I thought it would be fun to do an update on Camila because today she turned 18 months old! I just re-read my last update on Millie, when she turned 1, and it seems like she has become a whole new person in the past 6 months. This current month has been my favorite of them all, as we have had such a wonderful time celebrating the holidays with Millie!
18 Month Old Toddler Milestones and Activities
So much has changed in the past 6 months, I’m not even sure where to start! The biggest milestones are Millie’s walking (or often running!) and communication skills. Millie was a late walker and didn’t fully take off until she was 15 months old. Then it seemed like she went from walking to running within days! She is also taking her time when it comes to speaking. She currently only says a few words, but she communicates well in other ways. She knows how to use sign language for certain words such as “more”, “all done” and “wash” and the girl knows exactly how to get anything she wants by pointing, yelling, and making facial expressions. She also enjoys pointing to her body parts as we “quiz” her on where they are.
She loves helping out around the house, especially sorting laundry and dusting. I hope this love for chores will continue, but I fear that will not always be the case! Some of her favorite activities include coloring, playing with stickers, dancing to “head, shoulders, knees, and toes”, and playing with her baby dolls. She also enjoys adventures outside including walks with family, playing on her playground, and short car rides to run errands. I will link some of our favorite toddler products and toys at the end of this post.
18 Month Old Meals – Baby-Led Weaning
If you’ve been following along for awhile now then you probably remember we did baby-led weaning with Camila. We skipped purées and baby food and instead just cooked regular foods and meals safely for babies when she was ready to begin eating. This worked out really well for us and she has been a good eater for the most part. Yet, she has certainly become pickier in the past few months. I previously read that it is very common for toddlers to become picky around this age, so I wasn’t surprised, but it certainly makes things a little more stressful at mealtimes.
Her favorite meal of the day is definitely breakfast. She loves almond flour or whole wheat banana pancakes, zucchini muffins, and her favorite is a savory oatmeal of eggs, spinach, and oats. Lunch and dinner are a little trickier. If we would serve her toast with almond butter or sunbutter and fruit on top for each meal she would be the happiest girl in the world! Obviously, this isn’t ideal, so we don’t. Often times the best way to get her to eat any type of meat is to mix it with applesauce or yogurt, which is very strange, but we figure it’s better than no meat at all! She still loves fruit and typically eats veggies fairly well in veggie pancakes or fritters. She currently eats 3 meals a day and 1 snack.
I have also continued breastfeeding Millie and tonight will be my very last time nursing her. I have mixed emotions about ending our breastfeeding journey, but I know that for us it’s time to stop. We have been weaning for the past few months and Camila hasn’t had any issues stopping. I think it will be harder for me than it will be for her!
Toddler with Food Allergies
It still seems like certain types of dairy upset Camila’s stomach, so for the most part she doesn’t eat much dairy. She has never had cow’s milk to drink, but she loves water. Most of the meals we make her are completely dairy-free and we just sub with almond milk or coconut milk as needed. The one type of dairy that she does eat often is goat’s milk items including goat’s milk yogurt and goat’s cheese. She loves them and she and I both seem to tolerate goat’s and sheep’s dairy products ok! We will be going back to her allergist at the beginning of 2021 to re-test her peanut, cashew, and pistachio allergens.
18 Month Old Toddler Schedule
After an entire year of very, very little sleep we are finally blessed with a pretty good sleeper! I pray this will continue because that first year was rough on us all. I know sometimes it’s helpful to see sample schedules of other babies and toddlers, so I figured I would share our current schedule in case anyone is interested:
- 7:30-8:00am: Wake
- 8:30am: Breakfast
- 11:45am: Lunch
- 12:30pm-3:00/3:30pm: Nap
- 3:45pm: Snack
- 6:15pm: Dinner
- 7:00pm: Bath
- 7:30pm: Book, Mama’s Songs & In crib for the night
Thank you all so much for following along! These updates are so special to me and basically take place of me writing in her baby books, which I’m terribly behind in. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones and families!
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