Toting your tot has many benefits, and may be something you and Baby have done since they was brand new. Wearing your toddler means easier navigation through crowded areas than with a stroller, and offers the added benefit of leaving your hands free – pretty nice when you feel like you always have your hands full!

As with most baby contraptions, the type of carrier you use to carry Baby will need to change as they grows. Here’s a rundown on which carriers are still safe, and which should be retired by Baby’s age.

• Slings: These carriers are great for smaller babies, and offer the flexibility of varied positions, while still keeping your little one close. Though slings are a great choice for wearing young children around the house, or for minimal travel, slings tend to max out around 20 pounds. After that, Baby will start to feel confined and cramped, which means it’ll probably be time to try something new.
• Front carriers: These snug-fitting carriers offer both shoulder and waist or hip straps, and are a secure choice for infants and toddlers. In a front carrier, Baby can face inward or outward, and you can adjust the straps to distribute the weight in a comfortable way. While most carriers hold little ones up to 30 pounds, as Baby grows, you may find you’re becoming a bit less comfortable hauling around that extra weight. If your front carrier becomes a challenge, or painful, it may be time to consider a backpack.
• Baby backpack: Backpacks make great carriers for toddlers, offering the security of babywearing, with the benefit of extra comfort. Choose a lightweight model to avoid carrying extra weight, with an adjustable seat and harness for Baby. For heavier toddlers, you can also seek out a model with a waist belt, allowing their weight to transfer from your shoulders to your hips. Backpack bonus? Many models come with pockets for storing the essentials!

Baby is growing, but that doesn’t mean your babywearing days have to come to an end – just be sure they is secure in the carrier, and fits the size limits outlined by the manufacturer. When babywearing, remember the following safety tips:

• Never cook with your child in a carrier.
• Avoid climbing ladders and onto stools.
• Avoid risky activities like bike riding or skating.
• Do not reach for items overhead, as they can fall and hit your child.

By now, Baby is probably drinking water and other (hopefully sugar-free) beverages from their sippy cup. Armed with a handful of spaghetti in one hand and a sippy cup in the other, they is probably dominating meals left and right. But just as solids and more complex foods were slowly introduced a year ago, if Baby is still using a sippy cup regularly, the next step is to transition from sippy cup to glass.

Drawbacks to extended sippy cup use

It is not always well-known, but many doctors recommend only using a traditional sippy cup for a few months while Baby is transitioning from bottle to cup. Cups with lids or spouts should be used sparingly as there is evidence that these kinds of cups can contribute to tooth decay, or can have a negative effect on speech development. Sippy cups that use straws are generally seen as a safer alternative.

The sippy cup should also not be used as a comfort object like a pacifier. If you find that Baby is using the sippy cup to soothe themselves, it may be helpful in the long run to try to encourage an attachment to a different object. Soothing with a sippy cup, no matter what type of cup, will speed up tooth decay and promote the idea of comfort-feeding, which has been linked to unhealthy eating patterns.

In addition, sippy cups also account for many trips to the ER for children around this age, as toddlers often run too quickly while drinking from sippy cups, which can lead to falls and injuries. Open cups are less likely to be used as comfort objects, or run around with, and so don’t cause the same kind of injuries.

Making the switch

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that toddlers begin using regular cups between 12 and 15 months of age, but it’s fairly common for a toddler to take a little longer than that to really get the hang of using a glass. If you and Baby haven’t gotten started yet, there’s no need to worry, just slowly start introducing regular cups whenever possible. If you’ve already started letting them take sips from your cup, or they has a smaller cup that  they uses sometimes with your help, then you’re on the right track.

According to the AAP, children are developmentally ready to give up sippy cups by 2 to 3 years of age. When you’re ready to start to make the switch, make sure you choose a cup that has a wide base to cut down on spilling. You’ll want to keep the sippy cup around during these few weeks of training so the access to water is always there and they stays hydrated. Keep the cup out of reach at mealtime until they learns not to tip it over. Help pass it when it’s needed between bites and stay patient.

Before you know it, Baby will be rocking the eating-and-drinking routine without much adult help like a champ.

Sources

• “Discontinuing the Bottle.” Healthy Children. American Academy of Pediatrics, November 21 2015. Retrieved August 24 2017. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Discontinuing-the-Bottle.aspx.
• “Sippy Cup.” MyChildrensTeeth.org. American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Retrieved August 24 2017. http://www.mychildrensteeth.org/education/sippycup/.

Playtime is a perfect chance for your child to learn the beginnings of art, science, math and to develop ideas about shapes, colors, and textures.

The classics

Some especially useful toys that encourage learning are things that you may have grown up with, too – wooden blocks and Legos and other Lego-like blocks are great learning toys. Building towers either with wooden blocks or with Legos provide your child time to experiment with the introductory principles of physics. For example, when Baby experiments with block stacking, they’s learning about comparisons in weight and shape. Making the “tallest possible tower” is an exercise in stability in construction and a lesson in succeeding and feeling proud of themselves.

