Baby D turned 18 months old on Tuesday, perhaps I should really be calling her Toddler D at this point! She is definitely starting to know her own mind now, I can even have conversations with her. Don't get me wrong, half the time neither of us really know what the other person is saying but there's definitely points when we connect and that's really cool. After spending a year with a little person that at first, I could not really communicate with, it's great to see her develop. She'll bring a book over to me if she wants a story, say "juice" if she's thirsty, call for "Dumbo" if she's tired and wants to cuddle her favourite soft toy, and she'll help me tidy up her toys before we put her to bed.
One side of Baby D getting to know her own mind is the inevitable battle of wills that develops - I don't want to eat that, I don't want to sit still, I don't want to have a nap, etc... I try to approach each refusal calmly and bite my lip/count to ten when necessary! The afternoon nap is a good example, at the moment she's finding it difficult to settle and will sit in her cot playing with her toys for a while before things finally quieten down. I'm standing my ground though, even if she doesn't sleep she needs some "quiet time". If we're out and about and the afternoon nap gets missed then by the end of the day she's over-tired, grumpy and generally non-cooperative - not a nice mood for her to be in when Mummy D gets home.
We've all heard of the "terrible twos" and I can see signs of this legendary phenomenon in her, but at the same time Baby D is getting the idea of boundaries and learning what she can and can't do (we don't hit, we don't pull hair, we don't throw food on the floor, etc..) so to me, as long as we carry on this education then I think we'll be fine. I Hope. Fingers crossed. Touch wood.
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