Your baby, 18 months 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 and older

Your child loves to help you around the house. He sees you sweeping, mopping, vacuuming and folding laundry and wants to do the same. Although his `help` may not always actually be helpful, try to find ways that he can help. This will teach him how to be an active member of the family and also give him a sense of accomplishment. When you are washing dishes, give your child a dampened washcloth (no cleaner) and allow him to wipe down the table or the cabinets. Buy your child a set of child-sized household tools-a broom, mop and a vacuum. He will learn how to do these things correctly by watching you. Don't scold him if he makes mistakes or does not do things that same way you do. Praise him for a job well done and continue to show him how to do things properly.

Your child is interested in playing games with you right now. Play should always be a fun form of learning. When she gets tired of playing, stop. If you turn games into work or contests that she never wins, she will become discouraged and will not want to play anymore. Do not be surprised if your child gets very upset when things do not go the way she wanted them to.

Even though it should not be expected yet, begin to lay the foundation for sharing. Children have a very hard time understanding the concept of sharing and are very good with saying, `Mine, mine!` It is perfectly okay to tell your child what is his, yours, daddy's, doggy's and so forth. However, whenever you can teach about sharing, do so. For example, when you cut a slice of cheese, tell your child that this was your cheese but that you would like to share with her. Then, hand her a piece of your cheese. If you have other children in the house or if your child is frequently exposed to other children, sharing may be an easier to task to learn. Because your child's appetites vary from day to day, it is unfair to expect your child to eat everything on their plate all of the time. Your child knows how hungry he is, let him stop when he is full. It is not wise to bribe your child with food or sweets to get good behavior. Parents and caregivers should never punish their child for eating too little or too much. Doing so may cause him to feel ashamed of his appetite and he may begin to feel guilty about eating all together. If you notice that there is always food left on his plate, you are probably giving him too much. If your child asks for more of a certain food, give it to him. If none is left, simply tell him that it is gone and offer him what is left.

As always, remember to show your growing toddler that she is important to you. Dailly hugs, kisses and words of praise will let her know that she is special. Make your child feel proud when he accomplishes a new skill. You have the power to develop who your child becomes. Many families think that their toddler knows how much they love her. This should not be the case. Always take the time to express and vocalize your love for your child.

Developmental Milestones - 18 Months Old

Physical

• Runs
• Climbs stairs
• May jump
• Creeps backwards downstairs
• Uses one hand more than the other
• Grabs anything he can reach

Intellectual

• Can say about ten words
• Can name some common objects
• Tries to sing and likes to be sung to
• Remembers where things belong
• Can turn pages in a book
• Can build a tower of 3-4 blocks
• May be able to string large colored beads

Emotional

• Likes to show off for attention
• Is afraid of thunder, lightning, animals, etc..
• Has temper tantrums
• Likes to cuddle when tired

Age Appropriate Toys

• Large beads for stringing
• Push toys
• Ride on toys
• Climbing structures
• Balls
• Books
• Musical instruments
• Dolls
• Pretend play items
• Trucks and cars
• Building items
• Bubbles

Comments:

Comments 51-75 of about 2277 for month 18
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Avocat29 - Sunday, 25 Oct
All very interesting re: H1N1...what speaks volumes to me is that if there is even a single doctor out there (be it a pede or an OB) that says they themselves are not getting it or their kids aren't, that is enough for me to not get it. And I'm preggo. By the time it's available here, I'll be a week or two from delivery in any event. Noelle is not in daycare and she isn't going to be with her cousins for much longer so even less exposure there. It is treatable, even for pregnant women. The meds are category C which at this stage in the pregnancy are fine to take. I know docs say to get it...they have to say that, it's their job and I think there is a huge liability motivator there. But I recenty heard an expert on TV say that avian flu is still much more dangerous than H1N1, it's just not as media-popular at the moment. Anyway, of course to each his own...I'm vigilent about symptoms and will get treatment if necessary immediately. Also if you get the shot you're not guaranteed not to get it right? I mean that's certainly the case for the flu vaccine (which I've also never had). You gotta do what works for you. It's a no for me (preggo) and for Noelle and DH for sure. We'll see if I change my mind but so far not...:-)

amazintrace - Sunday, 25 Oct
Coli - you are so lucky - you know free is great! My LO is doing so much head pounding here lately. I’m curious if any other moms are having any troubles with this as well. He doesn’t even have to be mad but sometimes he is mad or tired or even excited. He will pound me in the belly over and over with his forehead … or sometimes he will throw his head back onto whatever is there behind him. He made the mistake of slamming daddy in the jewels last night. Poor daddy. I am just wondering if this is normal or is it just him. I know my oldest did some head pounding / head butting when he was this age but my other son never did. Oh my girls, the energy of his little guy is abundant.

