TODDLER LIFE

Yet another milestone! The real question is when to do it?! Once you take down that crib and set up the bed, it’s difficult to revert if it’s not working. And I wouldn’t recommend still keeping it as an option. The going back and forth is just confusing and gives them too much choice in the matter. I’ve experienced both seamless transitions and adjustment periods. Either way it is doable! And eventually they do need to move to a bed. The general rule of thumb is any age between 1.5 - 3.5 years of age. But this is a wide range!?!

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Whether or not you are thinking of expanding your family, going from zero kids to one kid, one kid to two and even two to three, can be their own differing journeys in themselves. I feel every parent has their own personal experience of going through all these ‘jumps’ and the timing can also be a huge factor in how varying the experience can be. That’s why people try to ‘family plan’ although it always doesn’t go ‘according to plan’.

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Your baby is not so much a baby anymore. Yes they will always be your baby, but they are really into the toddler life stage and starting to be more independant…or at least try to be. You will start seeing that they want to do things on their own and they will try to even if they are not the best at it. Get undressed or putting on their clothes, eating with a fork and spoon, helping tidy up, etc..

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As a mom of 3, I found the most challenging phase in a young kid’s life was the toddler phase. Granted it is also one of the funnest! Seeing their big personalities develop into this little adorable human and watching them really experience things for the first time. But nothing great in this life comes easy! This stage is very hands on and at times it feels like you can never catch a break

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the hot mess mom: she looks cute, but always dishevelled when showing up for anything with baby in tow or not and she is always a bit late. Purse has diapers and crumbs in it, diaper bag is utter chaos, hard to find anything and her hair is always a disaster. Before babies she always was a slight bit disorganized, but becoming a mom has totally unorganized her life and she can’t seem to get her shit together, but she is trying her best.

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This a recommended gift list of the toys I found my kids got some good use out of! Most of these toys will last for a few years in terms of staying interested in them. It also depends on what type of toys they enjoy. They are becoming their own little people and sometimes they may like ‘fixing’ things and banging on toys like tools OR taking care of pretend babies OR maybe both! If you don’t know where to start, take them to a toy store and see what they gravitate towards without you pointing items out.

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Buying them, putting them on, cleaning up the mess while your toddler is fighting you..

Understandable!

Time for some potty training :)

Before you start the potty training process, I would recommend putting out a potty in your bathroom for a couple months before you start as a way to start introducing the potty, putting them on it sometimes between diaper changes as practice and they get used to the sight of it.

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I’m not a nutritionist or health nut just a mom who wants their kid relatively healthy meals and snacks while hitting those food groups. That’s what I usually base their meals on. A grain, protein, vegetable. With some fruits with their snacks in between. I like foods that are not complicated to make and that the toddlers will eat. Getting them to eat meals (at least dinner) with you even if it’s a deconstructed meal, makes life so much easier instead of making separate meals all the time. I found with my kids that the earlier you introduced solid foods and flavour, the less picky they would later become about tastes and textures.

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If you don’t have your toddler enrolled in daycare or preschool, it’s good to involve them in extracurricular activities to help them socialize with other kids their age. good release of energy and engage their minds in the process. Since they are still very young and do still require assistance and parental supervision, there isn’t a ton of options.

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Farms :) : one of my favourite spots to bring my toddler to! In a next life I would’ve lived on a farm so when it became much more possible to go visit farms with the family and have things for them to do, I was ALL for it! For toddlers, they get to see animals up close, have open fields to run in, ride on tractors and play on whatever play structure or toys they have available to kids. These are the farms I have been to with my kids and I will explain the perks of each!

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This a fun age, but also a challenging one. Their personality starts really coming through! They also love playing with you and interacting with people around them. They start having more preferences, things they don’t like and a mind of their own. But it also starts to get challenging because of this. They start fighting back on doing things because it’s not what they want to do in the moment.

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There is a reason why moms are always trying to plan around toddlers nap time or bed time. If these little monsters don’t get their beauty sleep, the crankiness creeps in and our whole schedule is thrown off for the day or night. Hitting those nap times makes such a difference. You can tell sometimes when you pushed it too far or too early. Look for those sleepy cues your toddler is getting tired

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Now this one can be challenging! This is a normal part of toddler life. Is testing their limits and boundaries while also learning how to socialize with other kids. When toddlers hit, bite or pinch they are trying to see what reaction they will get - cause and effect. Same goes when they do it to you..which they absolutely will do at some point. Fun right?! The most you can do when they try it with you is to not over-react, but also let them know it’s not okay. It may take 100 times of you repeating it. But they will eventually get the message.

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Toys are great and all, but there is only so long toddlers have the attention span to play with their toys. That’s why there is always jokes about kids having more fun playing with the cardboard box the toy came in rather than the toy itself. It takes some time for toddlers to gain that independent play and get good at entertaining themselves. Skills like that come with practice. That’s is why it’s good to have activities set aside for your toddler on rainy days or days you can tell they are getting bored and are struggling to play independently.

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Not to be pessimistic, but before you travel with your toddler you should set your expectations low. As you already know, toddlers can be unpredictable, want to do things on their terms, not always want to cooperate, get cranky or change moods for no reason…the list goes on. When you add travel into the mix with messing up their routine and different environments it can get a bit dicey. I feel if you set your expectations low, it can help when things are not going your way and it’s kind of more expected. Vacation with kids especially toddlers is really more of a RELOCATION.

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Your little baby is growing up to be not so ‘baby’ anymore.

If not walking yet, you can count your blessings. By this time if your babe has been walking for a bit they start getting more confidence in their speed and multitasking abilities that it becomes quite hazardous to say the least! They are always falling over and getting ‘boo-boos’ so don’t blame yourself too harshly.

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