60 Week Old Baby: Your Baby's Development and Your Recovery This Week

Mealtimes are getting messier and more independent, that's actually progress.

At around 13–14 months, most toddlers want to feed themselves. They'll grab the spoon, fling food, miss the mouth, try again. This is how they learn. Don't give up on the messy phase; toddlers who are allowed to self-feed tend to be better eaters later.

• Offer finger foods cut small and safe: soft cooked vegetables, ripe fruit, small pieces of paratha, dal-rice balls.
• A silicone bib and a splash mat under the high chair saves your sanity.
• If food gets thrown, calmly say "food stays on the plate" and end the meal. No scolding; little ones test and test.
• Crayons and chunky building blocks are great for fine motor skills now.

Iron deficiency is common in Indian toddlers once breastfeeding tapers. Easy daily wins:

• Ragi porridge or ragi laddu, naturally iron-rich
• Dal (especially moong, toor, masoor) cooked soft
• Palak (spinach) puree mixed into khichdi
• Jaggery in small amounts in halwa or chikki (over age 1)
• A boiled egg yolk a few times a week, if introduced Pair iron with vitamin C (a slice of orange, tomato, amla) to help absorption.

• The 15-month pediatrician visit is around the corner. Expected shots: MMR-2, Varicella (if not done at 12 months), and the PCV booster. Your doctor may also give the DPT booster now or at 18 months.

While dressing, name body parts as you go, "nose", "tummy", "foot". Claps and cheers when they try to stand, walk or run matter more than you'd think.

The flung dal and the missed spoonfuls are messy proof of a child learning to trust their own hands. Self-feeding is one of those 14 month old baby milestones that tests a mother's patience and grows it at the same time. Wipe the floor, not the wonder.

Around 14 months. Once your toddler is on a steadier sleep routine, small windows of "your time" appear in the day.

Reclaiming an hour

30 minutes to an hour a day is not selfish, it is what keeps the rest of you running. Things that work in this window:

• A walk, a yoga class, a swim
• A book, a podcast, a magazine
• Painting, gardening, music, anything where time disappears
• A call with a friend, no agenda

Hobbies you used to love, again

• Many mums find their pre-baby hobbies feel different at 14 months. That's fine. You may rediscover old loves or find new ones. Painting, journaling, learning an instrument, gardening, baking, small consistent practice in any of these is grounding.

Indian-context options

• Carnatic or Hindustani music classes online (many have flexible timings)
• Bharatnatyam or Kathak classes resumed, many studios have post-baby return programs
• Cooking traditional regional dishes you've never tried
• Reading regional-language fiction, many great Indian mum-themed novels in translation

Eating well

• Three meals + two snacks. Hydrate. The Indian thali is still your friend.

Indian-tradition tip

• Sunday morning walks in a temple, gurudwara, mosque or church grounds, whatever your faith, offer a quiet head-clearing space many mums find restorative. Faith practice is an underrated form of self-care.

Worth flagging

If you can't think of a single thing that brings you pleasure, that may be anhedonia (loss of pleasure)

• a quiet PPD sign that's easy to miss. Talk to a therapist.

Worth a thought

• Many Indian mums put hobbies on permanent hold during the baby years. Returning to one slowly, even 30 minutes a week, is genuinely good for mental health. The toddler benefits too, they see a mum who has interests beyond them.

The parts of you that existed before motherhood are still there, waiting patiently like an old friend. Returning to a hobby, even for half an hour, is mother self care in its truest form. Your toddler gains something lovely too: a mum who is a whole person, not only a caregiver.