The Journey of Parenthood…

Britt 13 Months Old!

Britt turned 13 months old on Jan 6th! Since I’m done with the monthly sticker thing (is it wrong of me to say I’m GLAD to be done with them? Love the end product of the cute monthly comparisons but taking the pics got old quick haha) I am not really sure what do to for pictures on her monthly posts. I plan to continue to do these posts through her 2nd year of life since I did them for Kye! 

I’m busting out the What to Expect the Toddler Years book to see where Britt is at compared to other toddlers her age!

At 13 months old Britt can do all the things a toddler her age should be able to do including:

  • pull up to a standing position
  • get into a sitting position
  • cruise
  • clap hands
  • indicate wants other than crying

*Note: if your toddler has not yet reached these milestones by the end of their 13th month then you do need to discuss it with your doctor.

Britt can do all the things a 13 month old will probably be able to do including:

  • put an object into a container
  • imitate activities
  • stand alone
  • use 1 recognizable word (I’m assuming “dada” counts? Even though she doesn’t use it discriminately yet!)

She can do some of the things a toddler her age may possibly be able to do including:

  • drink from a cup
  • point to a desired object

She cannot yet walk well, scribble (who tries that at this age?), or say 2 recognizable words

Britt can also do all of the things a toddler may even be able to do including:

  • use a spoon/fork, but not exclusively
  • remove an article of clothing (socks, bow, and shoes count right?)
  • point to 1 body part when asked
  • use an object in imitation

It is surprising to me to see how Britt does EVERYTHING from the less likely to do category while she still isn’t really talking or walking. But I’ll take it 😉 

Reading through this chapter a lot of it covers concerns I just don’t really have. She’s a late walker, but I know she’ll get there. Same with the talking. I know when it’s your first baby you worry SO MUCH MORE than with the second one 🙂 It’s such a blessing to not have those types of concerns anymore!

There were two sections I found of interest in this chapter. The first was about clinging/dependence. Britt is my “hip baby” and CONSTANTLY wants to be with me. A few of the tips the book suggests to help with this are: reassure her about my return by playing hide and seek type games with her, make time for togetherness by making she she gets plenty of attention (THIS is probably the reason she’s so clingy…it’s hard with two to MAKE SURE she gets my undivided attention!), but don’t give too much attention either (independent playtime is so important!), set her up with a few fun toys and things before leaving her (so she’s happy!), talk to her occasionally when we are in separate areas so she knows I’m nearby, keep it casual and light toned (be happy, smile when leaving her so she doesn’t get upset), Try not to react when she’s upset (don’t get annoyed or feel sorry for her), let her follow me around but don’t necessarily always carry her, let her leave me to go do things on her own (like play across the room from me…don’t always have myself sitting nearby), help build her self-esteem which will help her build security, make sure I’m not dependent on her dependence (don’t anticipate her being clingy before it occurs…I do tend to do this b/c I’ll hesitate letting people hold her b/c I’ll assume she’ll get upset. Stop doing that!), be patient! 

I do feel like Britt will grow out of the clingy stage, especially once she starts walking. I think a big reason why she likes for us to hold her is that we are faster than she is. I think she likes to see everything going on and prefers the view from our arms. I think these things b/c she ONLY wants me to hold her when I’m walking around and such. She does NOT like to cuddle and isn’t really sweet or anything while I’m holding her. In fact, if I sit down with her or stand still she’ll kinda fuss and move her body in a way that we can tell she wants us to MOVE haha! Girl likes to GO! Now that we have her Cozy Coupe she loves to be pushed around in it and prefers that to even us holding her. So I do think a lot of her wanting to be “held” is more out of quickness and the moving motion than of wanting to be with US!

The other section of this chapter I found interesting was about “language lag.” Britt isn’t saying words yet. She uses jargon/gibberish ALL the time and this section just reiterated what I already assumed to be true: she IS talking. If I really listen to her I can tell she’s using the same syllables I am for words. Like she’ll point to a flower and say “ow-ugh” two syllables yet they sound nothing like the word “flower.” This is typical for toddlers her age and between 14 and 16 months we should start hearing her saying “real” words although right now SHE thinks that she IS saying those words already. Many things attribute to when a child will speak: Hereditary (may be a later talker is their mouth and tongue muscles are genetically destined to develop more slowly), Birth order (1st children usually speak earlier b/c both parents have more time to encourage it and there are no siblings to compete with. Usually children with older siblings are slower to speak because they can’t get a word in or because the older sibling anticipates their needs and makes speech unnecessary. I think both are true in our home. Kye talks for her ALL the time and also monopolizes the majority of our conversations. I do make an effort to give HER a chance to speak!), Gender (on average girls speak sooner than boys), language environment (children are more likely to speak earlier when they are exposed to a rich verbal environment and given plenty of opportunity and encouragement to hone their verbal skills…which I think we do a good job of in our home!), child-care arrangement (children in day care often learn to speak sooner out of necessity; their needs may not be regularly anticipated the way they are when they’re in a one-on-one child-care situation), receptive language development (Even if they can’t speak yet, children are still learning language by listening), and individual timetables (each child develops at their own speed). 

Since Britt crawled so young and has been so “ahead” in many developmental areas, I kinda assumed she’d be talking younger too. But it’s reassuring to read and know that she’s really not behind in this area at all and that she has great comprehension so I know her slowness to speak is not due to any hearing issues or anything physically wrong. I’m excited to hear those first LEGIT words though!!! I know life will get a lot smoother when she can vocalize her wants instead of us having to guess why she’s crying 😉

You can go back and compare to Britt’s 12th month post HERE and to Kye’s 13th month post HERE 🙂

Emily Parker
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