Lenore at 11 Months

11 Months Old
(The best I could get because she was squirrely and the camera was acting up...)

Her stats this month (percentiles from BabyCenter):
Height: 30 inches [between 75th and 90th percentiles]
Weight: 23 pounds [between 75th and 90th percentiles]
Head Size: 19 inches [above 95th percentile]

What she's doing this month:

• She is walking (if a few steps at a time can be considered walking)! Only a few times a day and not great distances, but she is figuring it out. Her first steps were just this past Friday, September 25. 
• Lewis took a few steps December 7 and 15, which was right before/at 10 months, so he was a little ahead of her.
• She is sleeping better, overall. She takes two naps a day, usually around an hour and a half each. She is usually sleeping all night for me (around 11 hours), but there have still been a few nights with middle-of-the-night feedings.
• She nurses every 3-4 hours during the day, but I feel my supply starting to wane as she eats more solids. At bedtime, especially, she was having a hard time falling asleep after 'just' nursing, so I decided to make a 4 oz. bottle of formula a regular thing at bedtime after she nurses. There was one night she refused me, which was a pretty strange feeling (Lewis never refused me, ever), but that has only happened once. 
• Related to that, she does the sweetest thing after her bottle. Well, before her bottle, too. Once she's done nursing, she sits up and peeks over the side of the recliner to see if it's sitting down on the floor. I learned quickly that I needed to keep it out of sight because she gets so excited about it. So AFTER she's done with her bottle, I stand up and sway with her on my shoulder and burp her. She has started giving me the sweetest pats on my back as I pat her on her back. And she rubs my back in big circles like I rub hers to help her burp. She's going to be a good mommy one day. :)
• On that note, she so sweetly and quickly learned how to wave. We were sitting at the table one day, and I waved to her and said, 'Hi!' She laughed at me, and then she figured out how to say 'Hiiiiiii!' in the sweetest Southern accent, using every muscle in her little mouth, and she practically whacked herself in face, waving excitedly.
• She isn't saying much else new since last month. Just Hiiiii, Bye-bye, Bubba, and sparingly, Mama. She did notice a dog at the playground the other day and was saying something, like she was trying to say Dog, but it didn't sound like Dog just yet.
• She is still an eating machine! She has had a few meals where she's eaten more than Lewis has (granted, Lew eats like a bird at times). She still hasn't refused a food we've put in front of her, for now (I know that can/will change!). The pediatrician said (at her 9 month appointment, I forget if I've already said this...) we could try peanut butter since we don't have a family history of a peanut allergy, so she's had PB&J a few times with Lewis. She prefers to feed herself by hand, but she will accept food on a spoon, of course. I forget when they start feeding themselves by spoon, but she has shown no interest in it for now.
• She's getting into books. Kevin said she'll scream if he stops reading to her in the bath. [My sweet baby girl, scream? Never. ;)] I don't read to her yet as part of her bedtime routine, but I might start trying to see how she does. She likes the Touch and Feel books, which we have quite a few of from when Lewis was little.
• She is still a happy girl most of the time--if she's NOT happy, it's from the time she wakes up from her afternoon nap until bedtime. On those days, she will melt down unless I'm holding her on my hip, so there have been some nights when I'm making dinner one-handed. Overall, though, she is sweet.
• We haven't had any teeth for a while, so I feel like we're in for it soon!
• Current Tooth Count: still 6
• She is wearing size 12 months, but I'm noticing some things are getting snug. I think I've finally gone through and sorted all of Juniper's clothes that have been handed down. We won't need to buy anything for a few years! :)

A few outtakes from this morning:

We had a crazier-than-usual morning because it is Picture Day at school and it's pouring down rain. Lenore is only there Thursdays, so I took her in this morning with Lewis to try to get their pictures taken together. We'll see how they turn out--neither one of them were giving up many smiles for the photographer, but maybe we'll get lucky. :)

Lenore at 9 Months

9 Months Old

The best I could get this morning. There was another, probably better, session before this, but I didn't realize the memory card wasn't in the camera. I can't find the cable to pull the pictures from the camera memory to the computer, so this will have to do.

Her stats (percentiles from BabyCenter):
Height: 29 inches [between 75th and 90th percentiles]
Weight: 21 pounds [between 75th and 90th percentiles]
Head Size: 18.5 inches [above 95th percentile]

What she's doing this month:

