17th to 20th Month Guide

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17th to 20th Month Guide During months 17-20, you will be able to see many changes within your baby. It is likely that your little one will be able to communicate very well with you at this point, and you will be able to see your baby’s personality through his everyday actions.

Your baby is probably not only walking, but also running around. There are many other new things that can come with this age, and these will vary greatly from baby to baby. Read below to see some of the things that you may be able to expect out of your baby over the next few months.

Physical Development and Appearance

Babies during the 17th to 20th months grow so fast and learn so much so quickly, it can be very amazing for parents. By now, your baby is walking and probably climbing and even trying to jump (most babies at this age aren’t very good at jumping, but many try). Your baby can probably dance to music, say many words, intentionally make certain hand gestures (such as waving), as well as many other abilities.

Physical size may have changed quite a bit over the last few months, although you may not have noticed it since you are with your baby all the time. The average weight for a baby at the end of the 20th month is about 26 pounds. If your baby is anywhere near this weight—within a 2-4 pound difference either way, then he is likely in the healthy average zone.
Your baby will probably steadily begin to show his independence more and more on a daily basis. This can be in a variety of ways and for many different reasons. You may feel that your baby is ready to begin potty training at around this age, or you may feel that he isn’t. At this age, it could easily go either way, and neither is an indication of your baby’s development. Some children are ready to potty train earlier than others for no specific development reason or difference.

Care for Baby

• Teething—while you may be past the point of teething, your baby may still have a few to grow in that are in the back of the mouth. While there isn’t much you can do for your baby until it actually happens, you can be prepared just in case it does. Just as before, you should keep teething ointments and other medicines on hand that can help relieve the pain or fever associated with teething. Follow the advice in previous months’ guides to know how to know when your baby is teething and how to help your baby during this difficult time.

• Discipline—the discipline methods and reasons that were listed in the previous guide will not change yet. In fact, these are the methods that should continue to be used until your baby is much older. Follow the advice in the 13-16 month guide to disciplining and keeping your baby safe all the way through the 2nd year or more.

• Tooth care—much like other care for your baby, tooth care will not change much at this point. By now you should be brushing your baby’s teeth, or helping your baby to brush his own teeth, at least twice a day. If possible, you should brush them even more often than that—after every meal and after any extremely sugary snacks or candies. Doing this can prevent the cost and pain of necessary dental work.

• Sleep—most likely, your baby sleeps all night long now, especially if you have broken her from the bottle or breast. The middle-of-the-night feedings and the habit it creates is almost always the cause of a baby at this age waking up during the night. This means that, in order to completely break your baby from waking up, you will probably have to break her from these things. Even if your baby sleeps all night, many parents at this age need to change the sleeping habits in relation to where the baby sleeps. Many times, parents will allow the baby to sleep with them in their bed, but decide that this age is a good time to change that habit.
To do this, you can slowly move your baby out of your bed and into a bed nearby (but still in the same room with you), and slowly move the bed out of the room into baby’s own room. Or, another method is to simply lay your baby in her own bed in her own room when she is so sleepy she can barely hold her head up anymore. Then, you can possibly pat her back or simply leave the room for her to go to sleep. If your baby cries, you should make sure that there is nothing wrong and go in every few minutes to check on her. Unless your baby is hungry or in need of a diaper change, you should not pick her up during this time. Instead, you should let her know you are there by talking to her and rubbing her, but you shouldn’t give in to picking her up.

You should let the length of time between check-ups gradually get longer and your baby will eventually fall asleep. This may be very difficult for several days, or even over a week. But, if you stay strong and continue to use this method, your baby should be sleeping in her own bed within two weeks. And, similar to ridding her of the bottle or pacifier, the breaking part is very hard, but you will never have to do it again.

• Eating—your baby is only limited in food at this age by the things he is allergic to, or by the things that you simply don’t want her to have. Many parents choose to not give their baby any caffeinated drinks, and they try to limit sugar intake. Whether or not you keep these things out of your baby’s diet, you should still keep peanuts away from her for a while.
This is due to the severe allergic reactions that can be caused by peanuts. You should wait a few more months (until your baby is at least 2) before allowing your baby to try peanuts. This includes any types of foods with nuts in them, as well, such as peanut butter, peanut butter cookies, etc.

• Diapers—you may still have diapers on your baby or you may have begun the task of potty training your little one. If you have not begun potty training, whether it is because your baby is not ready or because you are not ready, you shouldn’t worry about being behind others. Many parents wait until well after two years of age to begin potty training their babies. If you have begun potty training, you should take it slow and be as patient as possible. The process could very well take several months, and knowing this in advance can help you to deal with it.

Experiences

• Toys for this age—babies of this age often love many different types of toys. Push toys (such as shopping carts or other types) are often very popular with babies of this age. This is also the time that your baby may begin to show some gender qualities. This means that many boys of this age will begin to like trucks and action figure type toys, and many girls will love baby dolls and purses. While this is often due to influence from parents, it is still prominent in many toddlers of this age.
Your baby will likely still love the types of toys that allow him to climb, such as cars to climb on or rocking horses.
• Bottle Breaking/Breast Breaking/Pacifier Breaking—if you have yet to accomplish this task, now is the time. While putting it off might be easier for now, the longer your baby has something, the harder it will be to break her from it. Follow the advice in the previous months’ guides for methods of doing this.

• Parents—this time period is when it can become most obvious how your baby is learning from you. You will see firsthand, through the things that your baby says and does, exactly how much your baby learns by observing you. Your baby may begin to repeat the things you say and do on a regular basis. This means that you should begin to monitor your own behavior in order to prevent your baby from repeating it.

For example, if you use curse words in your speech, you can fully expect that your baby will too. Since a baby of this age, who is just now really learning to talk, will not be able to distinguish the difference between “good” words and “bad” ones, the only way to prevent your baby from saying certain things is to not allow your baby to hear them. This is also true for any actions that you do not want to be repeated. If you do not want your baby to yell, you should not yell, etc.

There are many different ways you may begin to notice your baby repeating what you do at this age. You may hear her say words that you have said many times, or she may perform an action that she has seen you do (such as blowing on food to cool it off before taking a bite).

This can be the most precious time for parents, since they get to see what an impact they really have on their baby’s growth, health and actions. It can also prove difficult, though, as the need for monitoring your own behavior increases.

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