Serious construction

Plastic nuts and bolts make another great learning toy. They’re no guarantee that your tot will grow into someone who’s handy in home-repair, but they’re certainly not going to hurt, and these simple toys help your toddler’s little fingers get used to threading and turning, actions which use the tips of their fingers rather than the palm of their hand. Additionally, finding just the right nut for a particular bolt is often an exercise in matching and figuring out categories, as different plastic nuts and bolts are typically are differently colored as well as differently shaped. If they’re working together, multiple children can begin work on sharing the nuts and bolts. Sharing doesn’t come too naturally to toddlers, so activities that give them lots of practice in these early years are a great place to start.

The life of the mind

Finally, another type of toy that encourages learning is puzzles. Giant floor puzzles give little fingers a chance to push and scoot bigger pieces together easily. The same can be said for the wooden puzzles, which often feature familiar cartoon characters, if that’s something that’s likely to get your tot interested. Puzzles can be a part of a quiet time routine, and smaller ones are easily portable to bring to situations where a toddler may have to practice patience.

Blocks

Some toys are classics for a reason, and right now, Baby is at just the right age to be totally delighted by the chance to send a block tower of your construction flying all over the room. They type of block doesn’t really matter for this activity, although there are a wide range of options, from soft, light blocks that are designed to be particularly safe for young children, hardy wooden blocks that will stand the test of time, and textured ones that can double as something for Baby to gnaw on during teething.

What matters is that they stack easily – today it may be you stacking blocks so they can learn about gravity and cause and effect as they demolishes your tower, but before long, they will be developing their coordination by building their own creations.

Cloth books or textured board books

Baby may not be much of a bookworm yet, but give them a fun, interactive enough cloth book or board book, one that’s written in the language they likes best right now – new and interesting textures and high-pitched noises – and even the least enthusiastic little reader can be won over. This is important, because it helps Baby start to build positive associations with reading, which is a great first step towards a lifetime of enjoying books.

Balls

It’s not just early training for Baby’s future soccer career – teaching them to pass a ball back and forth with you helps them lay the mental groundwork for the back and forth of conversation, and for cooperating and playing with classmates a few years down the road, not to mention the small motor development.

It does take more money to raise multiples than a singleton, so it’s a really good idea to try and save what you can, when you can. Over time you’ll find that there a lot of ways to get what you need for less.

Buy cheaper gear when possible

The price of baby gear can really add up. And while there are some things you really do have to spend money on, there are other things on which you don’t need to break the bank. Whenever you can, try to find hand-me-downs, used items for sale in your neighborhood, or even things that you can borrow for a while.

For example, early on, your babies will be small enough to bathe in the sink, so you don’t have to spend on bath products until they’re large enough to sit up in the bath. For baby clothes or diaper bags, try a thrift or consignment store. These stores have clothes that your little ones will find perfectly fashionable, but for cheaper than you otherwise might find them.

Hold off on certain purchases

Things like high chairs and toys probably won’t be necessary until your little ones are a few months old, so for the time being, direct your checkbook elsewhere. And you never know: by the time you’re ready to buy, you may have a good lead on a hand-me-down version.

Bulk, bulk, and more bulk

Obviously you don’t have to come home with 50 packs of 30 diapers (on second thought, maybe you do), but there are a lot of products that will cost less if you buy them in large amounts. Powdered baby formula is one of these products. Baby wipes, burp clothes, and – you guessed it – diapers are others.

Promotions, deals, and mom discounts, oh my!

Lots of websites offer ‘mom discounts,’ as well as deals for parents of multiples, in-store and online coupons, and special promotions. These savings really add up, so they’re worth some online sleuth time for sure!

Be ‘that person’ with gifts you don’t need

You’ll get a lot of gifts that you can use, but what about the occasional gift that you don’t need or that you already have? In these cases, it’s in your best interest to return the items when possible or to exchange them for items that you’re desperate for. Yes, you might have to explain to a relative where the baby wipe warmer went, but they’ll understand when you tell them the money went towards actual baby wipes.

Put away money whenever possible

Even the smallest bit of money stored away helps in the long run. The little things really add up, and you’ll want to have money saved for checkups, childcare, and other future costs.

If this seems overwhelming, rest assured that over time you’ll get the hang of things. And it will probably take trial and error to figure out what works for your family, cost-wise.

Even keeping in mind how traumatizing it can be to give up a beloved object, you may have started to feel that it’s time to come up with a game plan to help Baby begin a pacifier-free life. Many families are sucessful just going cold turkey (that is, getting rid of the pacifier without any preparation or warning). If that seems too hard, though, or like a strategy that won’t mesh well with your toddler’s temprament, here are some tips for other strategies for weaning away from pacifier use.

Drop some not-so-subtle hints

A little preparation can go a long way. The idea here is to frame the loss of a pacifier as a part of growing up, and to give Baby advanced notice so that they isn’t so surprised by the loss of their comfort object.

