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

Big feelings are starting to show up this week, the sweet ones and the stormy ones.

At around 17–18 months, your toddler expresses love with hugs, kisses and running to you with arms up. They'll also throw a full-body tantrum when a cracker breaks or the blue cup is in the dishwasher. Both are part of the same growing emotional world.

At this age, most tantrums are about being tired, hungry, overstimulated, or overwhelmed by feelings they can't yet name. Try:

• Name the feeling: "You're upset. The cracker broke."
• Stay close, stay calm. Crouch down to their eye level.
• Don't try to reason in the moment.
• When the storm passes, offer a hug and move on.

Trying to talk your way out of a tantrum rarely works. Being a calm, present island until it passes does.

• Many toddlers at this age have 15–20 clear words, copy new words they hear, and sometimes imitate the tune of a short song. Separation anxiety may still be strong, hang in there, it eases by 2.

• Predictable routines blunt tantrums. Sleep and snack at consistent times. Warn before transitions: "Two more minutes, then we put the blocks away."

• If your toddler shares a bed with you or sleeps near grandparents, consistency on bedtime, same time, same wind-down, same room layout, matters more than where they sleep. A soft lullaby (lori) works the same in a joint family bed.

Hugs at full speed and storms over broken biscuits come from the same growing heart. Big feelings sit right beside walking and talking among 18 month old baby milestones, only louder. When you stay close through a tantrum, you are teaching a lesson no book can.

Around 17.5 months. Indian mum nutrition gaps are worth re-checking.

The four common deficiencies in Indian mums

• Iron (anaemia): exhaustion, breathlessness on stairs, pale fingernails, hair fall. Vitamin D: low mood, sleep issues, bone aches, recurrent infections. Vitamin B12 (especially in vegetarians): fatigue, brain fog, tingling in hands/feet. Thyroid (postpartum thyroiditis): fatigue, weight changes, hair fall, cold intolerance

If any of these match, ask your gynae for: CBC, ferritin, Vit D, Vit B12, TSH. The full panel costs around 1500–3500 INR at most labs.

Indian dietary fixes (after testing)

• Iron: bajra, ragi, palak, methi, dates, jaggery, kala chana, chicken/eggs if you eat them
• Vit D: sunlight 15 min/day in early morning, fortified milk, supplement
• B12: dairy, eggs, fortified foods, supplement (especially for vegetarians)
• Thyroid: doctor-prescribed thyroxine if confirmed, no self-treatment

Cooking for the whole family

Iron-rich basics are also great for your toddler:

• Bajra rotis
• Ragi laddu (toddler-mild)
• Palak in dal
• Soaked chana with jaggery

Worth flagging

• If you've been "tired all the time" for months and haven't tested, please do. Many Indian women run on undiagnosed deficiencies for years. The fix is usually simple, and the difference in energy and mood after 6–8 weeks of correction is often dramatic.

A reminder

• Your gynae cannot fix what you don't share. List your symptoms before the visit, exhaustion, hair fall, low mood, irregular periods, anything. Knowing the full picture lets the doctor order the right tests. Doctors are not mind-readers.

Indian-mum nutrient quick-reference

For each common deficiency, a daily food fix:

• Iron: a small bowl of soaked kala chana with jaggery, or palak in dal
• Calcium: 1 cup curd + 50 g paneer + a glass of milk
• B12: 2 eggs (if you eat them) or a B12 supplement (esp. for vegetarians)
• Vit D: 15 min morning sun + a fortified milk glass + supplement if tested low

Getting your own blood tested is not a detour from motherhood; it is part of it. Real mother self care sometimes looks like a lab slip and a follow-up visit rather than candles and quiet. You have spent months noticing everyone else's needs; today, notice your own.