• She is a wild woman, on the move! She takes off crawling with a vengeance--she puts her head down and clip-clops as fast as she can across the floor. Sometimes she crawls on one knee and with one foot (maybe it's faster?), but she's usually barreling around on all fours.
• She is also still mildly obsessed with climbing the stairs. I've been barricading them, but every once in a while, I'll catch her on the 2nd or 3rd step. (There have been a few times where I've been on the phone or distracted for 30 seconds, and I've found her up in Lewis' room. Hence the barricades now. I tried to install a gate, but the &%*# wall and banister don't line up, so I don't exactly know what to rig up at the bottom of the stairs.) 
• Once she realizes she's been caught on the stairs, she tries to scurry up even faster to get away from me. I have heard that she got red-faced and kicked and fussed at Grandma Sharon when she took her off the stairs at their house--I haven't seen that yet, myself, but I don't doubt it.
• She is starting to cruise. She will move along the coffee table a little bit and will reach out and move from couch to coffee table and vice versa. Sometimes she will let go with one hand while standing, when she's feeling extra brave.
• She eats like a beast. She's nursing every 3-4 hours, and then eating all three meals with us. Some days, she'll eat an entire container of yogurt and a piece of toast for breakfast (sometimes only half a container), some fruit and cheese for lunch, and usually a vegetable and some of what we're having for dinner (or cereal). We still spoon feed her yogurt, cottage cheese, cereal, etc., but she very much wants to feed herself the finger foods. Sometimes at dinner, she'll lay her head to the side and just shovel the food in her mouth. She is a big fan of meat--chicken is her favorite, plus turkey, ham, and hamburger, so far.
• If you are eating something that she wants (which is pretty much anytime I am eating), she will let you know it with an 'Mmmmmm!!!' sound (add grunting sound for the full effect).
• She hasn't turned away a food that I can think of (she didn't like apricots at first, but now she does). She will hopefully be a good influence on Lewis.
• Sleep is so close to being great, but not quite. She did sleep through the night a few times recently (like 8pm-7:15am), but 4:30-5am is her usual wake-up time. I go in and feed her, and she'll sleep until 7:30-8am, so I can't complain. She is having trouble falling asleep some nights (25% of the time), so that's been frustrating. I think it's probably teething-related, so I've been trying to be patient (teething is horrible, in case anyone has forgotten).
• She is napping twice a day, same as last month, really. Sometimes only for 45 minutes to an hour, sometimes much longer (around 3 hours).
• She isn't talking, of course, but she's starting to babble. I hear 'Buh' sometimes (like Bubba or Brother??) and 'Ma' (Mama??). And of course, Mmmmm!!
• She is recently interested in doors. We went to open gym the other day, and there was one of those big cubes with different activities on the top/sides. She sat and opened/closed the little doors forever. At home, she likes to close doors if they are open.
• She has also started pointing with her index finger. Not at what she needs/wants, but just in the air. Like, 'By George, I have a great idea!' I think I remember that being a developmental thing, along with picking up food and feeding herself.
• She and Lewis are playing together more and more. She's pretty happy to play with cars and trains or whatever is lying around, though she has taken to her baby doll that my mom got her, too.
• She is wearing 12 month clothes.
• Current Tooth Count: 4, and working on more.

Preschool starts back in a few weeks, and Lewis will be going 4 mornings/week. This year they are offering a Parents' Day Out, so Lenore will be going 1 morning/week, as well. 

A brief house update--we have had quite a series of unfortunate events this month. We had torrential rains and flash floods on two occasions (two nights apart), which flooded our finished side of the basement. We've had to move everything from that side to the unfinished side, in case it floods again, and we had to have the (new) carpet and pad removed so that we could dry everything out and keep it from getting in the walls and baseboards. Before we restore it back to a finished condition, we are working to resolve the bigger issues of why it floods. Through that process, we have discovered foundation issues that (we believe) were covered up by the seller, so now we are preparing to enter into mediation to try to get some of those expenses covered. Once we get through that, we can hopefully put our house back together.

There have been a few other issues, as well--chimney/fireplaces leaking, new front door warping, infested/dead ash tree that had to be taken down, driveway drainage issues (which we already planned to address), a new water stain on our bedroom ceiling (we are getting a new roof and gutters next week), etc. The joys of homeownership!

We are very much looking forward to a tropical beach vacation with lots of pina coladas and no stress!!

Lenore at 5 Months

5 Months Old

aka The Month When Everything Goes in Her Mouth

Her stats (percentiles from BabyCenter):
Height: 26.5 inches (75th to 90th percentile)
Weight: Unknown (because I sent the scale to the storage unit--oops!)
Head Size: 17.25 inches (90th to 95th percentile)

This month went by so quickly! It seems like we were JUST at the doctor for her 4-month check-up. We've been really busy--the house is almost on the market (pictures were taken Friday, so we're just waiting for them to be edited and for the realtor to post them--should be just a matter of days!!!). I also have been busy helping with Lewis's big school fundraiser, which was Friday night--I volunteered on the committee and helped with the silent auction, so that's taken a bit of time the past week or two.

What she's doing this month:

