Signs you have a toddler...(E at 15 months)

There comes a time in every parent's life when they look at the sweet little bundle of joy who has taken over the house and the world and wonder...are you still a baby?  Are you officially a toddler?  So here is my not so short and possibly not so helpful guide to knowing your baby has turned into a toddler (or at least the signs that my baby E has officially become toddler E):

1) Messy house

my tiny tornado after snack

With a baby your house may have growing piles of laundry and dishes left sitting in the sink, possibly even a sprinkling of toys across the living room floor.  With a toddler your house looks like a tiny tornado blew through it.  It doesn't matter how many times you pick up all the books and put them on the bookshelf, as soon as you turn away the tiny toddler tornado will remove every single book and place them in their proper place, on the ground.  Also the floor of your dining room will need at least 3 cleanings a day or it will quickly devolve into movie theatre floor levels of icky and sticky.    Your tiny tornado will delight in spreading toys in a Hansel and Gretel like fashion that leads from the bedroom, to the bathroom to the living room to the kitchen, to the dining room, etc.  Your tiny tornado will also delight in playing in the bathroom and decorating it with streamers of toilet paper.  Also your tiny tornado will be fascinated by the toilet and think that it is a great place for all toys to take a bath.  If you find yourself overwhelmed by the chaos that has become of your house remind yourself that the mess will be there long after your tiny tornado is not.

2) Imitation

food tastes better from
mommy's spoon.

mommy's shoes are awesome!

Babies imitate their parents all the time of course, mimicking facial expressions, sounds, etc.  But you will notice a drastic increase in the behaviors that your toddler begins to imitate.  From wanting to help you with mundane chores like folding laundry (her job is to unfold it of course!) or wearing your shoes and clothing to wanting her plate of food to look exactly like yours (actually it's easier if you just give her yours, less screaming that way) and using utensils that look like yours.  Or you know, are actually yours.  Please don't think that this will mean your child will be more willing to do things she previously refused to do if she sees you doing them.  For example, if your child refuses to drink milk from a cup and sees you drinking milk from a cup, she may actually take a drink of milk from the cup but then fountain the milk right back out all over the floor, herself and of course...you.  Also realize that your toddler will imitate behaviors you don't mean for her to pick up.  Your toddler will watch you constantly, and follow you around like a puppy so be wary!  If you wouldn't want your toddler to repeat your action or words, wait until after she is asleep to do it!

3) Imagination

Doctor E is in!

A baby's world is rather concrete.  They will interact with objects in ways that they are shown how or by ways they discover through play.  A toddler will begin to show signs of imaginative play.  This behavior can be as simple as driving a toy car around and making "vroom, vroom" noises.  Other examples of this behavior are things like: demanding to "feed" her stuffed animals while she is eating, using utensils and empty bowls and pretending to feed her stuffed animals, giving her babies "baths", making her dinosaurs dance to the music on the radio, or using a lighted magnifier, a broken thermometers, nasal aspirators, and old medicine dispensers to play doctor to her stuffed animals...or herself.







4) Teeth, Snot, and Illness

E's first emergency room trip.

This is not a definite sign, as younger babies can show these signs as well, and some toddlers don't struggle with these issues or go through them once they are well into toddlerdom.  However there seems to be a sharp increase in the amount of teeth, snot and due to that the severity of illnesses.  Be wary of the molars!  Just when you think you've got the stress and pain and sadness of teething down from the first 8 incisors the molars come and blow away all previous standards of woe.  Teething molars is miserable.  The snot meter goes to 11 and due to all the excess snot your toddler may develop/ be more susceptible to other illnesses.  These illnesses can result in fevers in excess of 105 degrees which can in turn result an extremely lethargic baby which in turn can result in driving speeds in excess of 60 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Said illnesses can be as simple as an ear infection but can be really, really frightening while the doctors are taking blood samples, x-rays, urine samples, and all other manner of uncomfortable and woe inducing procedures on your toddler.  While in the experience take deep breaths, remember that all the woe is for the purpose of making your toddler better and under no circumstances are you allowed to cold clock the nursing staff.  No matter how much you want to because of the discomfort they are causing your child.  It is discomfort with a purpose.

Once the first set of molars are fully in, life should improve drastically.  If you are lucky you will get a few weeks break before the next set of teeth start....but even if your toddler decides to start sprouting her canines within a few days of finishing her last molar don't put yourself under undue stress the canines are much less woe-inducing than the molars.

