Hi everyone and welcome to Month 13 with your baby (officially, your baby is now a toddler but I still call mine my baby!) and Month 13 with my baby Bracey. As I’ve discussed in prior months, Bracey was born 10 weeks prematurely. So in terms of his corrected age, he is closer to a 10 1/2 month old baby than a 13-month-old. Yet he’s been growing and developing by leaps (literally) and bounds.

Growth of a 13 Month Old Toddler

The average 13-month-old boy weighs 21 pounds 8 ounces (9.9 kilos) and the average girl weighs 20 pounds 2 ounces (9.2 kilos). At his 13 month checkup, Bracey weighed approximately 8.8 kilos (19.36 pounds), up from 1.490 kilos (3.278 pounds) at birth, so he has gained a little over 7.3 kilos or 16 pounds since birth. He had not gained any weight from the prior month but thankfully his doctor was not concerned. While Bracey’s weight held steady, he did move up on the charts for height and head circumference.

Toddler Wellness Check Up Schedule for Year 2

Most 13 month olds will not visit their pediatrician. Bracey did have a doctor’s visit since he was a premie and his doctor wants to see him every month. During his 13 month appointment, Bracey’s doctor checked all the things he had checked in prior months and Mom was thrilled to see that things were on track. In all likelihood, you toddler’s check up schedule will include visits at 12 months, 15 months, 18 months, and at 24 months for the two year checkup.

Developmental Milestones for a 13-Month-Old Toddler

Many parents are asking the following questions when it comes what their 13-month-old baby (reminder to self: toddler) should be saying and doing:

How Much should my 13-month-old be Talking?

Many 13-month-olds can say one word and about half of them can say two words. If your doctor is not concerned, don’t you be concerned. Nearly all of my six kids did everything late. They sat up late, walked late, and talked late. This caused a lot of anxiety at the time. Having gone through this five, well now six times, I now worry a lot less and try to focus on what I am doing to help my baby get to the next stage. Back to the issue of talking … Most babies are largely babbling at this point. You might notice an increasing array of consonants and some new vowels. The consonants and vowels might seem closer to actual words, such as “da” for Dad, “ba” for bottle, and “ma” for mama. I have heard Bracey saying “mama” in my presence. Although I can’t be sure he is saying that in relation to me, I’ll take it! I’ve also noticed him repeating consonants with vowels up to three or four times like “ba-ba-ba-ba-ba.” If you play close attention, you will notice this progress with your baby’s speech and that will make you feel better regarding whether they are actually talking or not.

Should my 13-month-old be Walking?

Half of all babies at this age can take a few steps. Most can pull themselves up to standing position and cruise (walk around while holding onto an object). In addition to play pens, your baby’s crib might prove to be a great place to practice this.

What to do if 13-month-old Toddler is Hitting?

Many pediatricians say it’s a bit early for temper tantrums while others maintain that tantrums begin at around 12 months old. Like many of you might be finding with your baby, Bracey is hitting and tapping me all the time in the face, especially when I am breastfeeding him, which has made for a less than delightful breastfeeding experience. I am trying to say “no,” and he seems to understand that word because he does not like it when I say it. He sort of just swats at me since I am within his range of motion, but I would not say the swatting or hitting seem to have any sort of emotional component. I do take his hand away and say “no face.” Probably good to get this message across as early as possible.

How Should I React when my Toddler Throws Things

Throwing things is an easy way for toddlers to get a reaction and feel a bit of control over their world. Once you get over how annoying this is, you realize that it is actually educational for your child to throw things because they are essentially conducting an experiment on cause and effect. Depending on what’s involved, I say go for it, let them throw. Hopefully it’s a soft and safe object or something innocuous.

What to do When Toddler Throws his Food

Throwing food is a bit different. Some people (I am among them) have a hard time seeing food thrown around given the ethics involved. Your toddler is too young to grapple with these issues, but if you do feel this way, take a strict approach from the get go, assume a stern voice and tone, and say “do not throw food.” If they do it again, take away the food for a little while. I have noted that my children threw food that they did not like or when they were not hungry! When I asked my paediatrician “How do I stop my toddler from throwing food,” he agreed that a strict “No no” policy from day one is the way to go.

