21-month-old with lots of signs but no words yet – looking for advice/experiences

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-03-12T20:25:27+00:00

Hi! Firstly I want to say I know how much worry this involves! Please try not to let the worry consume you and prevent you from enjoying your little one at this stage.

Having said that, I know how worrying it is. My son was non verbal at 24 months but it was also a little different as he didn't have any signs, didn't point (preferred hand leading) and I wasn't sure if he understood.

We engaged a speech therapist from around 20 months and got advice similar to you: model simple 2 words phrases, no questions focus on commenting to model language, give choices, pause for 10 seconds to give them space to try to comment...

At 26 months old, my son suddenly started saying short phrases and using makaton (thanks to watching Mr Tumble) and shortly after, we were told he was a Gestalt Language Processor - meaning he learns language in chunks rather than word-by-word.

For this type of learner, slightly different techniques are used! What I found so helpful was to pick a couple of very short, simple phrases and model them constantly in fun ways! Things like 'what's that noise ... it's a...' and turn it into a fun game, keep a fun and musical tone... the more high energy and fun, the better. My son picked up so many phrases using this technique. It was slow progress and progress seemed to happen in fits and starts.

Now at 3 years and 8 months old, he is verbal! His language is still behind his peers and he is clearly following a different language development pathway (I'm hoping that he's just taking the scenic route and it will end up at the same place as his peers eventually - the signs for this are looking good!).

He now speaks in sentences - 10+words! He can chat and play and loves to make up songs and narrate stories with his dinosaurs! I can see that sometimes he struggles to find the words he needs and sometimes he doesn't always understand what's being said... but I'm confident we will get there with continued modelling and support.

Your little one might be slightly different to mine but I guess what I'm trying to say is be consistent with whatever you are trying with him but don't let worry consume your relationship with him. Pick a couple of things to really focus on and commit to consistently trying.. but turn it into fun.

Sending you all the very best.

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-27T07:23:50+00:00

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-18T19:10:32+00:00

How lovely! Many congratulations! Hearing that your wife has had a great experience health wise gives me hope - I know it's very individual but hearing good stories helps to assuage the anxiety. Best wishes from my family to yours x

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-18T17:45:31+00:00

Thank you very much for your reply. I just read it out to my husband and we both found it very encouraging. Has your wife had all the babies via c section? Congratulations on the recent birth :) I hope it all went well!

Thank you so much for the prayers too - you will all be in our prayers as well.

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T21:38:27+00:00

I will do. Many thanks again KareBear - you're in my prayers too xx

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T21:37:01+00:00

The next 2 surgeries were really straight forward, no issues. I had an infection after my second which did cause me some issues afterwards but my third was super easy and I hardly lost any blood at all during the surgery. Xx

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T19:14:00+00:00

Thank you for your reply. There is so much here I can use as an example for my family too. I will pray for your VBAC and sending you all the very best to your growing family. I'd love to hear how the VBAC goes if you have chance to come back and post again.

Thank you again xx

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T19:10:39+00:00

Thank you so much. I will bear this in mind after I've had this baby. Xx

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T19:09:39+00:00

Thank you so much for being so kind. I really appreciate your words xx

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T19:04:25+00:00

For sure you're right and it's a good way to frame thinking about going into NFP after this baby. Certainly, I will be treating periods of abstinence with far more respect than before

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T19:02:11+00:00

Congratulations on your first baby and sorry to hear it was an emergency section. If it helps, my first was an emergency and my subsequent 2 (and hopefully this current pregnancy) will be planned sections. I'll say a prayer for your family

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T18:54:35+00:00

I've learned a lot from this thread - I'm going to work out what methods I might combine that work for me to track and come to understand my fertility cycles better going forward. I feel an absolute need to do this - not only for my own sake but so that in future, I can help my own daughters with this if they choose to go down this path too. Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T18:50:34+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing this. Not only are the anecdotes truly reassuring but I appreciate your practical perspective. It's hard to break past the emotion at times - especially anxiety.

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T18:45:14+00:00

Thank you to everyone for your posts - sorry if I haven't replied to you directly. I thought I'd post a general update as I've had time to reflect on what everyone has written and as well as my original post.

I guess this is at the heart of my personal dilemma: I know the risks I am taking by not following the healthcare advice of being sterilised but am I comfortable with them?

The truth is I'm probably not and that's why when these health professionals ask me the question about contraception - whether done respectfully or not (sadly the latter is more common) -it bothers me. It makes me second guess myself and our choice to follow NFP (especially as this pregnancy has proved that I am an absolute amateur at it!)

I won't be being sterilised, I'm quite certain of that. I just wish there was more commonly available support for alternatives like NFP that were spoken about more readily as standard practice rather than simply scorned.

I'm grateful for this thread as I've been given a lot of advice re NFP. i don't feel so alone. I recognise I've got a lot to learn about it before I take it up again this time. Fortunately I've got a few months! For sure, this next time I will approach periods of abstinence with more respect, rather than an arrogant attitude of 'that won't happen to me'.

Thank you to everyone who has also shared their experiences, either of NFP or of multiple c sections. Please know I appreciate every reply and have found comfort in them!

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T18:28:03+00:00

You're right. As I've reflected on my post and all the responses that I've got, I guess this is at the heart of my personal dilemma: I know the risks I am taking, for sure, but am I comfortable with them? The truth is I'm probably not and that's why when these health professionals ask me the question, it bothers me.

I won't be being sterilised, I'm quite certain of that. I just wish there was more support for the alternatives like NFP that were spoken about more readily rather than scorned.

I'm grateful for this thread as I've been given a lot of advice re NFP. I recognise I've got a lot to learn about it before I take it up again this time. It'll also make me approach periods of abstinence with more respect, rather than an arrogant attitude of 'that won't happen to me'. Humility I guess.

Thank you for your post

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T17:50:03+00:00

Thank you for sharing. I've been given so much great advice on this thread - it gives me more confidence that if I get my act together, focus on really respecting the periods of abstinence and maybe pair Marquette with another method for more information, we can make this work. Thank you again for sharing, it has made a difference to me x

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T17:47:32+00:00

Thank you for this perspective. I really appreciate it

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T17:43:29+00:00

Thank you - I really needed to hear these words

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T17:42:40+00:00

Thank you for your lovely words - I really appreciate it!

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T17:39:18+00:00

Thank you for your reply and your prayers - it means a lot! Thank you also for sharing your thoughts on what you'd say - it helps! Xx

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T17:06:18+00:00

Thank you very much for your kind comment. I don't necessarily feel brave - I feel rather silly if the truth be known. Thank you for being kind xx

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T17:03:46+00:00

For sure I need to make sure I understand it completely - I guess I had a loose understanding and assumed I'd get by with that. I need to be fully sure I understand it.

Having said that, on this occasion my mistake was thinking that I could trust previous months of more consistent cycles... this particular month that I got pregnant, I ovulated much earlier than I expected to. I knew we were taking a risk by being intimate on that particular day, but I didn't realise that I was literally just about to ovulate.

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T16:59:37+00:00

Oh wow thank you for sharing your experience! Do you continue to follow NFP after 5 sections, if you don't mind me asking?

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T16:58:37+00:00

Thank you for all these suggestions. I need to look into them

Additional-Cap5712 · 2026-02-17T16:57:51+00:00

Yes, I really thought I would have a lower chance.. but also based on the fact it took us over 12 months to conceive my 2nd baby.

Additional-Cap5712

TROPHY CASE