I love having a toddler

[MadiMamacita]

I really do. I love that he is finally starting to sleep ALL the way through the night. in fact, I love that it is almost 7:30, he went to bed at 8 and he is still sleeping.

I love that he has little phrases that he always says, like if I say OW he always says "You OK, honey?"

I love that he is starting to remember little things and tell me about them, like what he did at the park, or what we had for lunch yesterday

I love when he says "Just hug me, mama!" or grabs my face for a kiss

He is so much fun to spend time with (most of the time) and I am really enjoying this stage! The so-called terrible twos really haven't been that bad.. I hear three is a bear though!

[physmom]

I hear you! I always knew I wasn't a baby person (even though I've always wanted kids and enjoyed kids) well before I had DD.  The first two years of her life were a struggle for me but now that she's weaned, sleeps through the night (minus nightmares), and has a more regular schedule I've been able to enjoy her a lot.  We can hang out and have conversations, she can actually tell me WHY she's crying, and sometimes I can even reason with her! 

Oh, and it just melts my heart why she tells me that she missed DH and myself when we pick her up from preschool and how she'll just look at me sometimes when we're playing and say "Mommy, I'm so happy".

[youremyheartkid]

It's so great to see a post about why toddlers are great!

Why I love my toddler:

---Routine! We have the sweetest bed-time routine where we eat dinner, take a bath, get our p.j.'s on, brush our teeth, pick up toys, and then cuddle up on the couch for 10 minutes to a show/movie (just started the movie part this week). Then we give hugs, kisses, she says "love you mama!" (ahhhh melts my heart) and off to sleep she goes.

---Activities. It's so much fun to do things with her, go to the park and play, 'pretend play,' coloring, sidewalk chalk, etc etc etc. This summer will be such a blast!

---Learning. It's amazing to see her discover new things and learn so much every day! She learns new words all throughout the day now, it seems. I just love watching her learn and grow, she's so curious about everything. :)

---Communication. She can TELL me what she wants and needs (for the most part) and it's not such a guessing game. This was hard for me in the baby stage!

---Sense of humor/personality. She is soooo funny and her personality comes out more and more every day. She is always making me laugh and smile with the silly cute things she does.

My DD is only 21 months old so I have a ways to go still, but yes, I am loving the toddler stage. :)

[lifeguard]

I loved the baby stage (ds was really quite an easy baby) but this is fun too - a lot more work though!

I love:

-his funny little expressions

-that he can tell me what he wants, what's wrong, about his day

-listening to him playing, talking to himself or his toys

-his enthusiasm for everything

[MadiMamacita]

I loved the baby stage too.
In fact, there has only been one time I remember thinking "I really don't like this stage!" every other stage has been my favorite

Thats not to say that he is an easy child, he has always been fairly high needs and very attached. as an infant I could NEVER leave him on the floor. he always had to be held or worn (I was told that I had "spoiled" him) but it is really neat to see him develop his little personality! I love watching him grow! (can you tell he's an only child?)

[abigail_b]

Thanks for the wonderful post. I am also loving the 19 month old stage because she is SO sweet and precocious. But how oh how did you get your little one to sleep so well at night?? Should I assume you do not cosleep and night nurse??

[physmom]

Originally Posted by abigail_b 

Thanks for the wonderful post. I am also loving the 19 month old stage because she is SO sweet and precocious. But how oh how did you get your little one to sleep so well at night?? Should I assume you do not cosleep and night nurse??

I'm not the OP but my child does sleep through the night more or less.  For us it was just about patience.  We tried nightweaning her a bit before she turned two and she just wasn't ready yet.  We tried a couple of months after she turned two and she was ready then.  It was still painful for a couple of nights (we told her that she could nurse when it was light outside but not when it was dark outside) so we had a lot of tears but just hugged her and sang to her and eventually she settled into a routine. 

[MadiMamacita]

OP here. we do cosleep, and we no longer night nurse. He stopped a few weeks before his 2nd birthday. Ever since then he sleeps pretty much for 10 or so hours. sometimes he wakes up once but usually goes right back to sleep. He woke up a lot more often when he was night nursing.

[CI Mama]

Thanks for starting a thread about how we love our toddlers!

My DD (31 months) has started sitting me down for little "chats." She'll say, "Come sit down, Mama. Let's talk." Then I'll ask, "What do you want to talk about?" And she'll say (for example), "ice cream." And I'll say, "OK, tell me about ice cream." And then she'll just talk for awhile: "Ice cream is frozen. I like vanilla ice cream. It's a special treat. Mommy bought me ice cream." Etc. It's soooooooo cute!!!

On another note, 27 months was the magical age when DD's sleep patterns made a huge shift (for the better). She still night nurses, but only once (most nights) and very briefly. And she's starting to talk about wanting to sleep in her own bed.

[Greenlea]

I love coming hom from work to my toddler jumping up and down yelling "mama's home, mama's home!"