• She is rolling over like a fool. As soon as you put her down on her back, she automatically flips to her belly. She now will flip both directions (left and right) and from back-to-belly and belly-to-back. She sleeps on her belly, happily now (thank goodness).
• She is slowly mobilizing!!! The past few weeks, she has started getting up on her knees with the little booty in the air, and she'll make either small scoots backwards or spin around. It's not significant movement, but it's movement! When I put her in her crib in, say, the lower right corner, I'll find her in the upper left corner (that is forward movement, I guess).
• She is napping in her crib now (unless we have errands--in that case, she falls asleep in her car seat and naps through Target or Kroger). :) We have fallen into a pretty good routine--she naps 3 times a day for 45 minutes to an hour. Occasionally, she will surprise me with a 2 hour nap in the afternoon, but that's only happened a few times. I'm trying to be better with her than I was with Lewis about putting her down awake so that she can learn to fall asleep on her own (vs. nursing her to sleep). She is getting so much better each day, fussing less and sleeping better. Occasionally I'll put her down and can just tell by her cry that it's not going to happen, so I'll feed her to help calm her down. 
• Speaking of feeding, nursing continues to go well (hallelujah!). At her 4-month appointment, the doctor said I can start introducing solids. I didn't start Lewis until 6 months, so I'm in no hurry. I did try rice cereal one day a few weeks ago, but it was a logistical nightmare for me--trying to pump fresh milk to mix with the cereal, while eating lunch with Lewis, while holding Lenore, was not ideal. :) She definitely watches us as we eat, which was one of the things the doctor said to watch for (she grabs for things and watches every bite as it goes from plate-to-mouth). At this point, I kind of feel like I'll get around to it, eventually. I've got the house stuff to worry about, so I'm kind of considering it as one less thing to have to do right now. Now that the fundraiser is over, I might focus more energy towards it--we'll see!
• Since the whole rolling over thing began, sleep regressed. She goes to sleep around 7:30pm, just like Lewis (Kevin puts Lewis to bed, and I put Lenore to bed). I was waking up 2 times a night most of this month (usually like 12:30am and 3:30am and 7ish for the day). Just the last few nights now, we've gone back to 1 time a night--around 2 or 3am, and then 6:45-7am.
• Just last night, she made it 7:30pm-5:30am! (And then slept until almost 9am.) I'm sure it was a fluke, but amazing, nevertheless. 
• She has very vocal days--she will just blab on and on, right in your face, like she has something really important to say. I always agree with her, whatever it is she is saying. :) I definitely don't remember Lewis 'talking' this much.
• She's still very drooly and loves to gnaw on our fingers, but she shows no sign of teeth just yet. She's been this way for at least a month because I remember her gnawing on the doctor's thumb at her 4-month appointment. For the drool,  I finally bought some waterproof bibs to wear so that her shirts stay somewhat dry.
• She is also semi-sucking her thumb/gnawing on it and/or her fingers. She is a slobbery mess, most of the time. :)
• She seems to love being outside, which I, of course, love. With the house prep stuff, there's been some yard work that needed to be done, so I've laid out a blanket in the grass for her, and she'll stay there pretty happily for 30-45 minutes. With her being a little bit mobile, though, I did catch her trying to put grass and/or leaves in her mouth a few times. :)
• She loves her brother! They continue to have more interactive time together, and they both seem to love it. Sometimes, she'll be in the Jumperoo, and he'll figure out ways to make her cackle. Sometimes he wants to hold her, and she ends up trying to eat his face or his hands (nothing says 'I love you' more than that). :)
• She loves Kevin, too. Her face just lights up when he gets home from work. :)
• She does sometimes have some fussy times between 4pm-bedtime, depending on how her afternoon nap goes. I've seen some improvement the past few weeks, but this was definitely a thing earlier this month. There were quite a few days of me cooking dinner with her in the Ergo because she wouldn't let me put her down, otherwise. Cooking dinner, fussy Lewis, barking dogs, etc. at the end of the day makes for some stressful situations for ol' Mama. It seems to be improving, though. 
• There was a day this week when her nap attempt was interrupted by the realtor coming over (and subsequently, barking dogs), so afterwards, I put her in the Ergo, and we mowed the yard together. She totally fell asleep about 10 minutes into it, and happily slept throughout the rest of the mowing. :)
• She is wearing some 6 month clothes, if they're separates. In one-pieces/sleepers, she is mostly wearing 9 months. Her 6 month sleepers are too snug, and some of her 6 month pants (depending on the brand and style), have been retired. Some of the pants' waistbands were super tight (damn you, impractical baby clothes' designers!!).

And some more pictures from this morning, just for fun:

 My sweet babies :)

 Lenore says, 'I will eat you, doggie!'

 Both kids, watching our doggies being escorted from the room (it was an exciting morning of picture-taking, let me tell you). :)

 

 

 Why not stand for a bit?

 And not sit still for longer than 5 seconds...

:)

Oh, Is THAT What You Had in Mind? (An Update on Solids)

I really appreciate the input and tips from everyone about solids! It's comforting to know that I'm in good company and that this is just one of the many phases we'll go through in the great adventure of parenthood. I'm trying to just go with it.

As for yogurt, we have been able to give him 2-3 bites from our spoon (an improvement from last week), and then he decides he's done (throws up his hands/lashes away from the spoon). I've tried handing him an empty spoon, but he doesn't seem interested (puts it down). I've tried putting some yogurt on the spoon for him (usually with the spoon in his hand, and I guide his hand and the spoon as we scoop a little yogurt from the bowl together) with about a 30% spoon-to-mouth success rate (he usually turns it upside down on the way to his mouth and loses most of the spoonful). It seems like all he wants is the bowl. In his hands. Yogurt all over the place. Bowl smashed on his face. Licking the bowl. Biting the bowl. Rubbing yogurt everywhere. A total mess.

 

 

Do I have something on my face?

 

So it's definitely not the taste of the yogurt! He actually seems to love it.

