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| I feel like I've become such a bad blogger. Quick updates are so much easier on facebook. Plus I haven't had much time lately. Life with a toddler means no time to sit down! BB is pretty good at playing by himself, so technically I could blog, but this crazy kid is into everything and trying to reach for things that I once thought was out of his reach (but is now totally within reach). He skipped his afternoon nap today so I was able to put him down earlier today (hence the time to blog)!
He is pretty stable on his feet and walks the majority of the time. He loves carrying his halloween bucket while he's walking around. We switched his shoes to Rileyroos and we love them. They still have the leather sole, but they have rubber pads sewn into the bottom to make them non-slip and to protect his feet a little more when it gets wet. It's the best of both worlds, a soft soled shoe combined with a sneaker. It's sort of like Robeez with 3 rubber pads on the bottom.
He spends most of his time walking in big circles around our living room holding onto one of his stuffed animals. He has grown VERY attached to them. He munches on them and they are damp and they STINK. I feel like we are constantly washing them. Luckily, he doesn't really care which animal he has...as long as they fit the general size and floppiness requirement. So we have a 3 animal rotation. They are pretty sad looking now...so we may have to replace them. He will not sleep without one and when he's distressed, he looks around for them. We introduced them so that if he woke up at night, he wouldn't feel lonely. I think it helped, but now we have to make sure we always have one with us when we go anywhere. Eh, it's okay...there are worse habits to be had! (Plus Mama Bear had a lovey for a REALLY long time when I was younger too and I turned out okay hahaha).
We're starting to really try to sign with him more consistently. He can learn them pretty fast, but he has to be coaxed to use them. Usually he just points/reaches and whines. But when asked, he can sign: more, eat, all done, fish, dog/flower (we do panting and sniffing respectively, which I guess to him sounds the same so he pants for both), bath, up, so big, and he can point to a couple of body parts.
I'm really trying to decipher his babbling. There are a few sounds that he says all the time and I still have no idea what he's saying. So far, we have: mama, baba, ball, bottle (which is also baba) and we think he's trying to say Tyler (he says, "dye der"). He does clearly try to imitate what we say, which is cute, especially when the word is long. Then it's just a bunch of random sounds with 1 correct sound among them. I was saying "refrigerator" and I hear bahehJERmababa.
The terrible two's are getting worse. Sigh. If you even steer him away from something he wants, he'll produce this "EHHHHHHHHHHHH" and collapse to the floor. Then he'll either bounce back and forth in despair, slapping his hands on the ground in front of him, or sometimes he'll stay standing and bounce up and down as he wails. In the beginning I would sort of panic and try to soothe him, but that got old pretty quickly. So now I just make sure he won't somehow smack his head on anything and then I ignore, ignore, ignore. Taking anything out of his hands is an automatic tantrum.
We have sort of taught him to know that we don't want him touching anything. PB took it from Ceasar the dog whisperer...when he makes a sound to distract the dog from doing something bad. I know, it sounds bad that we're training him like a dog, but it works. PB came up with a very annoying, "EH EH" sound that he'll do right when BB starts to do something bad. Usually it'll startle BB enough to look our way and then we'll do the Supernanny kneel to his level and explain why it's bad. Usually we have to combine that with physically removing him from the area. So now, when we say, "eh eh," he'll draw his hand back from whatever he was reaching for....usually (but it's quickly becoming only sometimes!!!)
He is quite a daring little boy. He can go up and down the stairs with no problem. We let him go down the slides by himself at the playground by teaching him to turn around and go feet first on his belly (he still hasn't mastered how to remain upright the entire way down). Yesterday, our sitter told us that he started out feet first on the biggest, spiral slide in the playground and when she ran down to the bottom to meet him, he had turned around and decided to go head first on his belly! (The slides in the playground all have an extended flat section at the bottom, so there's no way he can fall on the ground). When we push him on the swing, he always wants to go higher. We push him pretty high and he loves it. (Always a tantrum now when we take him out). Same with being thrown in the air. The boy is nuts. He isn't afraid of any animal despite not having any in the house. He will pet any dog or cat he sees no matter how big. I'm trying to convince PB to get a small dog, but he's not a pet lover. Boooo!
Mealtimes have become a nightmare. He HATES the highchair now and will not sit in it. So we put him in the Summer Stage infant seat (now turned booster) and it's a little better, but EVERYTHING is thrown on the floor and he won't let you feed him yourself. The only time he eats well is if he's up and walking around and you kind of feed him as he plays. We didn't want to make that a habit, so we force him to sit in the booster seat and it's like an hour long production each meal...usually with a lot of crying and tantrums. You literally have to entertain him the entire time for him to eat anything. A little bait and switch is usually needed, but he's catching on now and will look carefully at what's coming his way. If it's not something he likes, he clamps his mouth shut.
On the flip side, he loves bathtime and will even tolerate having his hair washed. We just run the shower over his head and he sort of gasps and rubs his eyes and no crying! We set up a suction bball hoop in our tub that he just loves. It fixed the whole standing up thing since he's too busy slam dunking the balls. Usually there is a tantrum when we take him out. He loves playing with his um...privates during the bath hahahaha.
