When to get concerned?

Well I am the opposite side of this. By 18 months Jensen was saying over 50 words, about 25 being quite frequently used. Weekly the words he uses most are "down" and "up", he can name all his facial features but his ears, and he says "belly" and "toes" and can point out his arms and legs and butt (lol), he can count to five on his fingers but only says "two" which I hear is really common. He can say "shoes" and knows what the correct words are. He frequently sings "Go Diego Go" very clearly. He says "mow mow" for cat and "woof woof" for dog, though he doesn't call the cat or dog. He says "thank you" whenever you hand him something, or he wants you to take something. He also says "pasta" and "pizza" and "cookie" and "canny" which is for candy, and "banana" (although he skips the middle na and says "bana"). He says "choo choo" when he says a plane and is CONSTANTLY asking "What's is that?" (just like that). He says "yes" and "no" and "mama" and "daddy". He says "go!" when the car accelerates or he says it with a question mark on the end when asking where something went. He also says "bobble" but not as much since we weaned him. He says "bear" and has a favorite blanket he calls "Bee". He can say the color "pink" but we are working on the other colors at least as far as recognition. If I ask him to bring me a certain one of his books he can correctly find and hand me the right book. (His favorites are Perfect Piggies and The Little Blue Truck).

However in saying all this I should tell you that while Jensen is pretty advanced as far as speech goes, he has always been pretty behind as far as physical things go. He didn't walk until he was a year and 2 weeks old, didn't crawl until he was 9 months old. He still has to hold our hand when going up the smallest steps and over all his motor function, while in the normal range, has always been on the slow end. I truly believe kids either learn the physical stuff first or the brain stuff first and never both at once.

Also I should mention me and Jensen spend quite a lot of our day reading and practicing almost every day. He is getting constant stimulation from me and the in laws just love how smart he is and when they are over they ask him to go over everything is well so it's like he is constantly being quizzed whenever around us. I really think repetition has a lot to do with why he is so verbal. We also watch very little TV around him so that he has to turn to us for entertainment. I do not at all think children's programs are bad, Diego has saved my life this pregnancy LOL! But I do think when they watch it, especially boys, do not feel inclined to repeat or respond to it. Jensen especially becomes extremely absorbed in it.

You are absolutely right that kids have big variables and I don't think for a second there is anything wrong with him. I think Jensen gets a lot of one on one time with me and this is how we spend our time. I think Maxim would respond just the same if he had the same kind of one on one time.

Speech is one of those tough ones. I would go with what you feel comfortable with, especially in a bilingual household. If he is still not talking at 2 I might be a bit more concerned. Since he understands everything and just isn't talking currently, if it doesn't worry you, then don't let his daycare worry you about it. I would keep an eye on it, and if your Mommy gut says to get it checked out then get it checked out then.

Desmond is in speech therapy for articulation issues, and he was actually talking some by 18 months, I think he had over 50 words at that point, so even if they are talking by that age, it doesn't mean they won't have issues later. Just follow your gut, most parents know if something is a real issue or just not quite at the expected developmental level.