Raising a Toddler

For those of you that know me on here, I probably don't have to say I had a hard time transitioning to motherhood.

I felt like Addie and I were finally starting to get the hang of dealing with each other and I had a really good routine with her, but she threw me a total curve ball.

She kept growing. Ha!

She turns one on Saturday. I know that's technically a toddler but I just can't consider her one yet. =[ I really need advice. I have a LOT of questions, so feel free to answer any or all of them! I'm really getting kind of stressed out about how smart she's getting.



She self feeds really well, but I don't know many cheap, good finger foods to give her as snacks. What are some things your toddler usually eats during snack time?


Should I start introducing some kind of discipline? She responds to "no" and "stop" most of the time.


What kind of commands should she know by now? She knows "pick it up", "give it to me", "come here", and "eat it". Is there anything I should practice with her for fun?


What kind of games and enrichment should I be focusing on?


Should I be trying to "teach" her words, or do I let that happen more naturally?


She doesn't NEED a bottle, and WIC cuts off her formula this month. Mom says I should still give her milk in her bottle for a while, but is it okay to wean a baby after one year?

I know I have a lot more. I just...ugh. I'm so overwhelmed at the thought of her turning one! Thanks for any and all help mommas!

Fruits and veggies are cheap and easy for snacks. My daughter loves string cheese, too lol.
One year olds do not understand discipline yet. They don't get cause and effect (ie. if I push this button, the tv will turn off) so any form of "discipline" will just make everyone frustrated.
The commands she knows are fine, she will pick up random ones as she gets older.
I read to my daughter a lot and we do sensory activities. You don't have to focus on doing certain things. They should naturally be in your routine, however "enrichment" activities should not necessarily be planned IMO.
My daughter signs, so teaching her new words is easy (she can speak as well...she's 14 months). When she points or picks something up, I sign and say what it is (if I know the sign) and I just repeat saying and signing it to her. Your LO will pick words up randomly.
And, again, my opinion, I'd take the bottle away. We got rid of them at 9 months and she started refusing sippy cups shortly after that, so she drinks from a spill proof straw cup. There is no need for her to still have one.

Quoting Mother of Broccoli.:" Fruits and veggies are cheap and easy for snacks. My daughter loves string cheese, too lol. One year ... [snip!] ... refusing sippy cups shortly after that, so she drinks from a spill proof straw cup. There is no need for her to still have one."

DD can drink out of a straw really well but gets frustrated with her sippy cup. I might try the straw cup thing!

Thanks for all of the advice!

1. For snack, we do apple sauce pouches, rice cakes, animal crackers, peanut butter crackers (not technically suppose to give peanut butter to toddlers, but explain that to his older brothers..), Pirates booty cheddar puffs, sliced up grapes/bananas/melon, cereal (I should buy stock in cheerios), yogurt, muffins, regular crackers, fig newtons, etc.

2. I wouldn't worry about discipline for now. You can say no or stop and sometimes they'll even listen. Mostly for right now, I'd stick with distraction/safety gates/closed doors.

3. 'Commands' are different for every baby. How much they understand and how much they respond to is different for each baby.

4. Each baby is different, but the pan drums are fun if they don't get freaked out by the noise. Smacking things together. Walking related stuff. My youngest is into climbing onto and off of stuff. Balls of all shapes and sizes/textures. Honestly, they don't need a whole lot of structure yet. They naturally work on skills while playing and they don't have a very long attention span.

5. talking is different for each child. It will happen naturally. They will start copying what you say. if they copy you, repeat the sound/word back.

6. As far as the bottle goes, that's up to you. You can start transitioning her by giving her a sippy cup at meal time/snack time. She'll need help with it at first. When she gets the hang of it, you can replace a sippy cup of milk with a bottle and then when she's comfortable with that, substitute another cup of milk for a bottle and so on.

Quoting Chroma Hex [+1]:" DD can drink out of a straw really well but gets frustrated with her sippy cup. I might try the straw cup thing! Thanks for all of the advice!"

No problem. Good luck! It gets fun and frustrating from here  

What are some things your toddler usually eats during snack time?
Anything we are eating, I just cut or mush up smaller portions... and get a portion out for her/him before adding spices but slowly introduce new tastes.

Should I start introducing some kind of discipline? She responds to "no" and "stop" most of the time.
Redirection and consistency in showing appropriate behaviour. Time outs or taking away privileges didn't really work for us til about 2.5 years.

What kind of commands should she know by now? She knows "pick it up", "give it to me", "come here", and "eat it". Is there anything I should practice with her for fun?
You can keep giving her small instructions. Start trying double ones too, like pick that up and go give it to daddy.