He also figured out how to dip his Cheerios and grapes in the yogurt this morning, too--I was just going to video him making a mess, but he surprised me with a little dipping action. You can see a little face-in-bowl action, as well. :)

I went to Target today (and I will add here again how much I HATE the carts at our Target--they are the poorest possible cart design ever developed and they make me so angry). It was a rough trip. Anyway, while we were there, I found a spoon like the one below that you fill with food and then squeeze out onto the spoon. The thought is that we can just hand it to him and he can squeeze it out, eliminating the need for a bowl (for now). He's been doing well with the fruit/vegetable puree squeeze pouches the last few weeks, so we thought we'd give this spoon a try.

If it doesn't work, I also have suction cup-bottomed bowls I can try (but I have heard/have experienced myself that the suction doesn't always hold up to strong toddler grasps).

As you people suggested, I can also look for thicker yogurt that he can eat with his hands, and/or I can make the frozen yogurt drops that he can pick up and eat.

If nothing works, we might just be starting our days out with a yogurt facial every morning. :) And that is okay.

A Food (and Drink) Revolution Is In Order

Those who know me well know that I am a person who likes to be in control. I appreciate certain societal norms (How to Be a Person a la Liz Lemon if you watch 30 Rock--I tried to find a video clip but couldn't...I think it was the first episode back from the winter break, episode 608). I also appreciate moderation, not an extreme one way or the other (in everything--driving, walking, eating, religion, politics, etc.). I could probably write out procedures on the way I go about my daily life. I appreciate consistency, knowing what to expect, etc. (with the occasional spontaneous moment thrown in from time to time to keep things exciting). 


In motherhood, that translates into finding what works and then molding it to make it happen as efficiently as possible (and doing pretty much the same thing over and over again). For me, I planned out Lewis' meals to include 1/4 c. of this and 1/2 c. of that to ensure that he got the daily recommended amounts of each of the food groups. That was working very well for us. Lewis ate like a champ. I (We) felt good about Lewis having a varied, balanced diet. Life was good.


Knowing all of this, what a shock it has been this past week for Lewis to reject 80% of the 'normal' food that we've been giving him for months now. My thoughts have been something like, "Well, shit, what is he going to eat now?" Like no other food exists. Like it's the end of the world as we know it. Somewhat of a panic. Major frustration. Like OMG, he'll only eat Goldfish and Twinkies from now through eternity. (Not that he's ever experienced a Twinkie.)


I should also note that I accept change about as quickly as the Grand Canyon changes (first thing I could think of that changes very slowly). :) Aaaand, geology rocks. :) 


Anyway, we are in for a food revolution here at our house. It seems as though he is very anti-anything-on-a-spoon as well as very anti-vegetable. He had been happily eating a Cereal/Fruit/Yogurt puree (by spoon) at breakfast, cottage cheese (by spoon) at lunch, and a Cereal/Veggie/Meat puree (by spoon) at dinner. In addition, we put fruit, vegetables, cheese, cheerios, pasta, etc. on his tray to feed himself.


[And I'm sure it's just a phase and we'll have to keep trying and that he'll eventually come back around, but it's been a lot of refusals, all at once. And it has sent me into a bit of a tailspin.]


So a little Hot and Not comparison:

HOT

• Animal Crackers
• Blueberries (as well as Blackberries, Raspberries, and Strawberries)
• Cheerios
• Cheese (diced string cheese and shredded cheddar)
• Goldfish
• Grapes [which is awesome because they are less $$ than blueberries, and I can quarter one grape (for safety) and turn it into four little grapelets]
• Mandarin Oranges
• Pasta
• Pears
• Pineapple
• Squeeze pouches of fruits/veggies (I had some in the cabinet that I'd bought for traveling a few weeks ago and tried one out yesterday, and he loved it. He tried to suck the fruit/veggies out rather than squeeze, so I had to help, but I think he liked being able to hold it. However, they are $$.)

NOT

• Carrots
• Corn
• Cottage Cheese (because it's on a spoon)
• Green Beans
• Parsnips
• Pasta/Vegetables/Meat/Cheese (as a cheese-y/melt-y 'casserole')
• Peas
• Sweet Potatoes
• Yogurt (because it's on a spoon)

Conclusions and Notes of Interest

Needs More Vegetables
So now that I've listed them out, I see the huge disparity between fruits and vegetables! I guess that's not so bad (at least it's not ALL Goldfish)--I just need to figure out a way to get him to take in more vegetables. I'm going to try broccoli and cauliflower because he has loved those in the past. The sprinkle-it-with-cheese method failed the other day, but I can keep trying.


Protein
I also need to work on getting him to take in more protein--the meat puree we mixed in at dinner was really convenient, but I can plan ahead and boil up some chicken. I'm going to see how he likes hard-boiled eggs. He is kind of 50/50 on beans. Tuna got a big thumbs down. He does love peanut butter, but I only give him a little as a thin coating on toast. I guess he gets some protein from his milk and cheese.


