We skipped the 13 month update and are merging months 13 and 14 into a combined update on the life and times of Little C over the past two months.  While it seems like he has grown and changed so much in the past couple months, there are other aspects that seem to be stuck in a rut regarding Little C’s development.

First, the changes.

We dropped the bottle, and switched cold turkey to whole milk in a straw cup, and it was a surprisingly seamless transition.  The only hiccup has been that C’s tummy doesn’t like whole milk as much as he likes drinking it. We’ve started lacing his milk with prune juice which is keeping his constipation at bay (along with avoiding everything on the BRAT diet – bananas, rice, applesauce and toast).  Thankfully, Little C is like a garbage disposal, and aside from vegetables, he will eat nearly anything put in front of him.


C loves eating, but I still find that veggies puree pouches are the easiest way to give him vegetables

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Little C cut 8 teeth in the past two months (bottom 2 lateral incisors, 3 molars, 3 canine), so concern over his comfort has dominated my worries.  He has begun fighting his naps, clearly demonstrating his need for a morning nap but then struggling to fall asleep for both.  When he fights and eventually skips a nap, I will let him have up to an hour and a half of “quiet time” in his crib (which was the average duration of his usual nap).  The tricky part is that he has been passing out around the end of that time and hence spending around 3 hours in his crib.  Thus, the schedule for our days has been a bit strange, since he is spending an awful lot of time in his crib.


Finally asleep after another nap battle

The things that have stayed the same:

Little C is extremely content to navigate the world on all fours.  This boy loves to crawl, and he traverses our floor at shockingly fast speeds.  He is an extremely competent cruiser, and he will occasionally walk holding onto our hands, but more often, he will insist on slumping to the ground where he will happily crawl instead.  Funny enough, he is a better climber than most of his walking pals, but as he steadily gains weight (he’s hovering just under 25 pounds per my home scale), it would be so helpful if I didn’t have to carry him as much when we are out and about.


Mastering the climbing wall


Practicing his walking skills with dad

He is also still my little clingy-bug, preferring to stay close to his parents when faced with any other people.  We have worked really hard this month on independent play, and it’s wonderful watching him get more comfortable playing solo with his toys or exploring an indoor playspace without me constantly engaged at his side.  He’ll even venture off and play side-by-side with his friends.


Having story time with his pal Little L

At twelve months, Little C started saying “dada” and “hi” – now, he will also say “no”, “hello (sounds like heh-whoa, so cute)”, “choo-choo” and (only when crying/whining) “mama”.  He hasn’t mastered any animal noises yet, but we love the Old McDonald song so much in our house, that when we sing it, he will chime in with “Ee-I-ee-I-ooooh!”  For over a week, I have felt like we were at the brink of a language explosion, because his babble is sounding more and more like words, but time will tell.

Watching C play and explore the world is definitely what makes life as his primary caretaker and mama fun.  He is slowly relying less on his mouth for exploration, and finding new ways to experiment with his toys.  He loves putting items in and out of containers, throwing things, banging toys together, offering his toys to the dog to see if she’s interested (not ideal), pressing buttons and turning pages.  He is starting to show interest in the many stuffed animals we have in the house (which has posed a bit of a challenge with the puppy – only one casualty so far), and his latest toy favorites are the stacking rings, the pop-up fire truck and his Fisher Price farm (which was Mr. Confetti’s when he was a kid).  He loves to play with water, whether we are in the pool, splashing at the park or in the tub.


Enjoying fun in the sun at the water table

I have been surprised to find how much fun raising a toddler can be.  Not that we don’t get our fair share of whining and mini-tantrums, but on the whole, I am loving this new pre-toddler stage.

Moms of similarly aged kiddos, what is your favorite part of early toddlerhood?