Welcome To Month Thirteen With Your Baby!
Month 13 With Your Baby!
Your little one may be walking briskly on his own or still resorting to crawling. It is perfectly normal either way. What is important is that he is active, curios, healthy and constantly trying out new things. Messy play is such fun for your 13 month old and he may even start to take the lead in games, where you’re being told to fetch while he throws!
Month 11 Of What To Expect From Your Baby
If your baby has not yet started walking, there’s no need to be concerned or worried – there is a big range in when is ‘normal’ for walking to commence and it’s perfectly fine for some babies to only start by the 18th month. The thing to pay attention to, is whether or not your baby wants to be moving on his own now, while earlier he would love being carried around. If he wants you to put him down more often take it as a good sign. Yes, he will fall and bump into things but he is learning so a few bumps and scratches are inevitable in this journey.
Baby can make towers with blocks, put small things into big things and also understand how his toys work. You may see him building up blocks and then knocking them down over and over again.
He likes using the spoon at mealtimes because he sees you using it but he may not be able to coordinate enough to get the spoon in most times and that’s okay. He is really good with his hands by now so he can still pick up his food and get it to his mouth. You may also notice that his tastes with food are becoming more prominent. There are things that just doesn’t like and the food quantity he seems to want is reducing too. As long as he is not eating too little, just let him guide his food intake at this stage. The main thing to be aware of when it comes to food, is to not make meal times stressful by forcing food and to offer as much variety as possible so he gets exposed to lots of different tastes, flavours and nutrients. Food doesn’t need to be fancy or complicated, just mix it up as much as you can and avoid processed foods.
Try this: ‘give’ and ‘take’ style games are a great way to interact with your toddler at this age. So games like ‘fetch’ where he can give you items and you to him, elicits a waiting response and he learns to take turns.
Month 13 Of Helpful Hints For Mommy
- While in some cases it’s needed, avoid rushing to pick him up when he falls down because you are inadvertently preventing him from trying to get to his feet again on his own. If he seems to be teetering, just make sure he has something soft to fall on instead of immediately supporting him. The idea behind this is that he can learn to walk on his own easier if he figures out the falling and getting back up part on his own. If there are sharp corners or steep steps in the area where he plays, safeguard him against these without limiting his ability to test his feet. It is very important to build his confidence about his abilities to walk so do a big song and dance when he takes a few steps on his own and avoid making a big fuss when he has a small fall.
- Yes, baby and toddler shoes are cute although it’s best to avoid putting shoes on his feet unless he is walking somewhere with potential hazards. Walking barefoot is great for his feet muscles and cartilage as they develop and allows baby to help coordinate his balance (you’ll notice he’ll curl his turns into the ground for extra stability). If shoes must be worn, ensure they are soft and allow natural foot movement, not tight around the foot and not rigid. You can also encourage him to try new movements like squatting and getting up on his own.
