Hiya - apologies in advance for long ramble, just be good to hear some opinions/experiences!
My little boy just turned 17 months, and is still not really talking/pointing/waving/clapping. He did go through a phase of waving a few months ago, and we got very excited, but has since stopped! He does point occasionally but not often and it’s usually if he wants something & he uses his whole hand rather than a finger. He does enjoy books for short whiles and points to stuff in them but thinks it’s usually just to “feel” things as he reads a lot of the “that’s not my...” books. He turns pages etc but if you ask him to point at something in book he doesn’t do it. If you ask him to point at his head he won’t, and say if you ask him where the cat is he will look at it but not point. He absolutely refuses to clap no matter what I do, but he loves hi-fiving!
I do think he understands some of what we say - if you say let’s go upstairs he will run to door etc. And he will stop doing something if you ask him, for the most part. He also responds to his name most of the time & generally comes if you call him. I also think he is trying to talk but it normally just sounds like jibberish, he says dada but not always in context. Only very rarely mama! I’m convinced he says cat but it’s inconsistent.
He is very fussy with food so has a limited diet and, also makes a real fuss getting his teeth brushed, nails clipped etc - we basically have to pin him down!
Apart from these things he’s generally a happy little guy who is full of fun! He likes games like peekaboo, and he absolutely loves sneaking round behind me while I pretend to look for him. He definitely has a great of sense of humour & laughs a lot. He will bring me things just to show me as well as to get help opening something etc. He is really affectionate, and will come and sit on my knee and indicate he’d like a song, or if you start saying “round and round the garden” he will come up with his hand out smiling. So he enjoys interacting and he’s generally good with strangers too, he’s ok with other kids but doesn’t actively ‘play’ with them.
He was a bit of a late walker, only really been properly on his feet around a month. He has been grumpier than normal lately as he seems to be constantly teething & only has 6 teeth so far, I sometimes think that affects him quite a lot as he’s always drooling and fussing at his mouth & ears.
Just wondering if he sounds “normal” (don’t like using that word, but you know what I mean!), or if I should be flagging any of this with the health visitor? Again sorry for long post it’s difficult to sum up in words. He’s my first so nothing really to compare. Starting to worry about his development and really don’t want to let him down 