• How to do this: Remind Baby of all the things they can do now that they isn’t a baby anymore. Try to drive home the fact that using pacifiers is something that younger children do, and that as Baby matures, they will grow old enough to stop using a pacifier.

Start limiting pacifiers around the house

The key to successful negotiation is knowing what the other side wants. In this case, that’s the pacifier. Let Baby have the pacifier but limit it to specific times and situations.

• How to do this: Maybe the pacifier is only allowed when Baby needs soothing, or only at naptime or bedtime. You could even set a rule that Baby can only have it when they is sitting in their bed; a lot of parents find this takes the fun out of the pacifier pretty quickly for a toddler.

Set a deadline for the pacifier’s last day

If you’ve decided it’s time for Baby to let the pacifier go start by telling them that, in one week, their pacifier will go away, and in place of the pacifier, Baby gets to pick out a special big-kid toy.

• How to do this: Try to make it exciting. Tell Baby and have a countdown to the big day. Each day, remind Baby how many days are left, and how many days until they can pick out the special toy.

Make the jump

If Baby is game, go around the house together and gather up all the leftover pacifiers. Once they’re collected, tell Baby that the pacifiers are going to a new baby. It’s time to send them off and Baby will get to pick out their new toy.

• How to do this: This depends on your toddler, but you can throw the pacifiers out at home, or throw them away at the toy store when Baby goes to pick out their new toy. Other parents have their toddler put their pacifiers in a paper bag, leave the bag outside of their door, and let the ‘pacifier fairy’ take away the pacifiers overnight. There are all kinds of ways you can do this, but try to make it fun and light-hearted.

Prepare for a little fallout

This varies by toddler, but be prepared for at least a few nights of Baby crying and asking for a pacifier. Just remember that even if Baby is upset, that doesn’t mean that they won’t get used to life without the pacifier. A few rough nights is worth breaking the habit when you know your toddler is ready for life without their favorite comfort object.

• How to do this: Understand that if Baby cries or is upset, they is just adjusting to this new stage. Give them a little extra love and remind them why the pacifier is gone and how great it is that their toy is here now, instead.

Weaning is worth it in the long run

A lot of parents dread the pacifier-weaning stage of toddlerhood. If Baby and their toddler are closer than PB&J, you might be dreading this stage, too. But if you follow the steps above, you might be pleasantly surprised by how quickly Baby adjusts to this new pacifier-free lifestyle. If things are a little rocky at first, you can be sure that Baby will only need a few days to get used to things, and once these days have passed, they will start to develop new and better ways to de-stress. All toddlers have to give up the pacifier eventually, but you can make the process a little more positive for Baby.

Sources

• Mayo Clinic Staff. “Pacifier do’s and don’ts” MayoClinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Sep 25 2014. Web.
• “How to Wean Your Baby from a Pacifier.” DeltaDental. Delta Dental Plans Association, 2017. Web.
• Sumi Sexton, MD, et al. “Risks and Benefits of Pacifiers.” Am Fam Physician. 79(8):681-685. Web. Apr 2009.

All worn out

Both latex and silicone bottle nipples can wear out after several months of use. This is especially true if you use a dishwasher or once Baby’s teeth are in, and the nipples are used for a little bit of teething time. Most bottle manufacturers recommend checking nipples for signs of wear when they’ve been in use for 3 months, although they can certainly wear out more quickly. If you notice them wearing out earlier, take them out of use right away.

Obvious signs of wear on both latex and silicone nipples are discoloration, pieces coming off, and changes in the nipples’ shapes. Worn-out silicone nipples also may look like they have cracks in them. Any one of these signs is a good reason to retire a nipple. The less obvious reason, change in flow from the nipple, is easy to test by filling two bottles with warm water, fitting one with the old nipple and one with a new one, and watching the two flows against each other.

Taking the next step

The problem with graduation from one flow speed of nipple to the next is that there is no standardized level for nipple flow. Instead, it varies based on the brand. Each brand will give you their recommendations. Because every bottle brand’s nipple flow is different and every baby is different, the guidelines for when to switch bottle nipples are almost completely arbitrary. They can only really be used as very rough guides. A size 1 may feel very slow to your baby in one brand, while Size 1 is a super soaker in another!

The real thing that determines when Baby should move up to the next nipple-flow speed is of course Baby, and what they need. Age alone is not a reason to use a bigger size if they are happy and eating well. They might be ready for the next nipple grade if they are sucking hard enough to collapse their bottle nipple regularly or seem frustrated by how slowly the milk from their bottle is coming out. If, on the other hand, you switch up to the next grade of nipple and Baby has a hard time swallowing all of the milk as it comes out – coughing or choking – they might not be ready to make the switch. In the end, if they seem happy with the speed at which their dinner is getting to them, there really is no reason to change nipple sizes at all.

Learn more about bottle feeding