Congratulations!!! Your baby is now a 1-year-old and has successfully gone from being at one place to freely move on their own. These are times of mixed emotions when you realize just how quickly your little one has grown up.
Gear up because there are a whole new set of activities to look forward to. Read on below to find out about all the new milestones your little one will achieve in the coming year and how you can prepare for these activities.
Moving About on Their Own
This is the time when your baby may start walking. Some babies start to run as soon as they can stand while others teeter and totter around for months. Some babies might revert back to crawling if they are too uncertain.
Your baby will likely try a combination of crawling and walking initially, as they try to familiarize moving about on two limbs instead of four.
Don’t let them sit on prams or in the car for long periods of time. The more practice they get the sooner they’ll start off confidently.
What to Feed Them
One of the more significant transitions is that you can feed your baby full cream cow’s milk, with doctor’s advice of course. The best combination is at least 3 servings of cow’s milk along with 2 snacks and 3 solid meals.
This will provide your baby with all the nutrition they need to grow. You can also begin phasing out your babies bottle by now if they can proficiently drink or swallow from a cup. This will help in protecting their teeth.
Vegetables can be made tastier by adding butter, olive oil, pepper and cheese. This makes it more appealing to your baby instead of the regular steamed and boiled veggies.
Sleeping Patterns
Your baby will most likely still sleep at least twice daily during the day. Although their daytime sleeping will get reduced as they will sleep more at night.
Your baby will still sleep in the crib till they are 2, but if they are expert in climbing then you might consider moving the crib closer to your bed. Use their nap times to catch up on your most needed rest.
Play
Reading is a fun activity to begin at this point. Keep a stack of books in your bedroom and the living room. Reading to them before they doze off at night is a great idea, although it can be done at other times of the day as well.
The right toys are very crucial at this age. Give them a bunch of crayons and watch them scribble away. Kids at this age are into making a mess and constructing things so block toys will be a great idea.
Ride-on-toys, balls, and boxes are going to drive them crazy. Remember to include musical toys as it has a great impact on their brains.
Break out the dance tunes once in a while. Dancing, clapping and moving to the beats will teach your baby how to catch the beats and coordination. Thankfully we live in the age of Youtube that has a lot a channels that dedicate their time to make songs for babies that can help to keep them coordination among other things.
Temper Tantrums
Tantrums at this stage will not be as terrible as when they get 2 years old, but nevertheless, be prepared for some toddler meltdowns.
Most of the time the babies are ticked off as they’re not being able to do a few things yet, for instance, knock the cookie jar off the table.
Around this time they’re also beginning to face a lot of restrictions, hearing a lot of no’s, this is a probable reason for them having the temper tantrums.
Apart from this, temper tantrums are also caused by babies being bored, anxious or frustrated.
Growth
Babies commonly are supposed to triple their birth-weight by this time. Their physical growth will be very noticeable. There are certain factors that will affect your baby’s growth during this time, such as practice, gender, environment, whether they were premature.
Communication
One of the most enjoyable experiences is when your baby will start to say their first words. They will be able to say “uh-oh”, “mama” or “dada” and a whole lot of incomprehensible noises.
They will mostly be learning by what they hear around them, so expect them to be little mimics. By this age, they’ll be able to comprehend what people are trying to say to them.
In turn, they’ll use their newly learned skills to grab the attention of people around them.
Certain behavior traits such as shyness and clinginess will be displayed by them. They’ll prefer certain people over others and that will be apparent in their behavior towards those people.
The Motor Skills
By this time your baby will be able to pick small objects up using the pincer grip. Drinking from a cup without assistance will also be done easily by them. They will also be able to take their first solo steps.
Around this time they’ll start to use their hands for doing a few things like eating with their fingers, turning pages, using a spoon or a hairbrush.
Don’t be stressed if their aim isn’t perfect, it’s just going to get better over time and with practice.
The Doctor’s Visit
Your baby will be measured for length and weighed and the doctor or nurse will note these down a graph, making it easy for you to track their growth.
The doctor will also perform a full physical and check their lungs, ears, heart, eyes, mouth, their reflexes and muscle tone.
They’ll also examine the baby’s belly and genitals for signs of infection. He will also check to see if the hip joints and legs are moving accurately. It’s also important to follow up and properly give the baby all the vaccines according to the scheduled date.
Conclusion
Your baby turning 1 is probably one of the more enjoyable and memorable events of your life. Follow the information above to make sure you don’t miss out on any of your baby’s essential care and attention.
Don’t get too stressed if your baby isn’t responding like many other babies. They are bound to pick up and behave just like any other toddler.
Author Bio:
Stepheny is a content writer at FeedFond. She’s a loving mother to her two children and is passionate about psychology and philosophy. To read more of her articles, visit FeedFond.com.
