Miss Complicated

As Brian's previous post indicated, Maia's really blossomed into a chatty, expressive little person. She's speaking in multiple-word sentences and phrases more often than not, and we're at the point in her verbal development now where if one of us uses a word or phrase that we shouldn't (and you know what I mean by that), we'll hear her repeat it immediately.

Along with this verbal development has come a significant increase in the complexity of her emotions. This morning, for example, she decided that she's terribly afraid of her changing table. And I mean REALLY, terribly, gripping-your-arm and locking-her-knees afraid. Also, she no longer feels comfortable with rides on Brian's shoulders, for a reason known only to her. I hypothesized that it might be a sudden fear of heights, but she's not afraid of being carried or being in her crib or anything. Hmmm . . .

Anyway, based on the developmental psychology with which I'm familiar, these types of things are as normal as her other occasional anxieties (as in stranger and separation), and the presence of them is most certainly not a sign of a problem. Actually, it's the opposite--they indicate the normal development of a toddler's intellect, in that she's starting to understand the difference between "me" and "them" and "the world," and she's starting to develop an imaginative aspect to her perception of the world.

With all that in mind, it doesn't mean that this isn't frustrating for us. We've had to wash two changing pads today because of all of her squirming around, and it is supremely frustrating not to be able to understand what she needs. She's getting to the point with her verbal skills these days that if we say "use your words, Maia," she almost always will, and we can usually move quickly from whining to talking. Not in this case, though. (Sigh.)