Subscribe
E-Paper
.jpg/dims/resize/740/optimize) |
| After 17 months, twins finally started understanding mom's words. / AFP-Yonhap |
.jpg/dims/resize/72/optimize) |
Today was a historical day for me.
I changed Baby A's diaper like any other day, but I changed her with a diaper she hand-delivered after following my direction to bring the diaper from the storage bin across the room.
After 17 months, she finally ― finally ― started understanding mom's words.
Honestly, I was starting to get a little worried after hearing other parents tell me how well they mutually communicate with their toddlers at just 15 months or even younger.
I know development certainly varies among individuals, but I must admit, I was eagerly waiting for this day to come.
I told Baby A to bring me the diaper and repeated the same words about five times. She first wandered a bit, looking sort of hesitant and uncertain whether she understood me correctly. She seemed to be waiting for my permission to move ahead.
I encouraged her and ensured her that she was "doing the right thing" throughout the 10 whole steps she took to get to the diaper basket.
She turned back at me again as I continued to cheer her on. At that moment, I could tell that she instantly became confident in herself as she grabbed a diaper and ran toward me without any hesitation.
I gave her a huge hug and we celebrated yet another special milestone.
In case you're wondering, I experimented the same thing with Baby B during her next diaper change and she pretty much repeated the same action as her sister. Two historical moments in one day.
Although they're twins, I don't expect them to hit the same developmental milestones at the same time, but this time, they somehow did on the very same day.
Some people may not think much of it, but for a mom, it's downright amazing to see her little baby grow up to be able to comprehend her words.
I got so excited from the first-ever direction my girls successfully followed that I spent pretty much most of the afternoon experimenting with a bunch of other simple directions, from wave hello and good-bye to stand up and sit down.
It almost seemed as if they secretly practiced all kinds of cute moves to surprise me. They were doing everything as told one after another. They were just cranking it out and I was totally blown away.
Maybe I should've tried these things much earlier. It looked like they were more than ready to take on the next challenge.
And then I realized. Wow, my parenting experience is about to take on a whole new direction, yet again.
The apparent one-way communication I had going with my girls is now becoming mutual. They're really growing up to become human beings that I can interact with. How cool is that?
I wanted to find out what's next for us so I did a quick Internet search and, it turns out, my daughters have probably begun recognizing my speech before they even turned one. According to experts, they already "know" more than 50 words. Wow.
I couldn't help but do a flashback in a desperate effort to remember if I used any foul words in front of the girls. I probably did.
Experts say even if babies don't know the meaning of most words, they can "guess" what the intent is by picking up social cues. All of this is mastered by as early as 14 months.
The more I read up on toddlers' language development, the more surprised and amazed I was with their speed and depth of growth.
I have to admit, I put so much emphasis on the physical care-giving aspect of parenting _ feeding, diapering and putting to sleep _ that I didn't do enough homework on learning about the other important development points.
Mom friends tell me that right about now is when parenting takes an entirely new and complex turn. Once mutual communication begins, your toddler will soon begin trying to run the show, they say.
I have two, so I guess we're going to have one crazy show going on.
But at this point, I'm still so thrilled with their first achievement that I feel like I can handle everything they throw at me.
Three days later, I'll probably be saying something completely different. For now though, this mom is thoroughly enjoying her proud mommy moment.
