Houston, We Have A Toddler
Monday, May 4, 2009 at 11:48AM 
It's official - my daughter is a toddler.
Having recently learned to walk "long distance" (more than a few steps at a time), she wants to walk EVERYWHERE and see EVERYTHING. Toys are of no interest to her. Food is an afterthought. Baby gates are her enemy. Holy crap, are we ready for this?
Ready or not, here she comes. As with all of the big milestones - rolling over, crawling, standing up - Carly will lead the way and my husband and I will just try to keep up.
Since I work during the day, my husband's daily routine will change far more than mine as a result of Carly's newfound mobility. I will have a different set of challenges - remembering how much she is growing and changing, learning to play her new favorite games, and trying not to overreact to the inevitable falls and frustrations that come with growing up.
That last one is the hardest for me. Working from home, I have the privilege of being able to pop downstairs for a visit with Carly whenever I feel like it. Unfortunately I find it difficult not to come running every time I hear her cry, and she cries a lot more these days.
It's usually nothing that requires my intervention - frustration with the limits we have to impose to keep her safe (such as baby gates and safety locks), a little bump from a fall, or a temper tantrum because she can't always do exactly what she wants. But it has been difficult getting used to the idea that not every cry requires a response from me.
I suppose it's also a little difficult to accept that Carly's not a little baby anymore. I can't get over how quickly it happened. But I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.
Do you have any advice for parenting a toddler? Please share in the comments - I'll take all the help I can get! And if you liked this post - why not subscribe to The Breadwinner Mom?
Reader Comments (10)
My doctor told my mother, way back in the day (I'm 57 now) "All children have one good fall." That was after I fell down my grandmothers steps from the backyard to the 2nd floor overhang on to the concrete yard below! Could have been horrible, luckily was not. Gates are better now; everpresent! But...children will fall. They are so quick and we cannot, no matter how hard we try, be in two places at once. The unguarded step, the untightened strap can all lead to it - it being something horrible. My daughter, now age 33, fell down the basement steps. Her new son will fall, his child will also. All we can do is keep them as safe as possible and, should it happen, not beat ourselves up for being a "bad mother." Too many people are willing to do that for us. So...be careful....be smart....be quick....but be realistic! PS I fell off the top of the sliding board when I was 3, and off of my girlfriends back playing piggy back at 9 - maybe i've saved a few kids from THEIR FALLS! We can only hope.
I am thrilled to hear that Carly is walking.
I remember vividly the day you (Traci) took off walking,,, how cute
It made things alot easier for us... and when you got tired it was a pleasure to scoop you up and cuddle with you..
I can honestly say ,I don't remember any really bad falls with you or Jared.
Enjoy each and every moment of every new thing Carly does.. You will be on your toes from now on.
Love, from MOM
It is true, my friend-----there is a minimum of one good fall, and chances are it will happen right in front of you----I remember the day Mr Bill was playing with Eric on the sofa when a neighbor stopped by the window to day hello to Eric-----he climbed onto the old radiator and put his hands on the screen, and before Bill could blink, Eric and scree went straight to the concrete sidewalk below-----Bill injured his hand trying to grab him-----he had a "goose egg" sized knot in the middle of his forehead that made him look like a human unicorn-----took him to the er to r/o concusion, and ended up, one week later, in a social workers office answering all kinds of questions to r/o child abuse-----your heart will feel like a yo-yo as I'm certain you have alread experienced.
my most sage advice to you is slow down from time to time and enjoy the moment-----there are so many distractions, like: work, laundry, food shopping, car maintainence, etc.-----you get the picture-----Bill and I used to have candlelight dinners with the kids when they were Carly's age and they loved it-----it made for a very calming interactive environment-----I remember Eric wanting to surprize me with a candlelight lunch at the age of 3, but he knocked the candle over and burned the varnish off a small section on the dining room table before I could get the meal on the table-----instead of yelling at him, I very calmly put out the flame and use that very experience to teach him what my words never could have-----he never tried to light a candle in my absence again.
You are in for the ride of your life-----savor every moment, the good, the bad, the scary-----before you know it, you'll be blogging as Auntie or Grandma, like Beth and me.
My sons have matching scars on their foreheads because both of them took tumbles while learning to really walk and bashed their poor little heads. I was so upset, but you can't keep kids wrapped in bubble wrap all their lives!
As for the crying thing, I have the same issue. I´m not needed (they do just fine with Papa mostly) when they cry the majority of the time, but it is SO hard to stay sitting in my chair and work when they get upset about something.
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I also have a son who is also a toddler. He learned to walk when he turned 1. And it is freaking us out. He wants to do what ever he wants to do. But I think that is just how toddlers are. You will learn to adjust as time goes by. But you need to be careful since they are curious of all the things they see, so I had precautions like covering all the electric outlets and yeah baby gates do help. But sometimes let them explore, just keep a good eye on the things that have kept them busy. After all, they only experience once in their life being a toddler.
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