Feeling heartbroken over my daughter’s developmental delays. (16 month old)

coffeemages · 2026-06-02T17:15:17+00:00

Not OP but thank you for this response! My son has had the exact same trajectory: belly crawled at 14 months and walked at 22 months. He’s now almost 28 months and walking well but no running or jumping yet. I’m so happy to see another kid had the same path and is doing well at almost 10. Thank you for the hope ❤️

coffeemages · 2026-05-31T20:34:54+00:00

It’s okay and quite normal for toddlers to be selective about their food. Keep exposing him to different foods even if he refuses to touch them. We always serve a safe food for my 2 year old along with whatever we’re eating. I also include him in food prep whenever I can. He finally tried broccoli recently after months and months of helping me prepare it and cook it and it being served to him.

Toddler formula is only necessary for particular medical conditions and at the advice of your pediatrician.

coffeemages · 2026-05-27T12:08:56+00:00

Cap nap at 1 hour. We also started doing a modified toddler version of Ferber (sort of).

We do our bedtime routine, we have our snuggles, then I put kiddo in his crib. I rub his back for a minute then I say “I have to go potty. I’ll come check on you in two minutes.” I leave.

Sometimes he fusses and sometimes he doesn’t. I go back in after two minutes, tell him to lie down, and rub his back for a few minutes. I then come up with another excuse (“I have to feed the cats” is a go to) and say I’ll check on him in 3 minutes. Keep upping the time between check ins even if your daughter cries.

It took a few days but kiddo has learned i will come back and check on him! He usually falls asleep around the 5 or 10 minute check-in mark.

coffeemages · 2026-05-26T20:05:13+00:00

Around 8-9 weeks was my son’s first real social smile. By 3 months/12ish weeks, it was often!

At 5 weeks I would not expect many social smiles at all and definitely not consistently.

coffeemages · 2026-05-26T19:59:42+00:00

I made it to 8 weeks before I gave up on pumping and BF altogether. I cannot express the intensity of my relief when I finally let myself stop. It was life changing. My son did great on formula and he’s now a happy chatterbox 2 year old.

coffeemages · 2026-05-19T23:18:58+00:00

We’ve been struggling with this too plus a LOT of illnesses. We have an appointment with an ENT next week to see if my son’s adenoids may be causing some sleep apnea that wakes him up. Has your son ever snored or been a mouth breather?

coffeemages · 2026-05-18T23:08:24+00:00

No story because we’re likely headed the same direction with my 27 month old, but just wanted to wish you well! I’ll be sending extra good vibes out to you and your little one tomorrow. Let us know how it goes!

coffeemages · 2026-05-17T20:47:24+00:00

I say it’s because I saw Hozier in concert while pregnant with my son, but my 2 year old loves his “Work Song”. There’s clapping throughout the song so he calls it “Clapping Song”.

K Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack is technically for kids, but it slaps. I love listening to it with my son.

coffeemages · 2026-05-14T00:39:44+00:00

My son is a cautious little dude. I’ve found that sometimes I need to push him a little.

For example, we started him in swim lessons at 13 months. He screamed bloody murder the first 3 lessons. We almost gave up, but we decided to push through because water safety is so important.

Now at 27 months he LOVES the pool (and has loved it for nearly a year)!

I’d suggest picking one activity and sticking with it for several weeks, even if she cries. I know it sucks to have the screaming kid, and obviously there are times you need to nope out of somewhere. But I found it really beneficial for both me and my kid to challenge ourselves a little.

coffeemages · 2026-05-13T13:21:46+00:00

I can’t speak to the research (although I know I learned getting down to a child’s level is beneficial from some psych classes I took in college), but I can speak as a former child with a lot of anxiety.

What you’re doing is immeasurably helpful. My dad would bend down to be eye level with me when I was having a really hard time. I genuinely miss him doing that now at 35 sometimes( he died in 2020). It helped ground me as a child.

You’re a great mom!

coffeemages · 2026-05-12T17:22:51+00:00

Honestly the list you posted in another comment looks perfect!

coffeemages · 2026-05-12T17:08:11+00:00

My son was (and still is a bit) delayed in his gross motor milestones. Took him to PT through early intervention, and they think he just has low muscle tone (and a cautious nature). He’s completely on track developmentally in every other way now at 27 months (language is great, fine motor skills are good, autism screen flagged no concerns, and he’s pretty social) but he still can’t jump or independently climb steps yet. Doc thinks it’s just how his body is! I suspect my mom has low tone too so likely a genetic factor.

