15 Months

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. There is only so much of you to go around and you cannot follow right behind them every second of every day. They are going to fall. There may be some bad ones. Offer lots of hugs and cuddles if that happens.

The best tips I can give you is

a) Prevent disasters from happening. OK you can’t actually accomplish this one, but you can try to be more proactive. Become aware of your toddlers surroundings (get on their level) and if there is anything that is a clear tripping hazard or something at their head level they could run into - try to move it or get your toddler to avoid that area (easier said then done right ;))

b) Don’t react when they fall or hit themselves. Even if it looks bad. Wait and see how they react. They will let you know if they actually hurting. I’ve always noticed that when you respond with ‘OMG are you okay’ or ‘Poor baby’ or whatever they feed off your reaction and if you saw it’s bad well than it is bad. And they end up reacting that much more dramatically if you give them a dramatic response. But if you don’t respond until they let you know how they are doing, they may just be able to shrug it off or just be mildly upset. Trust me and try it out!

It that doesn’t help you can always try to make the boo boo better with mommy’s kisses. Sometimes that is all they need.

Their communication continues to improve as they continue to point at things and say what they are! Or who a family member is like sisters name or grand-pa etc. You may not understand what they are saying all the time, but that’s okay! Encourage their attempts at communication. Repeat after them the word so they can learn how to pronounciate. And please don’t use baby talk. They are actually trying to learn how to speak and baby talk doesn’t help them learn how to properly say a word. Continue to speak with them on a regular basis even when you are out and about. He/she may not speak back, but they are taking in alot more than you think. Who cares if you are ‘that mom’ who looks like she is talking to herself. You are really benefitting your child simply by talking to them. Explain what you are doing, what you see, what he/she is looking at, what the plans are for the day etc.

My littleist one at this time loved being outside since it was fall and his sisters were always outside too - he would show us by always grabbing his boots and going to the door and pointing to outside. He would even throw a little fit sometimes when we would bring inside ‘too early’ for his liking.

And yes tantrums start to develop in the toddler years. I feel around 15 months is a bit early for full out tantrums, but they can definitely start to let you know they are not happy with not getting their way. My first baby definitely started having these fits and tantrums earlier than my other kids probably because she was the first kid, spoiled with the most attention and didn’t have any siblings to distract her.

As they start to really eat different kinds of food, they may start to be picky or have preferences. If this is the case, try to offer the healthier less favorable options first than the other items after during meal time. And remember that this is a part of growing up to develop taste buds and preferences. Just try to be flexible while making sure they still get their proper nutrition. You can also find ways to sneak in extra veggies or protein by cutting up small and putting in mixed dishes like rice/pasta. Making smoothies with some veggies mixed in. Or tasty soups where the strong taste of certain vegetables, beans or meat are diminished.

Diaper changes start becoming more of a challenge in toddler life as they are much more mobile now and also what to do stuff on their time and they may not be in a mood for a diaper change. I found pampers 360 to really help with that. Toddlers generally don’t want to lie down anymore for changes so these diapers act as pull ups so that you can quickly change them standing up and they still can play etc. You will still have to lie them down for messy poos and they don’t wrap up as nicely for those number 2’s (that’s where disposable diaper bags come in handy). But these make life so easier during the day. And also handy if you want to introduce some potty training since they pull up and down. For night time, I would still recommend overnight diapers like huggies that will last all night for leak protection.

Doctor Visit

• routine vaccination

• check measurements & development