One Year Old!

Lewis is a year old today!

Yesterday I looked at the clock a few times and remembered when I felt the first contraction (finally) and then later when the epidural came (finally). Then this morning, Lewis ALMOST woke me up at his exact arrival time (he woke up at 5:37am, so he was a little late from his 4:55am birth time). [And thankfully he didn't stay up for long this morning--he fell back asleep until 8ish.] After Lewis was born, Kevin wrote up our birth story here if you're interested in reading or rereading it.

One Year Old

Height: 31 3/4 inches (98th percentile)

Weight: 24.8 pounds (90th percentile)

Head Size: 19 inches (95th percentile)


We went to the doctor this morning, and they said everything looks great! He did look 'slightly viral' on his bloodwork (his white blood cell count was just a little high), which the doctor said she isn't concerned with--she said that it might mean he is in the beginning stages of having caught something, but she said it could also turn out to be nothing. 


He received two vaccinations and had to get a finger prick (for a routine blood test and to test for lead) and they also taped a bag to his nether regions to catch a urine sample while we were waiting. So he got rather poked and prodded this time around, but he was a trooper. He did get fussy towards the end as we were waiting because it was nap time, but Kevin saved the day by finding a toy buried in the diaper bag. 

What he's doing this month:

• He has started kissing! Rather, he'll hold his mouth open and will let me kiss him. Sometimes he sticks out his tongue. Once he burped (after meat+vegetables for dinner) in my face, at which I thought I might puke, but otherwise it has been very sweet.
• He started trilling the 'R' sound over the weekend. And my mom noticed he's making another funny noise from the back of his throat, like a sound a zombie might make (that's all I can think to compare it to). He'll look at us like he WANTS to say something, but nothing comes out yet. We think we've heard him repeat No-No-No (which is what I sometimes shout at him like when he is making a beeline to the dogs' water bowl) and even Hattie Dog (which I'm sure he didn't really say), but we keep hearing things that sound like words. Still, he mostly sticks with Da-Da-Da (Dada) and Duh-Duh-Duh (Dog).
• He is doing better on the changing table (fusses sometimes, but hasn't been trying to flip over/sit up as much), but now he is a bit of a nightmare when having his teeth brushed. He seems to be getting a little better about it the past few days.
• He really likes to push big things around the room like his activity table, my big plastic storage box of fabrics, the wicker storage cubes, chairs, etc.
• He has started climbing! We've had to rearrange the furniture to keep him from climbing through the cut-out wall in between our living room and dining room. We've also had to take the top off of his train table because he became obsessed with climbing on top of it (and really didn't seem to be too fearful of falling off). It made me really nervous with him being able to climb up there so quickly, so I decided to take the top off so the basement could be safer (for him) and more relaxing (for me). Also, the other day (I've since posted videos), he latched his claws (toes) into the baby gate and took a few upward steps before Kevin brought him back down to Earth. Wild man! He is also just a smidge away from being able to hoist himself onto the couch, ottoman, etc. It won't be long. :)
• He is still nursing 4 times a day. Now that he's a year, he can start to have cow's milk, so that is on my 'to do' list of things to read up on.
• As for solids, I feel like we've kind of reached the end of the road for now as far as 'new' foods go (unless we went into the more obscure fruits/vegetables). For now we're going to start working in more table food/more of what we eat (while still making sure he gets the recommended amount of each of the food groups since Kevin and I don't eat enough fruit/vegetables ourselves).
• Also, his appetite seems to have picked up this month. I used to give him half of a small container of steamed vegetable chunks, but now he eats an entire one (at lunch and again at dinner). That means we are going through his frozen stash twice as fast, which means I'm having to steam up vegetables twice as often, which is fine--I have made cubing carrots, sweet potatoes, and parsnips into a little game. I try to find the most efficient way to cut the most perfectly cubed pieces. Aaaand I'm a loser. :)
• Also now that he is a year, he can have things in the crib with him, so I gave him a lovey (a soft, small blanket) last week to sleep with to see how that would go. When we go in to get him in the morning or after a nap, he usually has it in his hand, so I guess he likes it! He did drop it/throw it out of his crib before nap the other day, so I snuck in and tossed it back in to see if he'd settle into his nap better (and he did). Update: We're noticing that he fusses/cries when he throws it out of the crib, so it could actually be doing more harm than good. I'll give it a few more days, and I might take it away for now and try again later.
• Speaking of sleep, naps have been better the past few weeks. After getting pretty out of sync there for a few weeks, he seems to be in a good groove now. He's napping for about an hour and a half in the morning and about an hour in the afternoon.
• Current Tooth Count: 8 (4 top, 4 bottom)

So that is Lewis at ONE YEAR!!!