10 subtle signs your baby is now a toddler
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You've just brought your newborn home from the hospital. Swaddled and wrapped in blankets; having a good old sniff of their head - bliss. Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of a beautiful, wrinkly little cherub.
You put her down and she's there in her moses basket, car seat or bouncer, exactly in eye shot. Life couldn't get any better.
The first birthday is celebrated, and that when - ever so slowly - life starts to change.
Your bundle becomes mobile: the roll, crawl, bum shuffle and walk are mastered.
Life is no longer as we know it.
Thankfully, toddlerhood doesn't happen overnight - so here's a heads up on the ten subtle signs your baby is now a toddler.
1. Nothing is yours
This starts out with the telly remote. They've been watching you and daddy for months, and realise how useful this piece of kit is (you push a button and there it is, the magic world of trance). We actually built a shelf to put the remote on: somewhere to put it when we weren't using it. But the shelf is now home to many things: car keys, wallets, cash, cards, lipstick... basicaly anything that has meaning in life. The little guy is on it like a hot snot!
2. "I don't like..." (any food they ate yesterday)
You've been feeding Bubba the same food every day until something mysterious happens; like a blot out of the blue, taste buds change over night, every night... Their beloved bananas are flung on the floor. The marvel that once surrounded a box of raisins is no more. Just because they ate it yesterday means jack - unless it's on Mammy's plate and then it's a free for all.
3. Walking
The joy of the first steps - sorry to burst the bubble - is pretty short lived. Enjoy those strolls in the park, pushing your top of the range stroller because once your smallie has found their feet, that has no place in their life. They will do anything not to be strapped in: body like a plank move, flop to the ground move. But when you decide to stop bringing the buggy with you, that's when walking is out of the question. Cue flop to the ground, legs like jelly move.
4. Clothes
This one starts off with the simple coat. Bundley has mastered the zip/ popper (whatever it is that's meant to keep in on) so it ain't staying on anymore. When they figure that out maybe it's time to put it on backwards? They can't get it off when it's on backwards and you don't want the risk of hyperthermia. But then they move on to the hat; the woolly hat ain't staying on this guy's head, that is until mid-July and you want to put their sun hat on. That's when they'll will find a lost love for the woolly hat. And have you ever explained the difference between a sun hat and a woolly hat five minutes before leaving the house? Not a barrel of laughs.
5. "I do it myself"
"Ah look at her, isn't being strong-willed marvellous? She knows her own mind at least". Eh, no. As stated above, this always happens within five minutes of leaving the house. Watching a toddler carrying her own overnight bag, dragging it to the car looks like child torture, but they refuse to let you carry it. Until it's a half-eaten piece of food they are finished licking (with a few hairs stuck to it for good measure): "Here you go, Mum. You carry it."
6. Toys
Toddlers won't get excited by big things. The big muck patch beside the giant wooden house that Santa brough is where it's at. Muck castles, muck soup - muck. Next year, we'll just ask Santa for a load of muck, and a bike. A bike that will sit against the playhouse. Something for us to look at while we play with muck.
7. Mammy/ Daddy's phone
They will get your phone, swipe it, find the YouTube logo, and before you know it this generation are watching “kinder eggs being opened” one after another. An odd time you may even turn a blind eye just to finish that well earned coffee. Bad, Mummy.
8. The playground
Ah the playground, it used to be the fun part: you and Baba would head to the playground, spend an hour pushing the swing, checking your Facebook on your phone and then happily head home. This is no more. The swing is left empty now and the death defying monkey bars is where it's at. You'll be playing 'catch the toddler' for the next few years.
9. Ah look, she said “Mama"
Another joyous moment that's short lived. "Mama" turns to “mammy, mammy, mammy” until you answer - I swear this call could go on for days if you let it. It usually happens when your attention is on something else: like a chat on the phone, a gossip with a friend or when something of interest is on the TV.
10. Wellies with everything
Okay, I love the festival look as much as Kate Moss and think dresses and wellies are super cute, but it's July. Toddlers know wellies are super easy and they can fire them on and are good to go, but we are going to a family wedding: "I don't think you will need them, Love".
Ah, now she's got the woolly hat on too.. “Do I look boo-tiful, Mammy?".
"Yes, you look beautiful."
Jolene from award-winning blog One Yummy Mummy is not a foodie or a chef, but simpy a 'mummy cook' who is passionate about food. Having perfected the ability to hide vegetables into meals, the mum shares recipes that are not only easy, tasty and child-friendly but also work well for those on a strict budget. Follow One Yummy Mummy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
