23 months

Have you and Baby set up their next well-child visit? they're nearly two, which means they're nearly ready to have another physical exam where their pediatrician checks on their growth and development, and then they get a lead screening and any vaccines they might need.

Doctor’s appointments can get a little trickier as Baby gets older, since they are getting more likely to remember if they didn’t have so much fun last time they went to the doctor. That doesn’t mean that they will be upset about a doctor’s office visit, though, and they still take a lot of their cues for how they're going to react to a situation based on how you act. The calmer and more unbothered you are about Baby’s next checkup, the more likely they are to be calm about it, too.

One of the great things about Baby is that they have so many fewer preconceived ideas about what a situation should be like – for all they know, going to the doctor for a checkup can be as fun as any day at the park. And why shouldn’t it be? Especially if Baby is a little bit of a ham, spending a little time with a friendly adult who wants to know everything about them can be a lot of fun, and they'll have you there with them every step of the way, to keep everything feeling safe and secure and running smoothly.

The reason that Baby has so few preconceived ideas is that they are still learning so much. There are thousands of things you do in a day without even thinking about them, that Baby still needs to learn how to do. Climbing the stairs, for example – unless you’re climbing a really tall staircase, it probably doesn’t take up to much of your day, but for Baby, the process of learning to climb up and down them easily can take years. By this point, they can probably climb up them, but only by following a two-feet-per-step pattern – they'll get to the point where they can manage an alternating one-foot-per-step, but it’ll take time, practice, coordination, and maybe a little bit longer legs before they get there. Climbing down the stairs again can take just as long, or even longer, depending on how many chances they have to practice.

If there are no stairs in your home, and Baby doesn’t practice climbing them very often, no matter how adventurous or curious they are, the process of learning to climb the stairs is going to take a little longer. As they're learning, your supervision is an important part of keeping them safe. Baby gates are a great way to keep Baby from practicing their stair climbing when you aren’t there to watch them.

Milestones

  • Starts showing a hand preference: Between the ages of about 2 and 3, your toddler will start to make whether they're right-handed or left-handed more clear, but now, as they get closer and closer to age 2, they are probably starting to use one hand a little more than the other already.
  • Running: Running is one of those milestones that toddlers can reach at a huge range of different times, and part of the reason for the variation is just personality – some toddlers start running sooner because they just feel like there’s so much to run about. A large number of toddlers have started running by 23 months, though. If your toddler is just getting started moving their feet a little faster, look out – once a toddler starts running, it can be hard to get them to stop!

Sources
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