babyharris - Sunday, 25 Oct
Hi Bluebeanz- that was the story of my pregnancy starting at 29 weeks, bleeding episodes due to Placenta Previa...very scary I know. Racing to the hospital and getting hooked up to hear the baby's heartbeat. They had me on bedrest until 35 weeks and then did an emergency c-section. I will pray for her. The bedrest was hell but it did buy me some extra time for sure.

bluebeanz - Saturday, 24 Oct
Hey guys, can you please send some positive thoughts/prayers my sisters way. She is only 32 weeks pregnant & been admitted to the hospital for the 2nd time due to bleeding caused by placenta previa. It looks like she will be there on bedrest until baby comes. They have her c-section moved up to 36 weeks (at the end of Nov). So we are praying baby is fine & stays in until then! Thanks!

BabyHelton - Saturday, 24 Oct
I haven't checked in on you ladies in forever, so I wanted to stop in and say HEY, I hope you are all doing great!! :) I changed my profile pic to a more updated pic of Cooper.

coliflower - Saturday, 24 Oct
I cannot get a flu shot or an H1N1 shot due to allergies but I think Edwin and DH are going to get it to try to keep it out of my household. As for me, I am all over the hand sanitizer and I deal with a mess of people during the day (Receptionist). I am pretty aware but trying not to freak myself out too much. Our Vaccines are available on Nov 2. Pregnant women get theirs first but I am hoping that if I don't get it they will give it to DH first. LOL I doubt that but I figured it is worth asking. On a positive note I was going to have to buy a new crib for baby 2 because I didn't want to rush Edwin out of his when she is born but a co-worker said she is not having any more kids and will give me hers for free! Yeah! I wasn't looking forward to buying another.

daydays mom - Friday, 23 Oct
http://www.findmorgan.com/downloads/flyer2.pdf

leahsmom - Friday, 23 Oct
I just called Kaiser and the recording says they have no seasonal or H1N1 vaccines available at this time due to high demand. Hmmmm. I'm not sure it'll be a choice for us either then.

Karina - Friday, 23 Oct
thank you for your comments!I really like making those clippies and my back is killing me!, lol.....

On regards the H1n1 I'm hesitating but leaning forward to not doing it, the only vaccine available at my town right now it the one that is nasal they are doing it at Emma's Pediatrician office so they are recommended it, but she cannot get it until she's 2, so they made that decision for me, Hubby just had a safety meeting at his work and the recommended the shot for Emma and us, but I dunno, that one would be available by the end of November and we are candidates because Emma is under 5 and it would have to be through her Pediatrician's office, like Heather said I don't judge if you do it or you don't, at the end we are doing what we think is best for our little ones.

aplace4myhead - Friday, 23 Oct
March- Walmart around here has footed PJ's for kids up to like 5T... you might check there...

kbpc3949 - Friday, 23 Oct
Oh and regarding the H1N1 vaccine. Our county offices are running out of it like crazy. :( I am thinking we won't even get the oppurtunity to get it. I feel like I a take a bath in hand sanitizer every day. :(

kbpc3949 - Friday, 23 Oct
March-its prob the wrong time of year to find those jammies I would think. I know Kohls sells them...do you have one of those? I buy predom Carter's feeted jammies and they seem to have all types of fabrics.

March - Friday, 23 Oct
Random question - we are looking for Luke some new footed pajamas (I know a lot of kids don't still wear them to sleep, but he seems to like them and we find them really easy). Unfortunately, he's growing out of his 2T ones (he's huge) and so we were hoping to find somewhere (maybe online) that sells 3T ones. For some reason, all anyone seems to sell in those sizes that we can find is fleece, which he doesn't need - it's not that cold here, and we certainly don't keep our house cold enough that he needs a full body fleece outfit. So he's perfectly comfortable in his cotton ones, but no one seems to sell cotton, 3T footed pajamas! Does anyone know of anywhere online that sells that sort of thing?

mayasmommy - Friday, 23 Oct
Traci, haha,, 60 degrees is down right balmy to us! He'll be fine for 3 hours at 55-60, just layer his clothing and maybe take a hat. Have fun!

