13-Month-Old Baby: Milestones & Development

At 13 months old, your baby has cruised past the one-year mark and is well into toddlerhood. Doesn’t time fly?! The milestones and development of your 13-month-old baby might look very different from the other babies in your friend group or daycare class, but try not to worry about what your toddler is or isn’t doing.

Every little peanut learns at their own pace.

Although you might notice a slow down in their physical growth, their brain is working at supersonic speed, so get ready to be impressed by new skills on a regular basis.

Here’s a guide to the milestones and development of a 13-month-old that you can look out for.

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13-month-old baby milestones

So, what should my 13-month-old be doing?

The range of milestones for toddlers is broad, so try not to focus on exactly what your baby can or can’t do, and don’t sweat the small stuff.

Here are some 13-month-old milestones you might notice over the next few weeks…

Talking the talk

By now, you might be wondering what should a 13-month-old be able to say? Well, they have probably got one or two words nailed, like “mama” and “dada.” But in all likelihood, they spend most of the day babbling their own language. They’re learning word sounds by listening to you, so keep talking to them about what you’re doing, and point out words like colors and body parts during activities.

Walking the walk

Living up to the name, your toddler may well be toddling around quite happily now. Or they might not — and that’s normal, too. If your 13-month-old isn’t walking by themselves just yet, they might be cruising along furniture or taking some tentative steps with you supporting them, which is great progress toward walking! Keep giving them plenty of time to practice and lots of encouragement.

Monkey see monkey do

Yep, your 13-month-old is delighting in the art of imitation and repetition. They love to mirror any simple movements you show them, like clapping, touching their nose, putting a ball into a container, or banging blocks together. They might even show off some recognizable dance moves when you sing them a familiar song.

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13-month-old development

13-month development is a complicated beast, and you might be getting your first tastes of your toddler asserting their independence. Yikes!

• Tantrums galore. Uh oh, you thought you had more time before the terrible-twos arrived, but suddenly your toddler thinks they’re the boss?! It’s pretty normal for your little one to start pushing the boundaries around now, so you might get some tears and tantrums as they learn how to express themselves.
• Cause & effect. Your 13-month-old baby is loving dropping, throwing, banging, and rolling everything in sight. While this is great news if you’ve got some cool balls or drum toys to play with (or just some pots and pans out of the kitchen), it can be kinda irritating when it’s their sippy cup being thrown for the millionth time this meal… We hear you!
• They know what they want! While your baby might not be able to use words to tell you exactly what they want, they’re probably using physical cues like pointing to show you what book or snack they want, or tugging at you to get your attention.

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13-month-old baby food

What to feed a 13-month-old baby

Your 13 month old’s appetite will probably differ from one day to the next, since they’re developing their preferences for what and when they eat.

They might take a liking to feeding themselves, too, so offering them the chance to use their own spoon or fork is great for their hand-eye coordination and autonomy.

Generally speaking, 13-month-old babies will eat 3 meals and 2 snacks per day, requiring about 40 calories for every inch of their height to keep them fuelled up.

Bearing in mind the average height for 13-month-olds is around 30 inches, this comes to about 1200 calories per day across all meals, snacks, and milk.

But in reality, it might be difficult to track your toddler’s intake exactly, what with all the throwing and playing they’re doing with their food these days. Instead, aim for their portions to be about a quarter of an adult size portion.

Feeding toddlers can be a tense experience — with their appetite and favorite foods seeming to change on the daily — but try not to stress over each meal. If you’re offering ample portions of nutrient-dense, healthy foods at each opportunity, rest assured they will get a good variety over the course of a couple of days.

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How much milk should a 13-month-old drink?

This will depend on various factors like other sources of calcium in their diet, and whether or not you are also breastfeeding.

If you have moved your toddler from formula to cow’s milk, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends they drink 2-3 cups of milk per day, along with any solid foods and as much water as they’d like.

If you’re breastfeeding, it’s absolutely fine to continue to do so, or you can start the weaning process if you’d like.

Everyone’s weaning journey will be different, but many mamas start by taking away one feed per day over several days or weeks, before moving on to remove another feed. Often, the bedtime feed will be the last to stop.

What else is going on at 13 months?

Physically, your toddler might start looking leaner as they use more energy shuffling, crawling, or walking about.

And there’s something else making them look more grown-up, too — teeth!

How many teeth should a 13-month-old have? The answer is around 8! It’s likely they’ll have all their incisors by now and will probably be working on their molars — but, as ever, this is only a guide.

So stay strong, mama, the dribble, biting, rosy cheeks and general teething crankiness probably isn’t going away any time soon, but those toothy toddler grins are so worth it, right?!

🤰 Read next: 14-Month-Old Baby: Milestones & Development