We have him on soy milk with a tiny bit of formula right now. He didn't do well with whole and 2% milk because he would get really really constipated and then get a few days of diarrhea afterwards. He seems to be doing okay with soy, but didn't really like the flavor right away, so we mixed it with formula and we're slowly taking the formula away. He should be all soy by Friday. We're going to try to see if maybe 1% milk may work better with him. He's still on 3 bottles since we didn't want to introduce the soy and take away the bottles at the same time. Once he's okay for a few days on all soy, we'll start switching to sippy cups for his milk in addition to the water sippy he already gets.
I can't believe how old he is now! He definitely has his own personality now and is so so stubborn and headstrong. His stranger anxiety is slowly starting to get a tiny bit better, but he needs some time to warm up first. He has to watch from a distance before making up his mind!
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| We're finally starting to drop BB's bottles. I've been meaning to do it, but never got around to it. We decided to drop his bedtime one first because he never really drank much (less than 2 oz...sometimes just a couple of sips) and it was mostly a comfort thing. So I replaced it with some cuddle time. We usually give him a bath right after dinner, which ends up being right before bed. He loves bath time, so I literally have to drag him out of the tub and he's all riled up from all the fun he had. Plus, getting him lotioned up an dressed is like play time for him too. I can't put him right into the crib from that point...he needs to be calmed down a little.
Previously, it was the bottle that did that. But now, I sit him on my lap facing me and let him cuddle with me and his teddy bear with the lights out and his sound machine on. I sing to him and pat him on the back until I notice that he is getting drowsy...and then I transfer him to the crib while he's drowsy and tuck him in. He usually falls to sleep in a few minutes by himself without any crying.
Is this okay to do? I feel like in some ways I'm messing up the sleep training because he'll get used to the cuddling...but as long as I don't let him fall asleep while cuddling, it should be okay right? I would love to be able to do something like read him a story, but that too is taken as play time and gets him all excited.
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| We're back from his 12 month pedi visit. He weighed in at 20 lbs, 11 oz (17%ile)...he only gained 1 lb in the past 3 months!!! And he's 31" (82%ile)...1.5 inches taller than 3 months ago. We were somewhat concerned that his weight has been nosediving since his 6 month visit...but the pedi said he was okay. She said he eats more than enough and is growing taller, so she wasn't concerned. He doesn't seem skinny when I look at him though...his thighs and calves are still massive, although he's pretty lean in the torso area (built just like mama)!
He got 4 shots today: MMR, varicella, flu shot and the hep A. They want us back next month for a second flu shot. I don't actually feel like he needs 2 shots. At work, we only do 2 shots if the first one was done under a year of age. I don't know if they're going to start giving out the H1N1 vaccine either...I should've asked, but forgot. Normally I wouldn't if it weren't necessary, but because they put a lot of the H1N1 patients on PB's floor, he has a lot of exposure to it. He screamed through all 4 shots, but stopped as soon as the nurse left. It took two of us to restrain him.
We had a little bit of issues with whole milk. BB got really constipated for a few days and then had a weeks worth of diarrhea. We're not sure if it was too much for him or not. PB and I can tolerate 1% milk and milk products, but will be in the bathroom within minutes of drinking whole milk. So we're going to try 2% and see if that helps. We were hoping he would be able to take whole milk so that he could pack on a little weight.
He can walk across the room by himself easily now, but he won't do it unless we coax him. Sometimes he'll take the initiative and walk by himself to a toy, but he usually just crawls. How long will it be until he's walking all the time?
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| I never got around to this, but I wanted to post BB's monthly pics from the first year to see how he's grown. I don't have his 1 year stats yet because our pedi appt isn't until the end of the month, but he's approximately 30.5 inches, 21 pounds now. He started off at 21.5 inches, 7 pounds 9 oz...I find it so amazing that babies grow so fast the first year (and without stretch marks!)
The past year has truly been the hardest, yet most rewarding year of my life. I was a 10-14 hour a night sleeper before BB. I would regularly sleep past noon on my days off. That all ended with BB and I am not sure how I made it those first few months with basically no sleep, but I did.
Looking back, I think BB had colic the first few months because he would cry hysterically from 4 PM until 8 PM every single night. Nothing would soothe him, so I would just sit in bed and hold him for those several hours every night. Right before 4 PM, I would go into the bedroom and set up my pillows in preparation for the next few hours. The rest of the day, he would be fine. I thought colicky babies cried the entire day, so I thought it was just his witching hours.
Those hours were tough especially since PB went back to work after 2 weeks and we didn't have anyone we knew around us (my mom stayed with us for 3 weeks but after that, it was just us). As a nurse, PB worked three 12 hour shifts a week...which in actuality were more like 14 - 15 hour shifts plus a 1.5 hour commute (round trip). So on the days he worked, he was basically gone all day and needed his sleep at night. On top of that, he works the overnight shift 2 weeks out of every month, so half the month, he would be gone at night and would sleep the next day....so I had night duty AND day duty myself pretty much every day except for those few days when PB had 2 days off in a row. So basically I didn't sleep...ever. Not even when I went back to work because at that point, BB had slept through the night for a few weeks and then went through 4 months of getting up every 2 hours before sleeping through the night again. So those 4 months, I didn't sleep at night, then had to go to work, and then come home and take care of BB. I felt like a zombie.