His vocabulary is really starting to pick up and he's talking a bunch.  I love that he can tell me what he wants.

Going to the park is sooo much easier than when he was little.  Before I actually had to climb all over the equipment too so he wouldn't get hurt.  Now he can do it all by himself (with me watching close by of course).

[physmom]

Originally Posted by MadiMamacita 

OP here. we do cosleep, and we no longer night nurse. He stopped a few weeks before his 2nd birthday. Ever since then he sleeps pretty much for 10 or so hours. sometimes he wakes up once but usually goes right back to sleep. He woke up a lot more often when he was night nursing.

Oh, and we cosleep too. I'm not sure we ready yet to have her in her own bedroom.

[NicholeRobins]

I love having a toddler:

Nursing and having a still moment together.

Reading together is a give and take now.

Singing together. Having her sing the ABC's to me is so rewarding; I never expected her to learn, it was just my diaper changing song.

Eating new foods and then asking for them by name. If you've ever heard a 23 month old ask for "ummus and carrot" your day has been made. 

Helping is her favorite thing to do. 

Nichole and Lily 23 months

[foxjenn]

My LO is 13.5 months and we just finished night #4 of Dr. Gordon's method. We co-sleep and she has been night nursing more frequently than ever, which is a problem for my 8-week pg bbs! Last night was definitely hard but she was in our arms the whole time she was upset. I couldn't stop thinking about people who let their babies CIO as I can't imagine how upset she was with us, let alone if she was in a dark room all alone. I hope this works!

[JudiAU]

My 20m has pretty advanced language skills, much more so than her older brother. He self-weaned at 22m when I was pregnant with her. He never had a word for nurse etc.

I love that when she wakes up a bit in the middle of the night she screams NURSE!!!!!! and then goes right back to sleep. It cracks me up. I know we won't be co-sleeping much longer but I've really loved sleeping with her. Also POTTY POTTY POOP at the top of her lungs which is cue to hussle her to the potty is hilarious. And I am totally amused that she has now learned how to be polite (book please, help mama) she rarely is. Why? Less effecient.

[MadiMamacita]

I love all the responses!

Re: screaming out words in the middle of the night:
DS wakes up once during the night on a semi regular basis and says something funny, like "I need chocolate!" and goes back to sleep. Last night he said something about penguins. I need to start writing them down because I forget them by morning time!

[marinak1977]

bumping this thread up after watching my DS do "laundry" yesterday.
He took a bunch of random items (drier balls, cleaning sponge, stain remover stick) out of the catchall basket we have near the washer, put it in the washer, closed it, pressed some buttons, opened the washer, and carefully unloaded the items back into their basket.
Then we did it again, except after "starting the laundry" he walked out of the laundry room happily clapping his hands.
I love this age - it just keeps getting better.

[Lillitu]

I also love having a toddler, so much more than having a baby. I love that he can walk instead of always being carried and that he WANTS his independence. I love that he is beginning to be able to tell us what he wants (he is 15 months and has enough sign and words to convey his needs, but not much else). I love his sense of humor and continued delight at the world around him.

I love that I get to experience the world anew with him. I am looking forward to more communication and abilities. I cannot wait til he is old enough to follow simple instructions to "help" me cook, or to tell me what he likes and dislikes.

[ellemenope]

This seems so appropriate for Mother's Day tomorrow.  I love having a toddler, although TBH she is practically a preschooler now.

• I love that she can get up in the morning and potty all by herself and get her own pre-breakfast snack, which includes being able to now open the refrigerator.
• I love that she goes to bed all by herself and rarely wakes up during the night.
• I love that that whenever I tell her the date or time she repeats it back incredulously like "May 7th!!??" or "7:45??!!"
• On that note.  I love her sense of humor.  I love what she thinks is funny.  I love how she thought counting her fingers by repeating "Cleveland" for each one was funny today.  I love how she repeats whole conversations that were funny from weeks ago.  "Remember when I said..."
• I love how freaking affectionate she is.  I love that she always has a hug for me.  I love that she is compelled to hug anyone in pain.  I love how just seems to know when someone is stressed out and needs a hug. 
• I love how she spontaneously tells me she loves me at least 20 times a day.  I love how the other day when I asked her what the heck she was talking about she thought a moment and responded, "I love you, mommy...That's what I'm talking about!"
• I love how sometimes she says "thank you" and you can tell she means it.
• I love that however stressed that night before's bedtime routine was, the next morning she wakes up like the happiest kid in the world.
• I love how she walks around with her hands in her pockets.
• I love that she thinks by just reaching her hand in the shower before I get in is actually "getting the temperature right" for me, because that is what I do for her.
• I love how her favorite thing to say is "just let me get my stool so I can help."  I love how her stools are all over the house.
• I love that on the nights I clean up her playroom it is like conducting a forensic operation.  I love trying to figure out all the interesting ways she played with her toys that day.
• I love how she thinks that she is buying me a special treat every time she throws orange tic tacs in the cart at the grocery store.