Cue the crying, I now have a 2 year old and an almost 4 year old, and lately I’ve been seeing a definite lack of anything baby-related in our house. Some things crept by silently (like the lack of baby fat in my littlest guy’s cheeks) and some things I really took notice of (like my oldest guy starting preschool). What do you consider the cusp of babyhood to toddlerhood? In my head, it’s usually after they turn 2 years old but it’s also probably dependent on your family and child.

Here are 10 (some serious, some silly) ways I know that my babies aren’t really babies anymore.

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  1. No one plays with or tries to eat the dog’s food anymore. In fact, they often try to help with the scooping of it.
  2. Nap time and bed time can be altered or changed and, while we still pay for it the next day, it’s not quite the catastrophe it used to be.
  3. I no longer refer to their ages in months. Once my child hits 24 months, they are 2, and then 2.5, etc.
  4. My youngest is now asking for “my music” in the car. I used to really enjoy those times in the van after dropping off my oldest at preschool because I could listen to my favorite radio stations, but now even my 2 year old wants kid music and that has been a big bummer for me!
  5. No one is dependent on me for milk. I weaned Chip around 20 months, but once in a while I think about how nice it is to leave the house without worrying about leaving a bottle or pumping or making sure I’m home in time for his next feed. I love love nursing but I also love FREEDOM.
  6. Both of my kids can understand what I ask of them. I only expect them to understand age-appropriate questions or directions, but it’s still a wonderful improvement from the baby days of confusion and guessing.
  7. Big brother is often times more exciting than Mommy or Daddy. When Crumb and Chip play nicely together, it’s pretty much the greatest thing ever and the moments I refer back to when I’m in stressed out parenting mode.
  8. My kids have opinions on their clothing! Babies don’t care what they wear but toddlers definitely do.
  9. I’m starting to seriously consider having a third child. Because isn’t that the natural next step after you’re finally getting sleep at night and your kids are less dependent on you??
  10. Sharing is the worst thing in the world. Babies don’t usually put up much of a fight when their older siblings take something from them. We recently went to a grocery store with only one mini shopping cart left, and I’m still having flashbacks to the horrible scene I created by asking them to take turns with it. (Pictures taken before AND after said meltdown.)

groery shopping

How about you? What made you stop and notice the change from baby to toddler, or perhaps toddler to big kid?