After BB started sleeping at night, it was a little better. It's still hard taking care of him alone on those days, but I don't have any other choice! I actually have come to enjoy that time alone with him and that's when we go for our walks and go to the playground together. I do wish we had more days together as a family, since our days together are spent food shopping and running errands. But we love that BB is home with either one of us for the majority of the week...so it's sort of like having a stay at home parent (with a play date type sitter situation once a week, sometimes twice).
Breastfeeding was a whole other headache, but I'm glad I managed to do it at all (and have extra in the freezer). There was so much that I learned from the struggle that hopefully with #2, it'll turn out better. With #2, I'll be sure to wash and sterilize my bottles BEFORE I have the baby. I was so sure that BF'ing would be a breeze that I didn't even think I would need the bottles until I went back to work!
I've learned to not stress out about milestones (as much). With BB being a late roller and crawler, I realized that he would eventually do it when he felt like it. Plus now, I sometimes wish I could leave him in one spot and find him still there when I return 5 minutes later! With him walking now, it's a nightmare!
I've learned that any DIY home construction projects are out the window when there's a baby around. For any of you who managed that, let me know your secret! We have done ZERO home projects even though we planned on doing everything ourselves! I do plan on doing the garden because landscapers are so expensive...but so far all I've done is plant 2 rhododendrons in the front yard. haha!
I can't wait to see what this next year will bring!
At birth:
1 month
2 months:
3 months:
4 months:
5 months:
6 months:
7 months:
8 months:
9 months:
10 months:
11 months:
12 months!
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| My baby is no longer a baby...he's a big 1 year old! No time to post right now...we're having family over this weekend for his birthday, so we're trying to get a bunch of stuff done and get the house cleaned up. We're not doing anything big...just going to a nearby farm to go apple picking.
I'll finish this post later, but just to remind myself:
Please Touch Museum
We took BB to the Please Touch Museum the day before his birthday. Every first Wednesday of the month is $2 admission from 5-7 PM, so we took advantage of that and checked it out. He was still too young for most of the exhibits and he mostly just watched the older kids run around. But it was a really really great place and I can totally see myself going there on rainy or snowy days a few months later (only 15 minutes away!). The only things he could really do were the sections specifically for kids under 3, the water exhibit (but we had to hold him up the entire time) and the shopping cart. He loved playing with the cash registers and this girl pulled her cart up and just stood there waiting for BB to ring her up. So he (meaning I) did...it was really cute.
Walking
BB's been taking a 5-6 unassisted steps here and there for the past few weeks, but yesterday, he finally just took a stroll across the entire living room without falling. He did it a number of times....until we whipped out the camcorder and then he started falling all over the place. Stage fright I guess! The weird thing is that he never stood by himself prior to walking. I always read that the natural progression would be that they first learned to stand by themselves and then they would walk. He never did that...even when we stood him up first, he only sometimes would stand by himself for a short period. Oh well. So right now, he needs to pull up on something first, turn himself around and then walk.
Haircut - attempt #2
We took BB to another kiddie hair cutter place to see if they would do a better job. They were REALLY fantastic. They put BB in a little car and put on sesame street on his own private TV. He did start to fuss and cry during the cutting, so they gave him a balloon to play with and we left with a decent haircut! woohoo!!
Feeding Mama
He now plays this game during meals where he holds out a piece of food and wants me to move in so that he can put it in my mouth. Sometimes he'll fake it and touch my lips with it and then eat it himself...but he will put the stuff that he does NOT want to eat (broccoli) into my mouth...and then fake it with the stuff he actually wants to eat.
"Talking"
He is so vocal now...no real words except mama, baba, ball, cool and sometimes ooooh (which sounds like cool without the "c"). We're not sure if it's actually what he's saying, but it sounds like it and is for the most part used in the right context. Although, now he's always saying "ball" so I'm not sure he actually knows what it is. But he has very expressive babble...it sounds like real talking with inflections and everything....except we have no clue what he's saying.
No Cry Bedtime
BB is fantastic at going to bed by himself at night now. We just put him down after our bedtime routine and he tosses and turns for a few minutes and goes to sleep without a peep. Naps are a completely different story. He will cry 20+ minutes during naps even though he's exhausted. The only times when he won't cry is if he's in the car or in a carrier. But his naps have gotten much better. No more 1\2 hour naps!
PB's family and my family are coming down tomorrow to celebrate BB's birthday with an apple picking day at Linvilla Orchards nearby. It should be a great time. I'll put up all the pics/videos after that, but for now, here's my favorite pic from the Please Touch Museum . Mr King of Hearts having a tea party with the characters from Alice in Wonderland (he kept waving at the Mad Hatter hahaha)
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