What kind of games and enrichment should I be focusing on?
singing songs, alphabet, learning colours, counting can all start... don't worry is she doesn't catch on right away, it takes time and lots of repetition. Sensory activities are fun (finger painting with pudding).

Should I be trying to "teach" her words, or do I let that happen more naturally?
You can get her to try and repeat words but their attention span is low so don't push it all at once.

is it okay to wean a baby after one year?
Sure, my dd was on a sippy cup by 13 months.

I'm sure you will do fine, just trust your instincts!

games - climbing (stairs with help of course), stacking, pouring out and collecting, tossing ball, kicking ball, rolling ball - - I forgot how young she was, she needs to figure out her coordination skills  

I have an 18 month old and the time is flying by!!! I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast too! Here are some answers to your direct questions:

What are some things your toddler usually eats during snack time?
-she was addicted to berries durring the summer but now they are out of season so it is apple and pear slices, banana, homemade muffins or crackers, dried apple, raisins, cheese, milk, yogurt, and anything that packs well like sliced veggies in a little container or small meatballs.

Should I start introducing some kind of discipline?
In our house, discipline is learning through practice and helpful teaching. I dischipline my daugher by talking to her and teaching her different social techniques that are developmentally appropriate. Ask me more if you are interested... I could go on forever about this...

What kind of commands should she know by now?
By 1 their understanding vocabularies are bigger than we think because theier spoken vocabularies are relatively small (maybe just a few words). Kids don't learn "commands". They learn language! By talking to her, reading to her, and narating what you are doing she will learn to understand lots of what you say and will start to parrrot it back to you.

What kind of games and enrichment should I be focusing on?
Whatever is fun and you both enjoy! My dd hates crafts and loves running outside so that is what we do.

Should I be trying to "teach" her words, or do I let that happen more naturally?
Talking is teaching! Reading together is great too. One year olds don't have the patience to sit and listen to a story but going through a book and getting her to point to different things is a great way to see how many words she understands! When she doen't know the answer point for her. As her language develops you can ask her what she see's and she'll use her words to identify those things she started off pointing at.

She doesn't NEED a bottle, and WIC cuts off her formula this month. Mom says I should still give her milk in her bottle for a while, but is it okay to wean a baby after one year?
Milk can be a healthy food but you can get the same things from yogurt or cheese if she likes those better. Milk is not necessary but it is an easy way to get certain vitamins and minerals. (Calcium, vitamin A...) Bottle-fed kids also often find it comforting so it can be a really nice part of bedtime routine or a nice thing to have. There is no rush to wean her off it.

Thanks for all of the advice everyone! It really helps that you guys are pretty consistent and seem to agree with each other. I'm overthinking this I know, but as a single mom for the first time, it's really important that I get this right, you know?

Another quick question!

When can I start introducing vitamins?

I have stomach issues, so sometimes I'll go a day without eating. I usually give her what I'm eating, but on the days that I can't, is it okay to cook things ahead of time and heat them up for her?

I learned about the peanut butter thing AFTER I had already given it to her. =[ She's had no adverse reactions whatsoever and LOVES it. Is it okay to continue to feed it to her?

Thanks for being patient with me ladies!

Quoting Chroma Hex [+1]:" Thanks for all of the advice everyone! !"

You're most welcome! Here are some more answers:

When can I start introducing vitamins? You don't need to add vitamins if she eats a variety of healthy foods. IMO they are a waste of money.

Is it okay to cook things ahead of time and heat them up for her? Yes! We have leftovers frequently!

Re: Peanut Butter: Is it okay to continue to feed it to her?
Yes! Since she did not have a reaction she is obviously not allergic so go for it! It is a nice easy way to get protien in! Just make sure it is real peanut butter (only ingredient on the list is peanuts) not peanut-flavoured spread full of corn syrup and other fillers.

I would say yes to the peanut butter if she's already had it and had no reaction. My kids love it, my son actually likes wowbutter better (soy based but looks like pb).
Vitamins are ok only when she can chew very well... gummies or the regular flinstones - just supervise while she eats them to make sure she is chewing them up well and not running off to play while in her mouth. I like the hard ones better because I can hear them being munched up  

Right about the vitamins, I didn't start them until my kids starting refusing foods like meat and veggies so closer to age 2.

Actually they have vitamin drops (primarily vitamin D and iron) for babies. Since i'm breastfeeding, the pedi wants to make sure he gets as much vitamin D as he needs. The drops with iron in them are very hard to get them to take and it stains everything. Vitamins shouldn't be a big issue at this point. Little kids are really good at getting what they need.