he IS making progress! And it is absolutely thrilling to me!