Fruit
I also had a dilemma when shopping for canned fruits...do I want No Sugar Added, In Light Syrup, or what?? I decided the artificial sweetener in the No Sugar Added varieties was probably worse than the real sugar in the In Light Syrup ones, but I still rinsed the fruit to avoid giving him the extra sugar. NOW, in the past few weeks, I'm excited to see that one of the major brands (either Dole or Del Monte, I forget) has come out with In 100% Juice varieties AND, even better, Target's store brand has, too. SO, In 100% Juice, it is. Or whole fruit, of course, if the fruit is soft enough.


I Will Not Be a Short-Order Cook
He is really good at picking out what he likes and doesn't like out of the mix. I sprinkle everything onto his tray (veggies, pasta, cheese, fruit, etc.), and he will very carefully pluck out only the foods he wants to eat. Sneaky sneaky.


I need to find the line between making food that he likes and will eat and not being a short-order cook. I guess I should keep offering him a variety and hope that his tastes come back. I feel like if I let him 'get his way' now on refusing foods, he'll continue to be picky and 'get his way' later on. I obviously can't force feed him, but I also want him to eat a balanced diet. I was just reading in Parenting magazine this morning where they suggested serving things with dip to make them more enticing, so maybe I will try that--vegetables and ranch, quesadilla and sour cream, berries and yogurt, etc. It might just take me awhile to make the adjustments.


And, Lastly, Drink
I declared an unofficial War on Sippy Cups a few weeks ago, a quest to find one that was leak, drip, and chew-proof. I am happy to report that I have declared a winner. For milk, the Munchkin Mighty Grip Spill-Proof Cup. For water, the Tommee Tippee Explora Truly Spill-Proof Water Bottle (these names, they assume so much). :) While they all claim to be spill proof, they are not all chew-proof. I was using the Nuby Super Spout Easy Gripper, but that 'super' spout was also super chewable and Lew destroyed 4 of them over the past few weeks. He finally destroyed the last this week, so we are free of them.


Sorry to go on and on. This really has thrown me (us) into a tailspin. Like, "Whoa, there! What have you done with our Happy Little Eating Machine?" I'm sure by next week, we will have a whole new set of food issues. Until then, I'm off to whip up a new, fantastic lunch for Lew. :)

Out of Whack

We had a great weekend up in Dublin, OH, with the Okrzesiks! Kevin took lots of pictures of Lewis and their son Colin playing together, and I will post those after a recap of Lewis' Majorly-Out-of-Whack Week.


I thought he had caught a cold, but then I definitely suspected teething (after some very painful-sounding cries and mouth grabbing). He has been slobbering and snotty (but not congested) and not eating much of his regular foods at all. We've been resorting to Goldfish and Cheerios and bread a lot as he's really been refusing to eat anything else (turning his head away, pushing food off his tray, etc.). He did take in some mandarin oranges and blueberries over the weekend, but not much else besides Goldfish. He ate more of his cereal/fruit/yogurt this morning (maybe half) and 3/4 of a banana, so that's an improvement. I'm just working on keeping him hydrated and figure he'll eat normally when he feels better--he's still nursing, and I'm working on getting him to take a cow's milk/breastmilk blend in a sippy cup, plus water. I haven't seen or felt any new teeth, but I'm wondering if it's either a) molars or b) a couple of teeth at once since he hasn't reacted this much with previous teeth.


SIDE NOTE: Last week he figured out how to tip the sippy cup up himself! It's very freeing to not have to tip it up and hold it for him!


Onto the pictures:

 Cruising around the driveway on his trike (from Gma and Gpa Thompson) with Dada

See all of that drool on his shirt? And maybe even the shine of snot running out of his nose?

 Vroom, Vroom
Kevin's taken him around the block and across the street to the school's parking lot a few times--he said he thinks Lewis likes the different vantage point he gets on the trike (vs. the stroller). Right now, we push him around in it, but eventually we can convert it so that he'll be able to push the pedals and control it himself. 

 Fingers in my Mouth

Ready for swimming lessons in my new flip flops 
(Mom, will you make sure Dad sees these?)

We left about halfway through the lessons because they were a semi-disaster. The things he normally loved and did very well, he was fighting and fussing at. Kevin figured it was probably all of the going under the water + runny nose that made him uncomfortable. Sooo, we cut out early. We'll try again next week!

Despite the picky eating and uncharacteristic fussiness over the past week, he has still been sleeping pretty well (thank goodness). After his waking-up-four-times night last Saturday at the Butts, he slept well Sunday night and then woke up once (in pain) Monday night and went back down. Then for his first nap on Tuesday he was running a fever and must have finally been catching up from the wild weekend because he napped for THREE HOURS! And he only woke up then because I woke him up. I figured he wouldn't nap again that day, but then he surprised me again and slept another 1 1/2 hours for his 2nd nap. He's pretty much gotten back to normal since then (and hasn't had a fever since then, either).


The first video is just him sleeping (I love that sweet little booty up in the air). The second is when I finally woke him up.

Busy Busy Busy!

We have been staying busy this past week now that Lewis is ONE! And a toddler! I've been getting weekly emails from BabyCenter for almost 2 years now, first as Your Pregnancy This Week and then Your Baby This Week. This week, it suddenly said Your Toddler This Week, which answered my question as to when Lewis officially became a toddler (the email said it is either at a year or when he started toddling/walking).