5) Gross Motor Development

Climbing? check!

The first signs that your baby is drifting into the toddler lane is those precious first steps.  But don't fear, walking is just the tip of the toddlerdom gross motor iceberg.  For full fledged toddlerdom you can expect to find your sweet baby in places she previously couldn't get to because she will begin climbing.  Sofas, ottomans, step stools, the playground equipment, a chest of drawers, her toy chest and even her bathtub are all now climbable.  She will be able to get into many of the places you put your off limits items and breakable items.  She will give you a heart attack by pulling out drawers and climbing into them, making you want to double and triple check that all your furniture is firmly bolted to the walls.

running? check!

Another sign is the velocity of a toddler is significantly increased from the velocity of a baby.  This can result in spectacular falls.  The important thing to remember is to not react to the fall.  If you react to the fall your toddler will devolve into a screaming mess, however if you wait to react you will see that most of the time she picks herself up and continues on her way.

Yet another sign is bouncing...a precursor to jumping.  Things like a crib mattress elevated by a pillow, or  balls, or mommy's bent leg during story time are phenomenally fun items to practice bouncing on.


6) Developing sense of self

Your baby will explore the world predominantly by putting things into her mouth and while she may object to you taking a toy from her the offense will soon be forgotten.  Not so for your newly blossomed toddler.   Her sense of self will develop rapidly.  She will become more aware of her own body.  Including identifying parts and exploring by rubbing objects against her skin, her feet, her face etc.  She will also become more acutely aware of a sense of things belonging to her.  Or the "mine" syndrome.  While your toddler may not be able to vocalize the word "mine" yet she will be fully able to communicate the idea.  She will become irrationally upset if you take a toy away, even if it's because she can't play with the toy and eat food at the same time.  And if she see other children playing with toys, especially toys she considers "hers" she will go through great lengths to take those toys back, even if moments before she was happily playing with a different toy.  And if said other child gets a new toy THAT toy will become the immediate object of desire.  You will need to work on the concept of sharing with your new toddler, and you may want to invest in a pair of ear plugs that will help you cope with the screaming that results when you even mention the word "share".

She will also be more willing to express her feelings.  Both positive and negative.  She will become much more loving, giving frequent hugs and kisses.  But she will also become much more independent, and be willing to let you know when she is upset or angry. This is a precursor to the tantrums that will come with the terrible twos.  Signs of this self expression include deep screaming, breath holding, and crying uncontrollably when told "no". Bear with the emotional roller coaster that is toddlerdom.  And employ whatever calm down strategy works best for you.  One system you can use is the "time-in" system, which is a parent included time-out.  In this system the parent sits with the child in time out and talks to them, enables them to use self soothing or external techniques to calm down.

7) Words

Your baby may have started talking earlier but as she enters toddlerdom the frequency and quantity of communication will drastically increase.  Your child may randomly spout out words like "fishy!" when you ask her if she wants a fishy cracker.  If you are doing baby sign she will pick up signs much more quickly than she did as a baby.  This increase in communication will be a great relief as she is expressing her feelings.  Now when your toddler starts screaming you can ask her to use her words and let her know that you want to help her, but that you don't understand the screaming.

A sample list of words for a 15 month old

Signs:
Please
Thank you
bye
eat
more
water
cookie
cracker
sleep
baby
play
playground
horse
cow
dog
cat
bird
elephant
giraffe
duck
sheep
fish
brush teeth
airplane
up
open
close
medicine
it hurts
daddy
mommy
book
help
wait

Spoken:
mama
dada
more
bird
close
fishy
cracker
ball
bell
bow
and of course.....NO!

The combination of increased sense of self, having and expressing opinions and the increased communication is a great portal for the word no.  Sometimes your toddler may say no sweetly, other times she may scream it at the top of her lungs, and sometimes she will even sing it in repeat.  Remember, you are the parent and you will need to help your toddler through these expressions of independence.

If your sweet baby is displaying one of more of these symptoms...welcome to toddlerdom.  It is a fun adventure in watching your child develop a personality.  Please prepare for toddlerdom with large cups of coffee, the occasional ice cream binge, and lots and lots of playground time.  Enjoy the sweet cuddles and snuggles as your sweet baby turns into a more independent toddler and use this time to practice for the upcoming terrible twos, though if you are a very lucky parent your toddler will be on the accelerated track and enter into the terrible twos early!