17-Month-Old Baby: Feeding, Sleep, and Milestones by Month

Where has the time gone? That once-little baby is now a toddler with an ever-changing personality. Your 17-month-old will continue their journey through toddlerhood and achieve even more milestones. They’ll keep exploring their world with glee and amazement, learning new skills and words daily. In this article, we’ll cover your 17-month-old’s development and milestones, with everything from their sleep and feeding schedule to how many words they should say.

As your 17-month-old continues to grow and develop, they’ll continue to assert their need for independence. You’ll stand in awe, watching their development take off. Some new milestones you can expect your 17-month-old to achieve include:¹

• Walking independently without support
• Walking sideways and backward
• Crawling up and down the stairs
• Pulling themselves up into a chair
• Drinking independently from a cup
• Using a spoon and fork
• Helping to get themselves dressed by putting their arms and legs through their shirts and pants
• Scribbling
• Knowing the names of body parts and pointing to them when asked, such as their nose, eyes, ears, and tummy
• Putting small toys into and out of a container
• Building a block tower that’s two or more blocks high

As your 17-month-old communication improves, you may wonder how many words they should be saying. There’s a wide range of “normal” at this age. They’ll use several words that mean specific things, such as “baba” for bottle, “wawa” for water, “da” for dog, etc. They might start to combine two words together, but this is a skill typically achieved by the age of 2.²

As your toddler continues to grow, maintaining an adequate diet is essential. Your toddler will need three meals a day plus two to three snacks. These snacks typically occur mid-morning, again in the mid-afternoon, and sometimes before bed, depending on your schedule. Offer your toddler their meals and snacks in a high chair or booster chair with adequate back and foot support.³ Give them a wide range of foods to help them explore their tastes and ensure they receive the correct nutrients. Include various types of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meats, cheeses, and yogurts.⁴

Now that your toddler is over a year old, they can have whole cow’s milk or fortified soy milk. You can continue breast milk for as long as you would like or have access to it. They’ll need about 16-24 ounces of milk daily, which you should offer them in a cup instead of a bottle. It’s recommended that your toddler drink from a cup by 18 months old.³ Your toddler can also have between 4 and 8 ounces of water daily.⁴

Here are some ideas to help you plan meals for your toddler. Remember, they’ll eat pretty small portions, so you don’t need to offer them large amounts of each food:³

• Breakfast: 1 cup of whole milk with one slice of whole grain bread with peanut butter or one scrambled egg
• Lunch and dinner: 1 cup of whole milk and a small portion of the family’s dinner (Make sure to include vegetables, proteins such as meat, fish, or beans, and whole grains such as pasta, bread, or brown rice)
• Snacks: 1 cup of milk or water with one container of yogurt or one piece of toast with peanut butter, whole grain crackers with cheese, or a few pieces of fruit

Many 17-month-olds’ sleep habits follow the same pattern as months past. Your toddler needs between 11 and 14 hours of sleep daily, including one two- to three-hour afternoon nap.⁵

Some 17-month-olds can experience another period of sleep regression. Sleep regressing is when your toddler has a change in their sleeping pattern, resulting in difficulty staying or falling asleep. A variety of things can cause sleep regression, but the most common reasons include:⁶

Sleep regression is a difficult period, but thankfully, there are ways you can help your little one cope, depending on your family’s sleep preferences, such as:⁶

• Maintaining a consistent routine and bedtime
• Avoiding screen time
• Having your toddler sleep in their crib
• Putting them to bed while they’re drowsy but not yet asleep
• Allowing them to fuss for a few minutes before providing them with comfort
• Giving them comfort and reassurance while they’re still in their crib
• Giving them supplements such as melatonin or magnesium, which you should only give with guidance from your child’s doctor

Maintaining a consistent schedule can seem daunting to some, but it doesn’t have to be! The key is to develop one that works for you and your family. Planning meal and nap times will help you create a consistent schedule.