Finally, a Ball
I've been on the lookout for a good ball for Lewis for a little while (since he played with/loved his friend Clara's either at Thanksgiving or Christmas), and I finally found one last week at Rite Aid of all places. I normally only go to Target since it is closest to our house, and the only ball I could find there was smaller and super bouncy (and $14.99!!). Made for older kids. Anyway, this one was a much more reasonable $2.99--we gave it to him on his actual birthday, and he looooves it!

He kissed it,

 Carried it around very determinedly,

 Wouldn't really let go of it,

Shrieked with excitement at it,

And it was the only way we could get him to stand still enough to get his picture taken in front of his growth chart on his birthday.

His obsession has let up a little since the first evening, but he's still a big fan. :)


Peter's Liver
Peter had his six month liver recheck last week (since his liver values seemed to be improved after switching him to a prescription diet six months ago). The normal range for the ALT value is 0-100. Initially he was in the 400s. 6 months ago he was in the 200s. This time he was in the 300s (which is annoying), BUT a different value (BUN) went from being low to being normal (which is good). Sooo, the vet said she isn't concerned as long as he is still eating well and keeping his food down. So he most certainly isn't 'healed' but he isn't worsening, I guess. I kind of wonder if he'd do the same on his old diet, as well, but I guess we'll keep doing what we're doing. She wants to recheck again in a year.

Peter Dink this morning

Smiley Monster
Lewis was really super smiley yesterday morning. :) I mean, REALLY.

 The Big Cheese!

:)

Beginning to wonder if his face was stuck like that.

Oh, stop, Mama, I'm blushing. 

Solids
In Lew's 1 year post, I mentioned that we were kind of at the end of the line on new foods for him to try. I was mistaken--I forgot about the beyond-one-year-foods like the citrus family, strawberries, honey, and peanut butter! I'm in no hurry to introduce all of them, especially after giving him mandarin oranges this week. Shoo-whee! Grossity gross gross gross poopies. I'm definitely going to give him some time in between citrus introductions (I still need to do lemon, grapefruit, and pineapple--which might not technically be citrus but I think of it as sort of citrus-y/acidic). He loves the mandarin oranges, perhaps a little too much. :) Gross.

Labels
Speaking of Solids, that reminds me of Labels, and I just wanted to mention that a few weeks ago I went through the process of rereading every post and assigning labels to them (like keywords/general topics). Something I wish I would have done from the start to make searching easier. Over on the right sidebar, just under the email sign-up space, you'll see a 'cloud' of labels. You can click on any of the labels listed, and it will take you to a page of posts with that label. So if you click on 'Monthly Picture and Factoids,' for instance, you will be taken to a page with only the 12 monthly round-up posts we've had so far.


Mardi Gras
Yesterday we went to a fundraising lunch for Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday with my friend Kate and her parents for Kate's workplace. We had a very fun time (and great pizza!), and Kate even found some Mardi Gras beads for Lewis to wear (eat). He didn't even have to show his tatas. :) Haha.

Swim Lessons
They start up again tomorrow! It looks like Kevin might be able to come a few times to see how Lew does (and maybe take pictures for me). And his Gma and Gpa Carter got him some very cute swim trunks for his birthday, so I'm excited for him to wear those! :) And of course I'm looking forward to seeing what the next level of classes is like.


And now we're off to run a few errands and hopefully make it to the park. It is supposed to be 62 degrees and sunny today! Wahoo!

Videos on Banana Eating, Chatting It Up, and Playing with Peter Dink

Eating a banana.

Sharing his views of the world over dinner.

Trying unsuccessfully to grab Peter's tags.

Eleven Months Old

Eleven Months Old

His stats (from BabyCenter):


Height: 31 inches (between 75th and 90th percentiles)
Weight: 24 pounds (between 50th and 75th percentiles)
Head Size: 19.5 inches (above 95th percentile)


So he stayed the same on head size and height and dropped a pound this month. It must be all of the walking/running he's been doing lately!


What he is doing this month:

