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

You may see the first hints of potty interest this week, or none at all. Both are fine.

• True readiness usually comes between 18 and 30 months, so 16 months is on the early side. Watch for: staying dry for an hour or two, telling you after (or even before) they go, pulling at a wet nappy, interest in the toilet. No need to start training yet, just introduce a potty as an object in the bathroom.

• Some toddlers complain of dull aches in the calves at night, usually after a big active day. These "growing pains" are common and harmless. What sometimes helps: a warm bath before bed, a gentle leg massage, a cuddle. Call the pediatrician if the pain is always in the same spot, there's swelling, limping in the day, or fever.

• Mix textures on the same plate: soft and crunchy together.
• Let them dip. Toddlers who refuse plain vegetables often eat them with curd, hung-curd dip or chutney.
• Serve small portions, a huge plate is overwhelming.
• Whole milk or breast milk continues, plus three meals and a snack or two.

A toddler refusing dinner on Tuesday and asking for seconds on Wednesday is not fussy eating. It's being two.

Whether your toddler is curious about the potty or entirely unbothered, they are exactly where they need to be. Baby development keeps its own calendar, and comparison only steals the joy of watching yours unfold. Trust their pace, and trust yourself even more.

Around 17 months. Toddler bedtime is still a small daily battle for many families.

The bedtime resistance

• Around 16–18 months, many toddlers fight sleep more, they don't want to miss anything, they're testing limits, they want one more story, one more song, one more sip of water.

What helps you stay calm

• A consistent routine (same order, similar time, similar place)
• Wind-down at least 30 minutes before sleep, no rough play, no screens
• A small ritual, story, song, prayer, foot rub, that always closes the day
• Boundaries gently held: "One more story, then sleep."

Indian-context bedtime

Many Indian families do a quick gayatri mantra or a small puja gesture at bedtime. A traditional lori (lullaby)

• Lalla Lalla Lori, Chandamama Door Ke, Nani Teri Morni, is calming for both of you. These small rituals carry through into longer-term family memory.

Mum's own bedtime

• Aligning your bedtime with toddler's, even just for the first hour, is real recovery. Lying in the dark while toddler settles, then a 10-minute window for yourself, then sleep. Many mums find this is the only way to reach 7+ hours.

Eating well

• Three meals + two snacks. Magnesium-rich foods (almonds, jaggery, dark chocolate) help sleep. Eat earlier rather than late.

Worth flagging

• Toddlers who snore loudly, gasp, or pause breathing in sleep, flag at the pediatrician. Sleep apnea in toddlers is rare but treatable, and it affects mood, growth, attention.

A note for mums whose partners travel or work late

• If you are doing bedtime alone most nights, your patience is finite. Build in a 10-minute reset for yourself after toddler is asleep, a hot shower, a podcast, a phone call. The recovery prevents tomorrow's burnout.

One more story, one more song, and at last the small breathing settles into sleep. Keeping a sliver of that silence for yourself afterwards is mother self care at its simplest. The nights feel long now, but you are building a lifetime of safe, sleepy memories.