When is a baby not a baby?

[shaps]

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.

A toddler is one who can 'toddle' to me. DS was still a baby until about 16months when he was wlaking. Mind you if he had walked at 8 months i wouldn't have called him a toddler then!
So baby until they are at least 1yr old AND they can walk, toddler somewhere around the 14-18months stage, then a child at about 3 or 4, when they can talk, drink from a cup etc.

I know what the Op means about it sounding a bit odd sometimes though, i started referring to DS as 'the littleun' after he turned 1. I still call him my baby at home though.

lol, my 22 month old won't let me call her a baby as 'cadgee baby mama' (caleb's the baby mama!)

she walked at 14 months and we started calling her a 'twaddler' jokingly but as i was pregnant i made a point of saying she was my baby too to stave off any jealousy. it seems to have worked and now she's all grown up and won't let me call her my baby

My DD1 was a baby til she was two then!! (Bit of a late starter on the old walking front!!)

Mmmmmmmm, difficult - I agree, in the usual way, baby til they are walking, then toddler. Guess it is different for different children as they all develop at different rates etc.

My goodness I said "different" a lot there!!

Going to shut up now .....

Hmmm, so what age do you start calling them "ratbag" then??!! (somewhere round 2 in my case!)

at about 12 - 18 months

though technically at 12 months they become a toddler and not a baby .. suppose it depends on when they take first steps

they will always be YOUR baby but A baby is a different matter

oh and also anybody who refers to a child as 24 months or older should be SHOT .. they are 2 .. you have to drop the month counting around 23 months (nearly 2)

that sais my 2.7 year old INSISTS on being called baby ... was having terrible problems toilet training until I latched on to the fact she didn't want to be a 'big girl' .. she wanted to be 'my baby'

Twiglett, I agree that talking in months after 2 sounds loopy (as does talking in days beyond two weeks, and weeks beyond six months). If I'm answering someone who may actually care, I'll tell them 'two and three quarters' at the moment - by someone who cares I mean someone else with a toddler, to whom there is a difference between two, two and a quarter, etc. Not someone being polite in a shop! I'm looking forward to getting into January, when I will transition to 'she'll be three in March' which is precise but sounds less neurotic. Of course once she IS three I'll still claim she's two, so she can carry on getting into places for free. And so her behaviour doesn't seem so appalling.

Hmm - so should I not say I'm 464 months old then??!!

BTW would love to have been able to get DD in for free at three - she's so bloomin' tall I thought I'd have to carry her passport everywhere with me! Was good when she was 2 though - went to Legoland and she was tall enough for all the rides that I presume they make 95cm+ for all the "paying" 3year old guests!

464 months sounds VERY old....

dd2 is just two and we have to stop ourselves calling her baby X which is what we have called her since she was born.... especially now that no3 is on the way.

I tried to convince her she was a toddler but she tells me she is not a toddler she is a girl.

my dds are and will always be my babies... doesn't mean i treat them as such though.

have not really referred to dd2 as my baby in a long time though when speaking with others - usually my daughter - youngest daughter.