Kaitlyn Toddler Summary: 2.5 Years Old

Daily life, schedule, and routine for a 2.5 year old toddler. See how the toddler sleep was going and how eating was going. Read about socializing and everything about toddler life.

2.5 year old Kaitlyn

While I have done summaries for every week of McKenna’s life, I haven’t ever done them for Brayden or Kaitlyn. I have thought it would be nice, even for me to review as McKenna reaches those ages. So, now that Kaitlyn is 2.5, here is a summary of what is going on in her life right now.

SLEEPING

Kaitlyn is still sleeping well 🙂 Kaitlyn has always been a good sleeper and likes to sleep. Sometimes she puts on a show that she doesn’t want to sleep, but it is simply out of copying Brayden (4.5), not out of her pure desire. She goes to bed about 8 PM and then I wake her around 7:15. On the weekends, I let her sleep until about 8 AM and she is still sleeping. I have to get her up at 7:15 on week days so I can get her fed before I get McKenna up.

For naps, she goes to bed at 1 and I wake her up at 4:30.

Kaitlyn is not allowed to get out of bed on her own, still, which isn’t a problem because she almost always sleeps until I wake her up.

EATING

Right now, Kaitlyn is going through a picky phase. When I was pregnant with McKenna, I didn’t eat much of anything, and Kaitlyn closely watches what I eat and eats the same. So she got quite picky while I was pregnant. Since McKenna was born, she has gotten much better, but has been pickier the last couple of weeks.

TEETHING

Kaitlyn’s 2 year old molars are finally coming in. They started in September. She has two in and two on the way. The poor girl has been teething for 2.5 solid months! She has been a trooper, though. It can really affect her appetite, and I suspect the teething is contributing to her pickiness in eating.

POTTY TRAINING

We have been potty training for a month and a half now. She was pee trained before McKenna was born, but unable to get on the potty by herself or pull her pants off and on, so I went back to diapers since I nursed most of the day (or so it seemed!). When we went back to panties, she did just fine.

She isn’t poop trained, but is pee trained. She is hit and miss with the poop. She has told me many times that she doesn’t know how to poop in the potty. She tries, but hasn’t got it and I haven’t yet figured out what is best for her. With Brayden, it was best if I left the room. I haven’t figured out how to best help Kaitlyn yet, but I am not stressed out about it. I know it will come someday.

DISCIPLINE

Kaitlyn is very obedient and obeys my voice well. For her, time outs seem to work best when punishment is needed.

2.5 year old toddler schedule Pinnable Image

SIBLINGS

Kaitlyn is great with her siblings. Now that McKenna is old enough to play with toys, I have noticed something interesting. Kaitlyn has always been great about sharing with Brayden and other children, but when it comes to McKenna, she can be quite possessive of her toys. I tell her she needs to share, and she will, but not happily. It is something we are working on, but I know that since she already has the capacity to share, she will get it soon. Brayden was a terrible sharer, and he learned, so I know she can 🙂

She and Brayden are best friends. They have lots of fun together.

SOCIALIZING

I don’t think 2 year olds have a great need for socializing with other children their age. It isn’t bad to do every so often, but they don’t have social needs like preschoolers do. They need to socialize with their parents. If they have siblings, that is great. They can socialize with them, too.

But I don’t worry about fulfilling social needs of a two year old. She does play with other children weekly. I supervise so I can make sure she behaves appropriately and also make sure there aren’t things going on I don’t want her picking up on.

2.5 YEAR OLD DAILY SCHEDULE

Most times are approximate.

7:15–wake, eat breakfast. Take a bath and get ready for the day.
8:10–sibling playtime with Brayden
9:30–independent playtime
11:00–TV time
11:30–learning time
12:00–lunch. Then free time
1:00–nap
4:30–wake. Free time. We often do table time activities during this time.
5:00-5:30–dinner followed by family time.
7:30–start getting ready for bed.
8:00–in bed

We also do a daily chore each day. The exact time varies and is based on what the chore is. For example, Mondays she helps put her laundry away. This happens in the evening since I spend the day washing the laundry. Tuesdays, we dust. We do this in the morning hours.

