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Parenting

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Original poster

When is a baby not a baby?

35 replies

shaps · 14/12/2006 21:02

Ds is turning one in a few weeks. Although I still refer to him as a baby when I talk about him to other people, I just wondered when this will start sounding ridiculous.

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SenoraPostrophe · 14/12/2006 21:04

according to my mum, when they're 27.

at ,least, she hasn't called me her baby since I was 27. maybe she will again.

southeastastra · 14/12/2006 21:04

some people do it forever

nearlythree · 14/12/2006 21:06

Think my dad was still my nan's baby until the day she died (well into her 80's)!

I guess when they toddle then they are toddlers? Although they are always your babies in your heart!

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Nemoinapeartree · 14/12/2006 21:08

think they are always your baby..however when other people talk its probably once they start toddling so for DS he was 8.5mths, DD is one on sat and not quite toddling but taking a few steps. Other thing is I think when you have other children as DS tends to be DS but DD is the baby, however am having another in 4wks who am sure will take over the baby title. My youngest sister is still called the baby and she is nearly 21.

sarahhal · 14/12/2006 21:15

DS2 is 15 months and not toddling so is def still a baby to me!! Plus DS1 (3.7)will not let us call Ds2 a boy as he is his baby brother!!

colditz · 14/12/2006 21:16

when they are 2, IMHO

Lilliput · 14/12/2006 21:22

They are still babies while in a cot and sleeping bag, oh, and also nappies.

NannyL · 14/12/2006 21:30

my 15 month old who can now talk and is starting to talk and has 'grown up' shoes and eats adult food cut up is not a baby... he's a toddler IMO anyway

when they start toilet training and can talk sentances rather than odd words and reason they become a little girl / boy IMO!

lackofgravitas · 14/12/2006 21:32

DD walked at 16 months, but was still a baby to me at that age - I always thought it a bit mad when friends with much earlier walkers called theirs 'toddlers' at under a year. Toddlerdom is a mindset, not a method of locomotion! About 18 months seems more like it to me, that seems to be the age when they start to get real preferences for things like colours and cartoon characters, seem much more like tiny people. Definitely by two - I remember telling off my colleague for referring to his daughter as 'the baby' when she'd just turned two!

Eulalia · 15/12/2006 09:11

I think it gets older the more children you have as the younger ones always seem so much younger. We always referred to dd (2nd child) as 'Baby X' till she was about 3. But was just a joke. Probably about 18 months though. My 3rd is 16 months and definately still a baby

DINOsaurmummykissingsantaclaus · 15/12/2006 12:32

DS3 is still very much my baby at 2.4 but I think that's because he can't talk and needs a lot of extra help with things.

Rantaclaus · 15/12/2006 12:45

Toddling makes them seem like less of a baby, but I think they stop being babies when they start to actually understand what you are saying and can respond correctly - when talking starts to mean something other than babbling. When they can start to communicate what they are thinking quite articulately. With DS there was quite a big gap between walking (10 mths) and actually talking with proper words(20mths). At 10 mths in every other way, besides the walking he still seemed very much like a baby. Now he seems like a proper toddler.

welshmumwithsparklybits · 15/12/2006 13:00

While ds still has his lovely baby curls he's still a baby....so I'm not cutting them...ever (he's 18 months)

Rantaclaus · 15/12/2006 13:02

I LOVE BABY CURLS!

ChristmasisComing · 15/12/2006 13:09

My 5 yr old says that she will always be my baby!

WeWishUAMerryXmasNANappyNewYr · 15/12/2006 13:30

my DT cousins were referred to as "the babies" till they were about 3 or 4 lol. it was then their mum started saying to her DH stop calling them the babies they're not babies!

wulfricsmummy · 15/12/2006 13:31

This reply has been deleted

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WeWishUAMerryXmasNANappyNewYr · 15/12/2006 13:33

i think though when they can talk coherent sentences and express their own opinions and have their own mind they are no longer babies.

nutcracker · 15/12/2006 13:51

Well I would say up until 2ish but Ds is 4 now and I still call him my baby and he tells everyone he is my baby lol.

KentuckyFreudChicken · 15/12/2006 14:51

my dd just turned 2 and haven't thought of her as a baby for months and months. I'd say between 12-18 months depending on development they become a toddler.

SantaGotStuckUpTheGreensleeve · 15/12/2006 15:12

When the next one is born

CliffRichardSucksEggsinHell · 15/12/2006 15:15

My dd says that she will always be my baby, even when she's old! I agree with her!

Original poster

shaps · 15/12/2006 15:28

Phew! At least I can call ds a baby for a little bit longer. I think I am in denial about him getting older and his first birthday. Have to keep reminding myself about those hellish sleepless nights at the beginning to stop me getting broody...

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nearlythree · 15/12/2006 23:49

Yes, I dealt with dd1 becoming a toddler by getting pg again! Having done it again as dd2 got bigger I will definitely not be getting broody when ds gets on the move - I am too exhausted to even contemplate it!

WethreebobKings · 16/12/2006 05:26

Baby until 1 or walking

Toddler until talking in sentences, sleeping in a bed, toilet trained.

Preschooler until starts school (5 here in NZ)

Then child.

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