Is Your 12 Month Old ... ?

[ChetMC]

Is your twelve month old still a baby?

Each of our kids seemed to cross the line from baby to toddler at a different age. Our first was always precocious. She grew up really fast. Our other two children were about twelve months when they seemed to start leaving baby ways behind. Number four really seems to be hanging on to babyhood though.

[Addie]

Funny, DH and I were just talking about this recently, and agreed that our DS seems to have crossed some invisible line between baby and... I don't know what! "Toddler" doesn't feel quite right yet. But something about him - the way he eats, the way he sits, his interactions with us and others - he is just seeming less and less like a baby. He's 11 months, and we've been feeling this way for a month or so. He's also our first, so I don't have much to compare him to.

[ErinYay]

Our almost-11-month-old hasn't been a baby for almost two months.

I miss her babyhood, but I also love her new on-the-go, getting into everything, climbing everything, chattering self.

[hildare]

oh.. she's a toddler. all the way.
she runs, she points, she tantrums and stomps her feet when thwarted. (does that make ME a toddler too?)

[sunnygir1]

Originally Posted by hildare

oh.. she's a toddler. all the way.
she runs, she points, she tantrums and stomps her feet when thwarted. (does that make ME a toddler too?)

That's great!

My ds is somewhere in between. He's 13 months (12 months adjusted for prematurity) and he's not yet walking. He is eating like a horse and very interactive although he's not consistently using much for words or signs yet. And he has totally begun the going-limp-meltdown when he doesn't get what he wants. The thing is it's kind of cute at this age.

[akind1]

I don't know . . .our 11 month old is still a baby to me, but I think I feel that way because he nurses so much still! He will eat solids and enjoys it, but nursing is his primary nutrition. He crawls and gets into everything, follows us around, will through a temper tantrum on occaision . . . but he is still a baby to me! and he does chatter up a storm! Can't understand much of what he says, but he does babble quite a bit!

[ChetMC]

Originally Posted by akind1

I don't know . . .our 11 month old is still a baby to me, but I think I feel that way because he nurses so much still! He will eat solids and enjoys it, but nursing is his primary nutrition. He crawls and gets into everything, follows us around, will through a temper tantrum on occaision . . . but he is still a baby to me! and he does chatter up a storm! Can't understand much of what he says, but he does babble quite a bit!

I'm the original poster. This is sort of where we are too.

DS isn't walking yet, but he climbs up and down the stairs. He's been pointing for a long time. He gets angry, gets into stuff, copies, tries to use household objects he sees others using, likes simple puzzles where you fit shapes into holes, blah, blah, blah. It's not a developmental thing. He just hasn't really joined our older kids yet as part of the kiddie collective on a mission of childhood.

I think I feel he's still a baby partly because he looks young. He has thin, fine hair, and he's small. It's partly because he still nurses a lot. I think it's mostly because he still favours me over DH and the other kids. By this age our other kids had all started to equalize their relationship with other family members more.

[3xMama]

My DS is 11 months and is in the same not-quite-baby-not-quite-toddler stage. He's constantly on the go and into things, he feeds himself most of the time BUT he still wants his mama, he'd nurse all the time if he could (I'm pregnant and my milk dried up a few weeks ago I considered the nursing action for soothing, but it had become extremely painful so we just stopped), and in some way he's still just a baby. But in some way, he's not. Its kind of a bittersweet stage, really.

[akind1]

It is bittersweet! makes me very ready to be pregnant again so there will be a baby in the house -

He has always been pretty social and seems to be ok with either DH or me (unless he wants to nurse, of course) . . .he also is small ish at 18 and 1/2 lbs and almost 30 inches with fine hair. but his face is becoming less of a baby and more of a little boy face. I will be sad when he leaves the baby behind completely for little-boy-land!