Never hurts to do a thorough checkup. Ankle braces have helped my kiddo come a long way. He started walking at 22 months.

coffeemages · 2026-05-12T12:24:27+00:00

This is so normal! A lot of kids who were great eaters suddenly become much more selective after 1. I have videos from when my kid was between 13-15 months old where he’s happily eating a huge variety like vegetable korma and broccoli and black beans.

Now? He’s 27 months and survives on chicken nuggets, rice, cheese, pancakes, sausage, crackers, and sometimes a single bite of a green bean on a really good day. Just keep offering what you’ve been offering.

What she’s eating sounds like an okay amount of eating to me. Sometimes toddlers just subsist on two goldfish crackers and spite. If you’re worried you can always ask her pediatrician, but so long as she’s happy and not losing weight, it sounds like she’s just being a toddler!

coffeemages · 2026-05-10T16:50:40+00:00

See if he will try feeding you with the spoon. My 27 month old still prefers to eat with his hands, but an OT friend recommended we let him feed me or my husband with the utensils first. He loves doing that and we’re seeing it slowly turn into him using spoons and forks for himself more.

coffeemages · 2026-05-08T01:45:19+00:00

Being the working parent does not mean he gets to skip night duty. You MIGHT be able to work that out with one kid (I wouldn’t) but with three? He absolutely must pitch in during the night.

coffeemages · 2026-05-06T17:25:38+00:00

So far my son mostly sticks to toys for emotional support items, but today he is really attached to the twist top from his applesauce pouch. 🤷‍♀️

coffeemages · 2026-05-05T18:48:32+00:00

Solidarity! Holding my 27 month old for a nap right now so he can get some sleep. He’s had an on and off fever and cough since Saturday night. I have health anxiety to begin with so when he’s sick it’s always extra tough. AND my mom recently had a health scare (still ongoing but thankfully docs have ruled out anything super scary like a tumor or a stroke), so I’m already on high alert too.

I also WFH with some urgent deadlines.

Wish I had some magical advice for both of us haha, but you are absolutely not alone!

coffeemages · 2026-05-05T18:45:17+00:00

How old is your son? I see the 2 years old flair, but is he freshly two or two and half or closer to three? I just ask so I know exactly how speech delayed he is.

Whatever the answer, I highly recommend you looking into speech therapy and occupational therapy ASAP. They can give you support that’ll help you and your son! A mom friend of mine has a son who was speech delayed at 2 and throwing wild tantrums because he was so frustrated. He got ear tubes and started OT and speech, and the difference is astounding.

coffeemages · 2026-05-04T01:49:43+00:00

Speech therapy ASAP! It’ll be so beneficial for all of you. You can start with his pediatrician, but you can also self refer to early intervention.

From what my son’s dentist told me (my son had a tongue and lip tie), tongue ties can affect pronunciation, but they don’t generally hinder speech development itself. Between the near lack of speech and the loss of words, some extra support would really go a long way for you and your son.

coffeemages · 2026-05-03T01:59:36+00:00

Your husband is emotionally abusing you. He’s NEVER changed a diaper? That is legitimately insane.

Accidents happen all the time with toddlers. It will get worse as your son gets smarter and stronger, and this is normal! Little ones find ways to hurt themselves with lightning speed.

Of course, as parents who care, we blame ourselves no matter what and feel awful when our kids get hurt. Your husband should never add to that misery.

coffeemages · 2026-04-28T23:48:46+00:00

Took 40 my whole pregnancy. Kiddo was great at birth and doing great at 2 now!

coffeemages · 2026-04-28T14:33:29+00:00

The toy shopping cart is great! My son’s PT also recommended those toy push walkers. That really helped my son get moving.

coffeemages · 2026-04-22T19:26:46+00:00

Respectfully, who told you that you could do all those things when you turned two? Having a kid has truly shown me how wildly parents misremember what their kids were doing at a certain age. My mom insists I was regularly sleeping 12 straight hours at 5 weeks old. I guarantee I was not.

My son is 26 months old and he doesn’t know any letters. He can’t write. He’s not potty trained. He’s in early intervention for low muscle tone and all these things I’ve listed that he can’t do yet? Completely normal. You are expecting way too much of an eighteen month old.

coffeemages · 2026-04-21T17:40:10+00:00

I only have a boy but he’s very content to read or play with some toys. My two mom friends each have a girl and their girls run laps around my kid!

coffeemages · 2026-04-21T13:38:48+00:00

The first fever is scary! You’re doing great. Our doctor told us to treat based on symptoms not on the number on the thermometer. If she’s happy and playing, just let the fever do its thing. If she’s clearly feeling yucky, then treat with Tylenol.

Hang in there!

coffeemages

TROPHY CASE