• He walks! He still falls, but he is getting more coordinated and is able to 'correct' himself more and more. In correcting himself, he sometimes breaks out into almost a run. A very wobbly and funny-looking run.
• He seems to be 'getting' his toys more lately and is figuring out how they work which has been fun to watch. For instance, he already knew how to push the lever on his gumball machine to make the gumballs drop out (toy gumballs, not real gumballs), but now he has learned how to reload it so that the fun can continue on. He's learning to push buttons to turn his musical toys on/off, and he is figuring out the pop-up toy that has a switch, slide, button, key, and toggle switch on it. He still prefers closing all of the trap doors on that, but he has learned how to open a few of them.
• He is sleeping well at night, except for the past few nights! His 8th tooth popped through the other day but has since disappeared, so it is teething and possibly a growth spurt. He looked bigger to me yesterday! I have gotten up and nursed him three nights this past week, I believe, and he has gone right back down, thankfully.
• As for naps, he remains steady on the good morning nap (an hour to an hour and a half) and crappy afternoon nap (30 minutes). I read, though, that he still needs that 2nd nap, so I'll stay the course for now. I guess some rest is better than no rest. He has taken two fluke 1-hour afternoon naps over the past few weeks, but the 'norm' is 30 minutes. He wakes up very cranky after the 30 minutes (but will not go back down--I've tried waiting it out), so we've been taking that time to snuggle down in the basement under a blanket until he feels up to playing again. Although I hate that he doesn't sleep long enough, I do love the snuggling.
• He is nursing 4x a day now. I had dropped it from 6 to 5 because he'd started biting me (Homey don't play that.), then from 5 to 4 when his lunch became more substantial. We are also trying to get him proficient at using a sippy cup for water, gearing up for the transition from breastmilk to cow's milk sometime after his 1st birthday. He drinks fine out of a sippy cup, but we still have to help him tip it up (he's more interested in chewing on the spout).
• As for solids, we are slowly moving away from the purees (2nd foods). I still add in some fruit puree with his cereal/yogurt in the morning or vegetable puree with his cereal/meat in the evening, and then we offer either fresh soft fruit or steamed vegetables with his meal, too. His favorite fruit is blueberries (I've been buying frozen and thawing as needed) and his favorite vegetable is parsnips (I cube and steam a batch every few weeks and thaw as needed). I am still introducing two new foods a week, and he's been pretty agreeable until this past week when we introduced cantaloupe. He would put it in his mouth but then a few minutes later, the pieces were finding their way back out. Not as puke, just on the tip of his tongue. Like, 'Eh, I changed my mind.'
• Last week, Kevin got home from work, and Lewis very clearly said, "Hi, Dada!" Nothing since, but very exciting to hear that first clear phrase (or so it seemed). :) His only 'words' are Dadadadada (Dada), Mamamamama (Mama), and Dududududu (Dog), but he doesn't use them indiscriminately yet.
• The changing table has become a Mama/Dada vs. Baby Lew wrestling match. He has started flipping over, getting on his hands and knees, and then sits on his butt. He seems to realize the danger of going off the edge and is cautious about sitting up, but it makes diaper changes and dressing pretty frustrating at times. We try to distract him with his hairbrush, lotion, orajel, shoe, sock, etc., but he inevitably wants to get upright and get the one thing we haven't already handed him (i.e. his vitamins...he likes to chew on the bulb of that bottle). We are hoping it is just a phase and will pass soon.
• He goes through periods where he points a lot or waves a lot. He'll also high five pretty well when asked.
• Current Tooth Count: 7 (4 up top, 3 on the bottom...4th on the bottom was visible for a day but has since disappeared)

Phew! So that is Lewis at 11 months!


He was especially cheesing it up this morning for his monthly photo, so here are a few outtakes:

Ten Months Old

Double digits, buddy!

Ten Months Old

His stats (from BabyCenter):
Height: 31 inches (above 95th percentile)
Weight: 25 pounds (between 75th and 90th percentile)
Head Size: 19.5 inches (above 95th percentile)


What he is doing this month:

• Yelling, A LOT! I was eversoslightly concerned last month that he wasn't vocalizing much, but I think he's doing just fine now. He lets out these long and loud yells--kind of like a roaaarrrr. He has been throwing in gagas and even some dadas, but not necessarily a Dada directed right at Kevin quite yet. Or maybe he has. It's hard to tell (real vs. made-up on our part). :)
• Kevin has been working with him on waving and high-fiveing, and Lewis seems to be catching on. He definitely knows the high five, and his wave is coming along.
• That head of hair! It is awesome. I might give him a slight trim soon--when I rinse his hair, the back is pretty long. I love brushing it/parting it to the side after his bath--he looks so handsome and grown up. But then he sleeps on it and wakes up to it being WILD. I love it.
• He has taken an occasional step, but nothing more. He is, however, walking very well with his walker (and he looks like the cutest little old man in doing so, too). He seems to be cruising with less and less support from the furniture, also.
• He has been interested in doors this month. He likes to sit and swing a door back and forth from one hand to another. Or open the kitchen cabinet doors. Or try to climb into the fridge when we open its door. Or the dishwasher. He is a wild man.
• He is learning to pull the chain on the ceiling fan/light to turn the light off and on. Kevin used to help him pull, but now Lew is doing it on his own. He will probably break it if we continue allowing him to do so every time we walk by it. :)
• He has been afraid of the vacuum the past few months. It used to not bother him, but now he tries to crawl into the far corners of the room and gets pretty freaked out by it. I tried 'desensitizing' (not sure that is the right term) him by holding him and reassuring him while I vacuumed to show him that it is okay, but as soon as I returned him to the ground, he became upset again.
• He is self-feeding pretty well now. Still trying to introduce a new food every 3 days (kind of slacking on that the past few weeks). We dropped one nursing, so now he nurses five times a day and has solids three times a day. We have had a pretty steady feeding routine the last few weeks of nursing at 7am (plus solids for breakfast), 9:30am (then nap), 12:30pm (plus solids for lunch), 3:30pm (then nap), solids for dinner at 5:30/6ish pm, and nurse at 7:30pm (bedtime). 
• Along with his improved self-feeding and hand-to-mouth coordination has come an increase in sticking leaves, bits of magazine pages, dog hair, and other random things in his mouth. We do a lot of finger sweeps.
• He is still sleeping well at night and at his first nap, but that second nap is a pest. I've tried tweaking it every way I know how, and he still only sleeps for 30 minutes. There were two glorious days in a row where he slept for OVER an hour, and I thought I'd found the magical formula, but then he reverted back to the 30 minute crap. He wakes up cranky (and no wonder!), so I guess we'll just deal with it.
• I think his favorite part of the day is when Kevin comes home and takes him to the basement to play. I usually stay upstairs (and overhear Lewis' laughs), but the other day I went down and watched them. They were playing 'chase' around the couch, and Lewis was sneaking around the corners, looking for Kevin. He was so interactive! After they were through, he went off crawling through his toys, weaving in and out of them with such a purpose. He is getting to be so big and strong, and he loves (and I love) that he has a Dada/Papa who will play with him.
• Current Tooth Count: still 6.

