Mom Life at 18 Months
555 days, three inches of new hair regrowth, almost never chipping toenail polish and regularly home cooked dinners and packed lunches.
This is how long I’ve been a mom for. I can track by time but hair coming back from postpartum fall out and self/family care time say much more about where I am a year and a half in.
At 18 months things are very predictable--schedules, sleep and behavior (thankfully!). I’m confident at this stage. I can defuse an upset babe, I’m on top of the laundry, he eats most of what I cook for him and I don’t have to accomplish nearly as much one handed while holding him in the other as I was doing months ago.
We play music and sing at night together. I poke around Pinterest every few months to see what else I can do to developmentally stimulate him. I’m collecting empty paper towel or toilet paper rolls right now. I stopped following any Your Baby At This Month sites or apps because I’ve found trusting my intuition and problem solving on my own makes me a stronger mom.
Right now, possibly more than ever before, I feel like a family. We’re experiencing more things together with C than we are specifically caring or troubleshooting for him.
We do a lot of activities specific to him but we’ve also reclaimed some things and have him do them with us. Grocery shopping is a family affair--we get coffee and he gets a banana and a visit to the toy aisle to see dancing Elmo while we’re there. On the weekends football is on TV, with the volume kept low or off so C isn’t sucked into the screen (he mostly ignores it due to how we have our TV wall mounted up high). I take him to the gym daycare on weekends without guilt so I can get some time in for me and B can do the same--which typically means cleaning the house.
18 months is good.
This is how long I’ve been a mom for. I can track by time but hair coming back from postpartum fall out and self/family care time say much more about where I am a year and a half in.
At 18 months things are very predictable--schedules, sleep and behavior (thankfully!). I’m confident at this stage. I can defuse an upset babe, I’m on top of the laundry, he eats most of what I cook for him and I don’t have to accomplish nearly as much one handed while holding him in the other as I was doing months ago.
We play music and sing at night together. I poke around Pinterest every few months to see what else I can do to developmentally stimulate him. I’m collecting empty paper towel or toilet paper rolls right now. I stopped following any Your Baby At This Month sites or apps because I’ve found trusting my intuition and problem solving on my own makes me a stronger mom.
Right now, possibly more than ever before, I feel like a family. We’re experiencing more things together with C than we are specifically caring or troubleshooting for him.
We do a lot of activities specific to him but we’ve also reclaimed some things and have him do them with us. Grocery shopping is a family affair--we get coffee and he gets a banana and a visit to the toy aisle to see dancing Elmo while we’re there. On the weekends football is on TV, with the volume kept low or off so C isn’t sucked into the screen (he mostly ignores it due to how we have our TV wall mounted up high). I take him to the gym daycare on weekends without guilt so I can get some time in for me and B can do the same--which typically means cleaning the house.
18 months is good.