A few things have been happening (and still working on) over the past few weeks, making 18 months a big milestone for our little man!
First, naps. Xavier transitioned to one nap about 5 months ago and it is working out great! The daycare he was attending dropped the morning nap around 13 months, much earlier than I would have picked for him. He had a really hard time adjusting and would literally lose his marbles every time we picked him up at the end of the day because he was so exhausted by not getting his morning nap. So I would have liked to waited to drop the morning nap sometime around 15-16 months, but we didn't have a choice! I do hear this a tough transition all-around, but there's no reason for a 13-month-old to only be on one nap! Now, he goes down for a nap right after lunch, usually around 12:45 - 1:00, and sleeps a solid 2 hours. He still sleeps great through the night, going down at 7pm and sleeping until 7am.
We packed up all the bottles around his first birthday and he was on tilt-the-head-back sippy cups until about 14 months. He started not getting the milk to come out fast enough, so we transitioned in some different straw cups, and he's been on those ever since. He learned very quickly that straw cups don't flip back! He always drinks some water before bed, so we keep a straw cup on his nightstand for him to drink from while we read or watch him point out his body parts - belly button, nose, eye, ear, etc. He drinks from regular straws now, which is nice because when we eat out, he can drink right from the restaurant's kids cup (no hauling bulky straw cups!)!
We are working on weaning Xavier from his pacifier. Our pediatrician said it's good to wean babies off it around now, otherwise, he will want to use pacifiers until he is 3. When he gets mad about going to bed, he throws them out of his crib, and screams until we come back to put it in his mouth, because he can't sleep without it. But, I notice when I get him up in the morning, his pacifiers have been thrown out of the crib, and he seems to only want one when he sees one nearby. They are great for calming him down during his tantrums or in the car, and he is very attached to them before bedtime. But, once he's asleep, he's usually spit it out. So we might try this again in a couple months! Or, since our guy isn't attached to a blankie or stuffed animal, we may continue using them for a while!
A few weeks ago, we added a blanket to his crib for sleeping. After we rock him and lie him face-down in the crib, he likes to take the blanket and roll it under his belly to put himself to sleep. All the blankets we use are breathable, muslin material, so we never worry. Lots of parents wonder when to add a pillow to their child's bed, and we aren't planning on doing it until Xavier moves out of his crib to a toddler bed. For now, he sleeps just fine without one.
