17 Month Baby Update
This is officially his last month of being a baby and becoming a toddler. Every day we watch him growing into a happy, cheeky little boy who just wants to be involved. He hates baby gates or anything that stops him from being with you and joining in everything from putting the washing on to Daddy having a shave.
New things
These are getting harder to list as he seems to add something new in each day. His favourite game at the moment is putting a cushion over Isabelle’s head and asking ‘where’s she gone’ before she pops out from underneath which he thinks is the funniest thing ever.
His obsession with doing things he shouldn’t is obviously his current life goal. I would say my most current phrase is ‘Freddie NO’. My stealth ninja skills are quite good when it comes to catching him before he jumps off the sofa or the coffee table or anywhere that he can.
Using your head! Literally! If he can’t open something he headbutts it.
Temper tantrums in the making. He’s not quite got this but he’s definitely on his way. He gets down on the floor face down and spreads his arms and legs out like a star and then whinges. If you react he carries on but if you ignore him he stops to have a look where you are, gets bored so he gets up and carries on playing. Let’s hope that’s as bad as it gets.
His speech is coming on so well. He will attempt to repeat lots of words and has everything he needs to get what he wants:
- Juice
- Snack
- Pooh
- Me
- Yes
- No
- What’s that
- Who’s that
- Where’s she gone?
- Upstairs
- Downstairs
Char! Our poor dog Charlie has a new best friend whether he likes it or not. Freddie likes to sit with him or on him, grabs his tail and generally doesn’t leave him alone. I think he must shout ‘Char’ about a hundred times a day!
Play
Freddie loves it when you get down on the floor and play with him. He likes cars, balls and building which we do a lot.
He likes it when you put things in a bag for him to find which is good when you need to keep him distracted. It used to keep him entertained for quite a while when he used to put his hand in the bag and take each thing out, but that was before he figured out that it’s quicker to just tip the bag up so that everything falls out.
Give this boy a box, a basket or anything that he can get inside and he’ll play with it until you take it away.
We’ve also just started to let him play with play-doh as an alternative to Isabelle’s slime which he’s always trying to get to. He likes it when you make sausages that he can ‘chop chop chop’ with the play knife. He’s also partial to licking it as well at every opportunity.
Growth
Now that he’s 17 months he’s not growing as rapidly as he was and I would say he’s average for his age so not too small or too big. He’s got a little bit of growing before he will fit into 18 – 24 months clothing but I think that in terms of clothes this is the biggest leap size wise.
He’s got a little waist but is quite tall so he’s going to be in 12 – 18 months bottoms for a while yet but we’ve got no worries at all with his growth.
Food
He was and is doing well with his food but this very much depends on his mood. Some mealtimes he eats really well by himself and with some help, and then the next meal will be thrown all over the place. It’s really frustrating and we were offering him other options which we’ve stopped now. When he throws his food around we clean him up and get him out of his chair in a meal times over kinda way. Hopefully this is a fad that will end soon for our sakes. The dog on the other hand thinks this is amazing!
In terms of what he eats he’s doing really well. I would say his top three favourite meals are pasta (in any form), curry and rice and chilli and rice. He really enjoys fruit and vegetables and loves anything in frozen form.
I bought some ice lolly moulds and make him fruit purée and yoghurt lollies which he always loves as a good way to get something into him. He’s also a massive fan of Blueberry Yoghurt Bites which you can make with whatever fruit or yoghurt you have in.
Feeding
We’re still plodding along with our breastfeeding journey. Chris is keen for us to stop as he thinks that Freddie uses me for comfort rather than him being hungry.
I can see what he’s saying and I never imagined myself breastfeeding for this length of time, but both Freddie and I are happy doing it so for now we’ll keep on going. I dread it coming to an abrupt end, but he’s such a booby monster than I can’t see this happening too soon.
Sleeping
I think Chris’ logic that if Freddie stops feeding at night he might sleep better. We’re still co-sleeping which I’m not going to lie, I love having Freddie snuggled up with me. There are nights when I wish I had more room, but he’ll grow out of it before we know it so I’m savouring this time where he wants comfort from us.
Until next month…..