At 16 months, things I have learned

Maggie’s at the end of 16 months now, starting to change from psycho reactionary to inquisitive and interested in everything… everything… everything all at once. She’s also sleeping through the night regularly on her own, going to bed without much of a fuss, and generally in the process of becoming someone cool.

What I’ve learned at 16 months

• All those toys you got over the past year, they’re finally being used. All the baby toys for pre-one year olds, they’re pretty much on the way out.
• Worry and anger seemed to play a very large roll for a while, not so much now.
• A room full of adults will answer a toy phone to a baby’s ear on their cell phone.
• A little TV doesn’t seem to be a bad thing, baby likes sitting back, drinking her milk, watching a bit of the Goodnight Show on Sprout, and then ignores that to be read a story to.
• Baby jaws are significantly stronger than you might imagine.
• If you act like you’re telling a joke, they’ll laugh. If you don’t respond when they tell you their joke they’ll be offended.
• Babies occasionally need to just hang out doing their own thing, this is something that I’ve noticed for the past couple of months. Not left alone, just hanging out in the room playing with a block without you all up in her face.
• There are very few times a 16 month old isn’t joyous to see you.
• Food they don’t like on Tuesday may be the thing they want with all their hearts on Wednesday.
• There’s always that one dick kid at the birthday party.
• You reach that “I think I got this thing down,” state for the third time and remember the last two times you thought that with utter dread.
• Co-sleeping isn’t even an option any more because you value your eyes and have bruised cheekbones from random headbuts.
• Your child can spot and figure a way to grab any technology you don’t want them to have and have hidden in the room.
• Oddly the pets are safe and now come around the formerly crying cat-bashing machine.
• There’s that one doll or thing that gets them to sleep, you’ve started attempting to locate where you might be able to purchase something similar for the event that it gets destroyed.
• Bedtime is effin important now – you can vary a bit, but not much. Otherwise reasonable infant goes into dramaqueen ~25 minutes after bedtime.
• Keeping a child up longer makes them sleep less. Who would have thought that?
• Diaper can’t contain two bottles of anything.
• It feels less like you’re managing a situation (insane crying person,) and more like you’re working with someone for a common goal.
• Light switches are fun.