What Intellectual Activities should I be doing with my 13-Month-Old Toddler

In addition to reading, dancing, playing with blocks, listening to music, playing with basic puzzles, narrating what you do throughout the day and the variety of household games I detailed in Month 12, try the following sensory activity. Play what you are wearing, explaining each aspect of your outfit and of your baby’s and describing colors, textures and function (“this is my blue coat and it keeps me warm in the winter”).

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Physical Activities for a 13-Month-Old Toddler

Get your baby out of the high chair, stroller, bouncer seat or swing and put them on the floor to roam around and play as independently as possible. Walk with them as much as possible, trying to go down to one hand. You might need to intervene when you see them twirling around.

Breastfeeding, Solids and Sleep Schedule for 13-Month-Old Full Term Toddler

unch. They also advise not having your baby sleep past 3pm so that they go to sleep by 8pm. This is the schedule I followed with my older babies at this point, who were far less premature than Bracey. I am still separating bottle feeding and breastfeeding schedules, but at this point, you also should be giving your baby cow’s milk or an equivalent and water. With this 13-month-old feeding schedule, just as with all the others, feel free to adapt the starting point based on your baby’s unique schedule.

Breastfeeding, Solids and Sleep Schedule for 13 Month Old Premature Toddler 

• 7am — breastmilk then multigrain cereal mixed with breastmilk or formula. Can give quite a healthy quantity by this point. Sleep 9:30-11am.
• 11am – breastmilk then a protein (fish, chicken, meat) mixed vegetable puree w/ egg yoke and olive oil 2x per week. Can substitute for finger foods. Sleep 1:30-3pm. 
• 3pm — breastmilk.
• 7pm — fresh fruit puree or other solids meal followed by a bit more breastmilk. Night night!

With Bracey, I am still following a different schedule since my doctor still wants him to have the four meals. I would advise staying on this schedule if your baby is not sleeping through the night because the extra feeding during the day and later feed in the evening will help. You also might want to consider a later evening “top off” feed at around 10 or 11pm to help your child make it through until morning if they continue to wake up. Because this helps me with the breastfeeding, I am still doing this with Bracey.

• 7am — breastmilk then multigrain cereal mixed with breastmilk or formula. Sleep 9:30-11am.
• 11am – breastmilk then a protein (fish, chicken, meat) mixed vegetable puree w/ egg yoke and olive oil 2x per week. Can substitute for finger foods. Sleep 1:30-3pm. 
• 3pm — breastmilk then a mixed fresh fruit puree. Can substitute for finger foods. Sleep 6-7pm.
• 7pm — breastmilk then multigrain cereal mixed with breastmilk. 

Bottle Feeding a 13 Month Old Toddler  

Formula Feeding, Solids and Sleeping Schedule for an 13 Month Old Toddler

If your baby is at a healthy weight and sleeping through the night, you can migrate to the three meals and two naps schedule referred to above. If your baby (like mine) is on the smaller side, or is not sleeping through the night, stick with three naps and four meals (and consider throwing in a top off feed).

• 7am — bottle then multigrain cereal mixed with breastmilk or formula. Sleep 9:30-11am.
• 11am – bottle then a protein (fish, chicken, meat) mixed vegetable puree w/ egg yoke and olive oil 2x per week. Can add finger foods. Sleep 1:30-3pm. 
• 3pm — bottle then a mixed fresh fruit puree. Can substitute for finger foods. Sleep 6-7pm.
• 7pm — bottle then a multigrain cereal mixed with breastmilk. 

Bracey Update

Bracey is cruising around his playpen and crib. We are now able to walk with him holding just one hand, although this usually means he twirls. He tends to get ahead of himself with the walking, sprinting ahead of us quickly without being totally balanced.

Bracey loves to point in tons of different directions, mostly at people. I am not quite sure what he is pointing at. I try to take that as an introduction to an interesting conversation.

Bracey also is babbling a ton using different consonants and vowels. I heard “ma-ma-ma-ma-ma” the other day and will take that as a Mama, thank you.

Thanks for watching and see you back next soon for Month 14.