One and a Half

Uneasy walking on lumpy spring grass

At 18 mo. I noted that Katie was no longer using some of the words I thought I had heard her saying before.  She only had about a dozen words she used regularly.  She did finally learn and use 5 of the baby signs, but only when prompted.  As the weather warmed I noticed that she was afraid to walk in the soft sand at the park and in lumpy grass, she would just freeze and scream for help. 

Not unlike other toddlers, she did not handle the word "no" well, she became "pissed off" at the drop of a hat and took over 20+ minutes to be settled down.  She would scream herself silly, thrash around and throw things.  I knew all the right things parents are supposed to do with toddlers, limit setting, distraction, time outs, and above all consistency. I wanted to be able to teach time outs for unacceptable behavior, but the only safe place to enforce them was in her crib, and I didn't want her bed associated with punishment. So then what?  My precious, perfect Melanie had never done anything like this.  What on earth was going on?