My 2.2 year old son is a lovely boy. I'm trying to figure out whether we're going through the normal stuff associated with toddler development or whether there's something else going on.
Some background information:
He had silent reflux for a year.
He required rocking in a stroller to go to sleep. And by rocking, I mean figure of eights for forty minutes. Now he cannot fall asleep without blackout blinds and a white noise machine blaring.
He screamed the place down in baby music classes. Now he seems to like themrequests the CD all the time at home, and the instructor's name was one of his first wordsbut he either hides behind my back or says "Mummy, no" as soon as he's asked a question while there.
He cannot tolerate any amount of bright light, and hates having tops put on over his head.
He has no food issues. In fact, he loves really strong tastes such as olives drenched in garlic and sardines.
When anxious, he still mouths objects, which I find unusual in a kid his age.
He walked at 16 months, and was a bottom shuffler.
He needs upwards of 50 strong hugs from me a day, and required constant carrying as an infant.
His speech is improving, and he has many words, but we still have long monologues of gibberish that are indiscernible.
If something sets him off (today it was "something" at soft play) then he's unsettled for hours afterwards.
Play dates have become impossible. He hangs off my leg, whines, and says, "Sit, carry, mummy, knee" for as long as it takes for us to bail.
If in a stroller, he freaks out if we pause for longer than ten seconds.
The very good points:
He's very giggly and has a great sense of humour.
He loves it when other kids hug him and get physical. He plays well with kids most of the time, and forms a nice connection with most adults.
He sits and listens to books or music on his CD player for really long periods.