TraciW - Friday, 23 Oct
Do you ladies think between 55-60 degrees F is too cold to bring Matthew to a football game tonight? I know that is not that cold to lots of you but we will be out there for 3 hours tonight. The last couple of weekends it was cold but not quite this cold.

mayasmommy - Friday, 23 Oct
The seasonal flu kills 36,000 people a year, so I have never thought it's 'just the flu'. H1N1 is having an unusual affect on young people, making it unlike the seasonal flu, and causing a disproportionate number of previously healthy children to die. They don't know why, but they do know the H1N1 vaccine will decrease the chances that healthy children will die from H1N1.

leahsmom - Friday, 23 Oct
It's interesting that the controversy is not only among us but the medical professionals as well. My kid's doctor recommended the flu shot and H1N1 shot for our family. We are going to get it tonight, if they have it available. We are traveling at Christmas time and I have had both my kids with the flu on this same vacation before- NOT FUN! Even if we weren't going away, we would still get the shots, but being exposed to SO many people in the airports and around makes me want to take every precaution. In the end it's a personal choice we all have to make on what's right for our families.

1blessedmomma - Friday, 23 Oct
I'm not sure what we should do about the H1N1 vacc. A healthy little girl a county over died on Wed. from swine flu. Now, as many of you know we homeschool so my kids aren't really around a huge population of kids on a daily basis, but... Adults are just as bad about preventing the spread of germs as kids are so I worry more about picking stuff up from the walmart. DH gets freaked out if we're walking through the store and someone is coughing. lol! I'm most worried about the baby and Abe but with that little girl dying this week, I realize I have to be diligent for all of my kids no matter how healthy they may seem.

heather07 - Friday, 23 Oct
Hello ladies! I just wanted to chime in on the H1N1 vaccine discussion. I am by no means trying to convince anyone NOT to get it, I am just going to tell you what my pediatrician told me at the baby's last appointment. The regular old flu is not circulating yet. If you or your child have the flu, it is H1N1. They tested over 2,000 people with the flu, and every single one of them was H1N1. So they are now saying that EVERY case of the flu IS swine flu. My son had the flu two weeks ago. They did the nostral test and it didn't seem that painful. He cried for 1 second and stopped right when she stopped swabbing. No biggie. He tested positive, and I assumed it was just the plain old flu, but am now learning that it MUST have been swine. He had a temp around 102..103 for three days. They put him immediately on tamiflu and he was back to his playful self within 5 days. It was really only days 2 & 3 that were the worst. Needless to say, he was perfectly fine. I asked if I should get him the vaccine and my pediatrician said NO!!! They aren't even administering them at his office. HE said there isn't enough long terms effect studies (I know someone posted that it is the same as the flu shot, but if my pediatrician is hesitant..I'm definitely not doing it.) He said he isn't getting it for himself or his two girls. He said no because it's treatable, it is JUST a flu. The people who are havng serious complications are people with pre-existing health conditions. He said healthy people are NOT dieing from swine flu. That being said, I am not pregnant....and so that may change how I feel about it, I don't know. But like I said in the beginning...I think as mommies we are ALL doing what WE think is best for our children...so I would NEVER ridicule someone for gettng it or not getting it. I just found his discussion so useful that I thought I'd share it with some of you mommies who seem to be struggling with the decision. May you all, and your young ones, stay healthy. :)

bluebeanz - Friday, 23 Oct
Suzi- In my opinion your 2 mth old is still too young to be on a sleep 'schedule' that you impose on her. She still needs lots of sleep. I would let her sleep when she wants to. With that being said, try to take her out of the swing more during the day to have some activity time. I know it can be hard with two but it's manageable. (I have a 1 mth old & 18 mth old). I'm sure the movement of the swing brings on more sleep. From what you have described about her night sleeping, I would say she sounds pretty normal with the amount of wake ups she is having. Babies at this age still wake for nutrition reasons. Does she want to play when she wakes up at night or does she eat & go right back to sleep? To transition her from the bassinette into the crib you could try putting the top part she sleeps in into the actual crib for a week or so. Is she sleeping in the room the crib is in right now?

suzi - Friday, 23 Oct
can i get some advice for my 2 month old??????I think anastasija is sleeping too much durin the day..i keep her in the swing alot so i could get stuff done with my 18mon old..she usual starts her evening sleep at like 6-7 and then eat one more time before i go tossleep at like 10- oe 11. but she is still waking up for night feedings cause i think she is not in a deep sleep cause she is sleeping alot and starting her sleep early in teh night. she woke up just now a 2, and she will wake up at 5, and then be fussy for an hr i know and then continue sleep as soon as my other girlis up at 7..any suggestions..she also has acid reflux and has a hard timne staying asleep during the day unless she is swig and wed thur and fri night my hubby is home alone w themso in orf=der to feed maja dinner and bathe her and get her to sleep it is good for him for her to sleep since im a work,but i need him to keep her awake..i need tog et her in the crib too she is in the bassinet

leahsmom - Thursday, 22 Oct
March- how exciting! Your delivery is right around the corner. Sounds like you have a great support system lined up.

