21st to 24th Month Guide

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21st to 24th Month Guide These last few months of your baby’s first year are often filled with excitement as well as frustration. Your baby will still be learning new things almost daily, and with these new things comes a very strong independence streak. Regardless of how dependent your baby is on you (which can vary from baby to baby depending on a variety of factors—such as whether they have other siblings, whether they go to daycare or not, etc.), he will show some sort of desire for independence around this age.
This can often cause frustration in parents. Learn more about this, and what else you can expect during this, time below.

Physical Development and Appearance

Physically, your baby will be able to do many different things at this point. Many babies are trying to learn to jump (which usually consists of them bending their knees and propelling upward to the point that their feet may or may not rise approximately ½ an inch off the ground). Many babies are also able to perform many other physical tasks at this age, and you may be surprised by all that your baby can do.

There is such a wide range on the abilities that babies develop when, that it can be very difficult to know exactly what to expect. Your baby also may be displaying classic symptoms of having developed the “terrible twos.” While, during this time, it may seem as if it will never end, you should keep in mind that it actually will.

The size of your baby during the last few months of the second year is usually not much bigger than a few months before. This can, however, be the time that boys and girls will begin to develop at different rates. This means that the average weight for a boy of this age is about 27 pounds, and the average weight for a girl of this age is about 26. Also, during these few months, your baby isn’t likely to gain much weight, and often won’t reach the 30-pound mark (possibly only a few pounds away) until nearly the age of 3.

Care for Baby

• Bathing—this age group usually has a lot of fun with bath time. It can be a time for splashing and playing and enjoying bubbles. There are many things that you can buy that can help make this time even more fun for baby. There are toys that were meant for the bathtub, as well as fun soaps (such as body paint, etc.). Many of these products work great for babies of this age, while others are unsafe. Since babies tend to still put things in their mouths at this point, you should always read the label of any bath product you are considering before buying it.

You should also still be using baby shampoos and soaps, and try to prevent any from getting in your baby’s eyes. If you have a hard time getting your baby to keep his head back for rinsing, you can place stick-on animals or other pictures on the ceiling of the tub. Having your baby point out the animals can help keep his head back long enough for rinsing.

• Discipline—you will likely need to not only keep the discipline methods you previously had, but you may also find yourself having to use them even more often than before. This is because, with everything new your baby learns, his independence needs will steadily increase. He may want what he wants when he wants it, and you may not be able to do much except for discipline or ignore the behavior.

• Sleep—at this point, if your baby doesn’t sleep through the night, you should probably change his nap time schedule so that he will be sleepier at night. If your baby still takes three small naps, you should adjust this to two. If he is already down to two naps a day, you might need to put him to bed a little later at night and wake him up a little earlier in the morning, or have him just take one long nap a day.

If you haven’t broken your baby from the breast or bottle at this point, doing so can help him sleep better at night. Read previous months’ guides to find methods for bottle breaking, etc.

• Eating—you only have a few months left now and then you will be able to introduce peanuts into your baby’s diet. When you decide to do this, you should watch your little one closely over the next few days to make sure that nothing unusual occurs. If it does, you should call your baby’s doctor (or, depending on how severe the reaction is, you may need to take him to the emergency room).

While you have likely given your baby many new and different foods many times before, there will still be many types that your baby hasn’t yet had. You should still be careful, just as you were when he was younger, when introducing new foods into the diet. Always watch him closely and pay attention for any signs of reaction. You should also continue to only introduce one new food at a time.

• Diapers—many parents and babies are ready to begin potty training at this age. If you are ready, and you believe your baby is, see the advice below on how to begin this daunting process. If you do not think your baby is ready, or you simply don’t feel that you are ready to tackle such a task, there is no harm in waiting until a little later when your baby will be understand a little better.

Experiences

• Toys for this age—many babies love all kinds of toys at this point, and—as mentioned above—your baby may begin to show gender preferences in relation to toys. Baby girls of this age tend to love dolls and purses and boys of this age tend to like trucks and dirt and things of this nature. While this is mostly due to outside influences, some of it simply comes naturally to babies. This does not, however, mean that you should be concerned if your baby isn’t displaying a love of gender-based toys.

• Bottle Breaking/Breast Breaking/Pacifier Breaking—if you still need to break your baby from any of these, you can follow the advice from the last set of months. This can be a very difficult thing to face, but remember that once it is over, it is over forever. And, the longer you wait, the harder this job can be.

• Teaching—your baby is at an age now where you should be teaching him as much as you can. Once you take the time to teach your baby new abilities (which may take massive amounts of time and patience), you may be surprised at the things he is able to learn. You can teach your baby to tell people his own name, and you can teach him to point out and say the different parts of his body (the best ones to use first are the nose, hands and feet). You can also begin teaching your baby to count at this age. You should only go up to five until your baby is ready to go higher than this. If you overwhelm your baby by trying to teach him 20 numbers all at once, you may find yourself and your baby very frustrated. This will make both of you want to try a little less.

Your baby of this age can also usually learn what noises animals make, as well as possibly be able to point those animals out to you in pictures. Having your baby name animals and you make the sound, and vice-versa, is an excellent way to teach your baby about animals.

• Potty Training—this is one of those tasks that many parents do not want to face very quickly, while others are ready for it immediately. It is very possible that you are completely sick of diaper changes, and that you are ready for your baby to be in big kid underwear. But, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you are ready for the task.

Potty training takes commitment, and it works best and most quickly when parents wait until their baby shows some sort of interest in the potty before trying. When you begin potty training, take it slow, and follow your baby’s lead. Your baby is in control of this situation, and the more you push, the more your baby may try to resist. Read as much as you can about potty training and talk to your baby as much as possible about it before and during the training process.

• Parents—this time period can be very hard for parents, simply because your baby has likely decided that he can do everything for himself. At this point, though, there are still many things that your baby is unable to do. This can, of course, lead to much frustration. For example, your baby may want to dress himself before you leave to go somewhere. The problem here may be that you are in a hurry and your baby can’t really dress himself on his own. You have to admire your baby’s strength and will to not give up, but it can get very frustrating when you offer your help and your baby insists on taking the time to do it on his own.

It can also be hard to watch your baby frustrate himself so much sometimes. Toddlers of this age really want to be able to do some things, and if they are unable to, they may get very frustrated and upset. The only thing you can really do to help this is to allow him as much time as possible to try to accomplish the feat and then assure him that he will get better with practice.

That, and simply revel in your little one’s abilities and how far he has come in the last (not quite) two years.

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