Becoming the Parent of a Toddler
It’s Official…
My sweet little Marceline is now a full-blown toddler. One day, she was bum-shuffling across the hardwood floor, and then I blinked! My little girl was on her feet and full out sprinting everywhere. I can’t get over how adorable the piter pater of tiny feet is as she comes bursting into the room. And if that wasn’t cute enough, she also became a little chatterbox. I love it. I’ve heard other people talk about it, but I don’t think it fully prepared me for how truly amazing it would feel to watch her grow and gain new skills so fast.
I’ve been looking forward to this stage for a while. When she was a baby and I would solo parent, I constantly said I couldn’t wait for her to talk and feel the space with noise. “Wait for her to be a toddler and then tell me how you feel,” my sister (a mother of two girls herself) would say. Like everything in life and parenthood, the toddler stage has its plusses and minuses. I really do enjoy all the noise of Marceline talking and playing and exploring and learning… but like every other toddler, there are the teething woes and meltdowns. It can be completely exhausting parenting a toddler. There are days I get her down for the night and only have the energy to lay on the couch, scrolling on my phone — those dishes in the kitchen sink can wait.
All in all, though, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I love being a toddler mom.
Making toddlerhood work for us
Let’s be real. As much as I love being a toddler mom, it’s a hard stage of life. But there are some things we’ve done that I think have helped kept our household running smoothly (or as smoothly as it can, all things considered). I am by no stance an expert. I’ve studied some childhood development and have my go-to resources for advice (I’m more than happy to give book recommendations) but most of what I’m sharing here is what we’ve implemented and have found worked well for our family.
1. STICK TO A SCHEDULE
We love routine. That doesn’t mean we don’t break it when needed — for example, while on vacation. But I’d say 95% of the time, I’m fiercely protective of my child’s schedule. Marceline was a NICU baby and when we first brought her home, we matched her NICU schedule. As she’s gotten older, we’ve adjusted her schedule accordingly. As a 21-month-old, she’s been on the same schedule now for about six months. She dropped to just one nap a day back in January. Marceline is a really great sleeper. Part of that is just her temperament but I credit a lot of it to keeping her on a consistent routine. Here’s what her current schedule looks like:
7 am: Wake up
7-7:30 am: Breakfast
9:30-10 am: Snack
11:30 am: Lunch
12-2 pm: Nap
2:30-3 pm: Snack
5:45 - 6 pm: Dinner
7 pm: Bedtime
2. HAVE A BEDTIME ROUTINE
Every day can look a bit different but we try to end Marceline’s day the same way every night — even if we’re traveling. It’s a pretty simple routine: After dinner, we brush our teeth. Then it’s bathtime! When she was really little, we didn’t bother with a bath every night. Around 6 months, however, she started playing more in the tub and really loved it. That’s when we decided to make it a consistent part of our evenings. After the bath, we have “cozy PJ time”, where we let her pick out her PJs for the night, round up her stuffies, pull her blackout shade to create our “night” ambiance, and read a story (or two, or three, or…) She ends “cozy PJ time” with a bottle of warm milk. Then we turn on her Hatch, put her in her crib, and say, “Goodnight.” We’ve used the Hatch sound machine since day 1. It’s become such an important staple in our night routine, that we even brought it all the way to France with us. We never travel without it.
3. MAKE CLEANING MESSES EASY
If you’ve been on my blog before, you’ll probably remember we live in a 950-square-foot apartment in the city (if you’re new, hello and welcome). I’ve really liked living in a smaller home while she’s this young. It’s felt cozy, we didn’t have to baby-proof a large space, and it’s kept us from going over the top with buying toys. But small places can also get messy fast — post-nap time, the living room can go from spotless to disaster zone in under 60 seconds. There are a couple of little things we do every day that keep our place impressively clean and organized:
Baskets are the best! They keep your place looking nice. We have so many conveniently placed baskets to keep books and toys in — at least one in every room. I’ll rotate toys to different places from time to time to keep things different and exciting, but everything has a place, and putting things back in their place takes minimal effort. This allows Marceline to help put her toys away and means I can clean up what looks like the aftermath of a major earthquake in just a few minutes. We also use baskets for all her cutlery, plates, bowls, and sippy cups. They live on a low shelf in our kitchen where Marceline can have full access. When she decides to play with them, it’s easy to scoop them off the floor and plop them back in the baskets.
Get tools to help you clean up as you go. We do our weekly deep clean but living with a toddler generally results in daily messes. Marceline is still in her messy eating phase and there are a few things we bought that have made tidying up super simple: 1) A cordless handheld vacuum — my new must-have. Did my toddler just toss a bowl of rice on the ground? No worries, I can vacuum it up in seconds. 2) A quick mop. When I do a full mop of all our floors, I pull out my fancy Bissell with its special wood floor formula and electronically spinning cleaning pads. But for daily messes, I have a lightweight mop setup and ready to go. It has a cleaning solution already mixed and a microfiber pad, similar to a Swiffer, but the pads are washable and I can use my preferred floor cleaner. 3) Swedish dishcloths make wiping up her food messes a breeze. Highly recommend. 4) A good soap and stain remover. We have Miss Mouth’s Messy Eater Stain Treater and it’s a miracle. Food stains are a constant here and this spray has always made her clothes look as good as new. For tough stains, we use Savon Marseille soap. We buy ours from a little shop we love in Marseille but you can also order it online. It’s just a good quality soap that’s perfect for any messes that require hand washing. (It is particularly good at getting baby poop out of onesies!)
4. GET OUTSIDE
Never underestimate the power of sunshine and fresh air. I found it really doesn’t matter if it’s a trip to the playground or a quick walk up the street to our local grocery store, getting outside for at least a little bit has a big impact on our day and mood (both my toddler’s and my own). We’ve had those days where it’s chucking down rain so we skipped going outside — and it always makes my day a bit harder. Getting that outdoor time improves sleep and, often, can fix Marceline’s sour mood.
Looking for more toddler content? Check back soon! I’ll be adding more posts with our travel tips, favorite books, must-haves, and more. Have any toddler tips of your own? Drop them in the comments below!