Leah did great at swimming tonight. She's a little fish like her brothers.

The new Quinny stroller came today i LOVE everything about it, except for the fact that it doesn't lock closed when it's folded. I hope I can rig up some sort of velcro strap or something. Leah loves it too. She didn't want to get out.

March - Thursday, 22 Oct
Thanks bluebeanz - I definitely am worried about having two so close, and once I set the date today I started realizing it's really, really close. My hope is that as the baby sleeps less and needs more entertainment, Luke will be getting more and more interested in playing on his own - that by the time she's a total pain at mealtime, he'll be starting to get better. We'll see how it goes. I am excited to have good help - my parents are coming for 2-3 weeks, and I am very fortunate that my husband has been our primary caretaker for Luke, so he doesn't work but a few hours a week, and I get 18 wks maternity leave. So we'll have both of us for quite awhile. I'm going to try to visit Luke some at preschool and spend some time with him doing activities there so I'll know that I can be focused on him without distraction - plus he loves showing off his toys there!

bluebeanz - Thursday, 22 Oct
This is for AVO, MARCH and those of you about to have another little bundle of joy soon... I was TERRIFIED about having another baby to care for while Claire is still so little and needy herself. I anticipated the worst. I was so worried that I wouldn't have time for Claire. That she might be jealous and worst of all feel neglected. But honestly, I worried so much for nothing! Seriously! As Jo-Mama has told us, you find a way. It's sooooo true! I had help from dh as he was home for the first 3 1/2 weeks and that helped me to get through those really rough sleep deprived weeks where she had not figured out day or night yet. I can't stress enough to get help during the first couple of weeks if you can. Especially while your body is recovering too. I definitely had less one on one time with Claire during that time but she didn't feel neglected because daddy gave her a ton of attention. This has been my 1st week completely on my own and I have to say it went alright! Waaaay better than I thought it would. There were some hairy moments but we made it through. Newborns sleep a lot so I'm able to give Claire attention. I make sure to include her in what we're doing (if she wants to be). I let her decide how much she wants of baby if that makes sense. If I'm nursing Simone, Claire will often climb up and sit beside us on the couch and just read her books or have me read to her. The biggest thing I have noticed is that she just wants to make sure I still love her. She will say to me, 'I baby. Awwww. Mama' and put her head down on my shoulder. So I make sure to tell her that yes she is still my big baby. When I was busy worrying and stressing about having 2 so close together I had completely forgotten how busy toddlers are! Claire is on the go non-stop. And sometimes that works to my advantage. She will play independently for bits of time. I can get a load of laundry in or tend to the baby if need be. Anyway, sorry this is so long.. I just wanted to help put some of your fears at ease as I know exactly what you are feeling. And it will all be so worth it. I promise. When Claire wakes up in the morning one of the first things she says is 'Mamone?' (Her name for Simone). If we aren't in the room with her (taking a nap, etc.) she asks daddy, 'Mommy, Mamone?' She knows her little sister (baby) is here to stay. And I can tell already that she loves her! :D It might take some adjustment for your LO's when their new sibling arrives but they will get through it (with your help). Children adapt waaaay better than adults do! Hugs!

mayasmommy - Thursday, 22 Oct
The H1N1 vaccine has been made the same way seasonal flu vaccines have been made for decades, with the same ingredients and by the same manufacturers. The only difference is the H1N1 virus being added to provide the immune response. The seasonal flu vaccine is considered very safe, please consult with trusted medical experts before turning down the vaccine...lots of irrational fears about both the vaccine and the flu, but I am all for preventing what I can and I am grateful they created a vaccine. We believe Ian and Maya both have the flu right now and I am very sorry they didn't have the vaccine ready in time to have prevented, or at least minimized the effects of, this virus. They are miserable. The vaccine won't be available in our area until mid November. They will still get the vaccine when it's available because there is no way to know for sure if that's what they have now. Lili-D, we have a crib tent for Ian and it was worth every penny. He continues to sleep soundly in his crib and has never fallen out or climbed out due to the tent preventing it, so we sleep soundly too! I hope to keep Ian in there until he's 3. I have no desire to get him into a big boy bed, he's still very much a baby and would never understand the concept of staying in a bed. I'm sure you can sell the crib tent on ebay or Craig's list and recoup at least part of the expense.

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