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10 thoughts on “Kaitlyn Toddler Summary: 2.5 Years Old”

  1. I really appreciated this post today! I have a 23 month old & a 3 week old. My question is what did you do during those marathon nursing sessions with the older child? He's very good at having room time & crib time, but my husband is heading back to work in a few days & I'll be the sole caregiver during the days. Any advice?

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  2. This was so much fun to read! My kiddos are 7.5, 5, 3.5 and 26 months. I am absolutely loving the time with my youngest (for the first time ever not having a younger one!!) My day is much like yours…similar schedule and activities. My youngest is interested in the potty and will go every time I put him on, but does not seem to understand "staying dry." We got him a crib tent because he climbed out of the crib at 15 months! He is a great sleeper, too…1:30-4 is "silence in the house" time and a necessary part of our day. :)I totally agree with the socialization component…he loves his siblings and his time with mom and dad, but same-aged peers aren't a big part of my little guy's life right now.Thanks for sharing…I love to read your blog and I have recommended it to many friends.

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  3. I noticed Kaitlyn has a much longer wake time before her nap than after her nap. Is this normal when they go to one nap a day?

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  4. I don't see an email address on your sidebar. Is there a way to contact you? I have a question about my 3 month old son's schedule, but I don't want to post a super long comment. 🙂 However, I can post it in a comment if that's what you prefer!christmasinmarch {at} gmail {dot} com

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  5. Nilsen's Journey,I have a couple of posts that should help you: Babywise with older child and sample tandem schedules.Basically, with Brayden, I had TV time during first nursing, Indpendent play during second, nap during third, and nap during fourth. Then my husband was home. He goes to work early and comes home early. If your husband is home later and leaves later, you could have him help out during the first and do TV time later in the day insetad. Oh, and Brayden loved to drive his cars on the couch. If I needed to, I would drive a car on the couch with him while I nursed.

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  6. Jud and Maria,It is normal for my two. I think it is pretty normal 🙂 The one nap usually comes after lunch (most seem to do it at 1), then lasts 2-4 hours.

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  7. My original question was about going to a 4 hour schedule with my son. To me it seems like BW is kind of vague on that. Like, it says to have your baby start sleeping 12 hours at night between 3 and 4 months, but then says not to do this before 15 weeks if you are breastfeeding. Also, it says to eliminate the dream feed, but if I do this he'll only be eating 4 times a day, which it says not to do until after 15 weeks. I guess we're a little ahead since he has been eating 5 times a day since he was about a month and a half. Do you think it's okay to eliminate the dream feed and have my son go to 4 feedings a day at a month and a half old? Should we go to a 4 hour schedule at the same time? My main concern is that if we eliminate the dream feed completely, that would mean that my husband would never be able to see my son awake. Because by the time he gets home from work my son would be going down for a nap. Do you put your baby down for the night right after his last feeding or can you have a normal wake time once you don't have a dream feed anymore?

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  8. Andrea, it sounds like some of your confusion might be due to age calculation. A baby is 4 months old at 17.5 weeks. See this blog label for help (the post titled "calculating age"):http://babywisemom.blogspot.com/search/label/babywise%20milestonesAs for 4 hour schedule and dropping dreamfeed, it isn't a good idea to do both at the same time. I like to give it at least 2 weeks between the two changes, and actually strive for a month.McKenna has only 30 minutes total wake time during her last waketime. Kaitlyn and Brayden were closer to one hour.Your baby's schedule will change often throughout his first year. Somewhere usually around 8 months (some as early as 6 and some as late as 10-11), he will go down to two naps.You can hang on the dreamfeed if you want to. The baby whisperer says to keep it until 8 months old.

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