At this age, your toddler will take one afternoon nap daily, which usually starts around 1:00 p.m. and lasts two to three hours. Aiming for a bedtime around 7:30 p.m. will help your toddler get the recommended 11-14 hours of sleep they need a day.⁵

Your toddler should eat their meals alongside the rest of the family. Schedule your meals around the time that works best for your family. Toddlers will also need at least two snacks daily, one between breakfast and lunch and another between lunch and dinner.³

Unfortunately, childhood illnesses will likely become a part of your 17-month-old’s life as they become more social with other people and kids. Toddlers will average between six and eight colds a year, or more if they’re in daycare, so you’ll get lots of practice treating their symptoms. Toddlers should never have over-the-counter cold or cough medicine or aspirin. The best way to treat their cold is with rest and hydration. If they have a fever or are especially fussy, you can use Tylenol (acetaminophen) and Motrin (ibuprofen). These help treat pain, discomfort, and fevers your little one may experience during their cold. Make sure to follow the package directions or check with your doctor for the proper dosing.⁷

Along with colds, your toddler may also experience several other common childhood illnesses, like the following:⁸

• Ear infections, which can cause pain, fever, irritability, and difficulty sleeping
• Bronchiolitis that can lead to swelling of the airways and excessive mucus, resulting in coughing, fatigue, and trouble breathing
• RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), which causes mild cold-like symptoms in most children but can cause an excessive cough, trouble breathing, and pneumonia in others
• Hand, foot, and mouth disease, which typically causes sores to the mouth, hands, and feet (This can be painful and make it difficult for the child to eat)
• Stomach flu, which causes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea

Your toddler is likely to recover from these illnesses at home. However, some symptoms require immediate medical attention. If your toddler is showing any of the following symptoms, seek medical attention immediately:⁷

• Excessive sleepiness with little to no facial expressions
• Very difficult to console
• Weak or no cry
• Refuses food and drink or only takes a few small sips or bites for more than a day
• Dark yellow urine, no tears, or a dry mouth

Call 9-1-1 if your child experiences the following:

• Extreme trouble breathing
• Abnormal coloring such as gray, blue, or very pale
• Loss of consciousness

Now that your toddler’s weight gain has slowed compared to their first year of life, you may wonder how much they should weigh. They will be weighed next at their 18-month check-up if they’ve been growing normally up until this point. In general, a toddler gains 3 to 5 pounds between 12 and 24 months of age. They’ll also gain around 3 inches in height by their second birthday.⁹

With your toddler wanting to assert their independence, you may wonder how you can engage them in fun activities to help their independence grow. Here are just a few ways you can engage with your toddler:^2,10

• Ask them simple questions and allow them to respond. For example, “What does a dog say?”
• Give them simple choices, such as allowing them to pick between two different snacks during snack time.
• Limit screen time for both your toddler and yourself. (At this age, no screen time is recommended.¹¹)
• Talk to them at eye level.
• Teach them the names of their body parts, such as their nose, eyes, ears, and mouth.
• Roll a ball back and forth with them, or push a toy car back and forth, making noises along with it.
• Read to them and allow them to babble along and turn the pages.
• Blow bubbles for them to pop.
• Give them pretend toys to play with, such as a toy phone or a baby doll.
• Teach them how to say “please” and “thank you.”

Keeping your toddler safe can seem like a full-time job. They’ll explore their surroundings by getting into everything. And I mean everything! They’ll get into things you never thought they’d get into. So, here are a few safety tips to implement in your home to keep your toddler safe:²

• Install window guards on all windows.
• Install gates at the top and bottom of all stairs.
• Install cabinet locks on all lower cabinets and drawers.
• Install toilet seat locks.
• Install outlet covers on all unused outlets.
• Keep all medications and cleaning solutions out of reach.
• Keep all guns and ammunition locked up, and keep guns unloaded.
• Supervise your toddler around all water, including bathtubs, pools, rivers, lakes, streams, and ponds. Stay within arm’s length at all times.
• Use a rear-facing car seat.

With each new childhood stage your little one reaches, various emotions are bound to creep up. One minute, you’re overcome with joy watching your toddler run around, and the next, you may miss when they were a smaller baby. It’s important to remember you’re not alone in experiencing this rollercoaster of emotions. Embrace each new skill your little one is reaching while remembering how far they’ve come!