So that is Lewis at 10 months! He had some really great smiles this morning, but he kept closing his eyes because of the flash. For example:

 :)

Finger Food Bonanza

Since his 9 month check-up last week, we have gone full-steam-ahead with both lunch and finger foods, together. Now, he sits in his highchair and feeds himself while I prepare and eat my lunch next to him--the goal is to transition and do the same for breakfast and dinner.


I researched finger food suggestions on BabyCenter and have expanded his repertoire to include:

• Cheerios (still his favorite, and he has become quite accurate with them!)
• Small pieces of soft fruit (just banana, so far)
• Small pieces of steamed vegetables (carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, peas, turnips, and little broccoli 'trees,' so far)
• Shredded cheese
• Yogurt melts
• Small pieces of pasta

I've bought both fresh and frozen vegetables to cube and steam and either keep in the fridge for a few days or freeze into meal-sized portions. I've designated part of a shelf in the fridge for his foods, so hopefully I can take some time once (or twice) a week to make fresh batches for him. 


I can also include toast, ricecakes, eggs (haven't yet introduced those), small bits of soft meat, etc. I'm going to aim to buy foods for him that Kevin and I will also eat to try to keep the expense and the waste down. Just last night I cubed and steamed two sweet potatoes, and that was WAY too much! Fortunately they are inexpensive, but maybe in the future I can cube/steam half of one for him and bake the other one and a half for our dinner (bad example because Kevin dislikes sweet potatoes, but you get my point). 


After the holidays, I am going to work on meal planning, reducing our food costs, and eliminating midweek trips to the grocery store, so this will all tie in together.


In closing, here is a video of Lewis, Hattie, and Peter at lunch today. On the menu were Cheerios, sweet potatoes, finishing up yogurt from breakfast, and his (and my) first taste of turnips! (Same with parsnips the other day--not bad!) The dogs also loved the menu (even the turnips!) and patiently waited for Lewis to drop pieces for them to eat.

Up,Up,Updates

Feeding

We have been giving Lewis some Cheerios and cut up pieces of pasta or yogurt melts to try to encourage/teach him to feed himself. He has about a 10% tray-to-hand-to-inside-mouth success rate right now, I'd say. He LOVES Cheerios and tries SO hard to pick them up, but they usually end up in his lap or on the floor. Thankfully the dogs ALSO love Cheerios and have been hanging around at mealtimes the past week or so since the finger food effort began. The other night I found myself saying (and sharing) '1 for Lewis, 1 for Peter, 1 for Hattie, and 1 for me.' The dogs are so cute about it--they act like one single Cheerio is such a special treat that needs to be very delicately taken from my fingers.

Mom Group

I got word last week that the leader of our mom group from the hospital where we delivered had accepted a new job, so Lewis and I went last week to say goodbye and to thank her for all that she's done (and continues to do) for us. I meant to take a picture with her for Lewis' memory box, but of course forgot. I did get one of Lewis with his buddy, Josiah, who is 10 months old.

Sleeping

We tried shifting bedtime 15 minutes earlier to see if Lewis would sleep a little later in the mornings, but it completely and totally backfired on us. We were starting his bedtime routine at 7:30pm (asleep by 8pm) and he was awakening at 6:30am (which is the 10 1/2 hour mark, and we were shooting for 11 hours). We decided to try starting bedtime at 7:15pm (asleep by 7:45pm) to see if that would help him sleep later, but he started waking up at 5:45am. That was early and only 10 hours of sleep, so we are back to 7:30pm!

However, he has started to peep around 5:45am again, but doesn't seem to fully wake up until 6am. We obviously still have some tweaking to do. However, his naps have also been poor the past few days (30 minutes instead of the usual 45 minute, hour, or glorious, but rare, 2 hours, that we're used to), and I know his daytime sleep directly affects his nighttime sleep. A work in progress.

Swimming Lessons

Baby Splash is going well--we've had 2 classes so far with 2 different instructors and 2 very different teaching methods. The first was very structured, kept us going the whole 30 minutes, and took it very seriously (no baby ooohs and aaahs from her). The second, on the other hand, is all about the babies, very laid back, and didn't give us much direction at all. First lady wins for me. #2 is kind of how I envisioned the class would be, but since I saw #1's style first, I now expect #1 results, dang it.

And my parents just left from a weekend visit, so I have a bunch of pictures/videos to get posted! I'd started this post last week and just hadn't had time to finish it yet!