Your baby is almost a year and a half. Yesterday, you stared at her in her tiny bassinet as she slept for most of the day. Now, you may be wishing that this ball of energy would take more naps as she buzzes constantly around the house, throwing her toys every which way. The family cat who once eyed her wearily as she slept soundly on the bed as an infant may now be running from her anytime she comes barreling into the room. At seventeen months of age, what new developments can you expect from your child?
No longer do you need to worry about those sleepless nights when you had to wake up every three hours to feed and change your baby. Now, your seventeen-month old is sleeping more soundly through the night. She will probably sleep about twelve hours each night, so be sure to tuck her into bed early, so she is not cranky the next morning. Whereas she was used to taking two to three naps a day, now she is down to only one a day, so be prepared for an energy-filled day!
Before tucking your child into bed and once she wakes up in the morning, you may want to start making sure your child is brushing her teeth. At least twice a day, help your child with this task, although be warned that most seventeen-year olds will pull the toothbrush from your helpful hands and attempt to brush their teeth themselves. Allow your child to brush her own teeth, offering suggestions on how to effectively brush teeth.
Your child is definitely going through a grabbing phase, so always keep a close eye on her or she is liable to quickly throw something in her mouth or shove something up her nose or ear. She is also going through all of her toys and sorting through them. She will create small piles of toys based on their shape, size or color, so do not be surprised to walk into her room and find rows of toys lined up and color-coordinated. Granted, your child has a pretty short attention span, so she will not focus on any one toy or any one game she develops for more than a few minutes at a time.
You may also notice that your child is not exactly going through a sharing phase right now. She will tend to be greedy with her toys or any object that she deems hers. If other children come over, she may guard her favorite toys with a watchful eye. Most children go through this non-sharing phase, so be sure to speak gently, but firmly about sharing. Demonstrate to her how you share during a normal day, so she can learn by watching rather than telling.
If she hasn’t already shown it already, you will see that she is starting to grow very picky about the food put before her. Instead of going all out and making difficult dinners, go simple when preparing her meals. She would much rather have a Chicken McNugget than the delicious pot roast with corn and potatoes you made.
While your child has only been able to mutter a few choice words and phrases due to a very limited vocabulary, she can understand the meaning of your sentence entirely through context and physical cues, so constantly talk to your child so she can pick up words and phrases more quickly.