My word. We made it. One year with our baby Mav. If you missed the letter I wrote to him/about him while I was feeling sentimental during his twelfth month, you can find it here.
This update is 20 days late...but now that he's a year old and I'm done doing these every month...I figured it isn't a huge deal if the last one was late. We still managed to take the usual pics, though those were a little late too because the number of pictures this sweet boy endured during a 48 hour period over the course of his birthday weekend was a little insane. Even for me.
I'll start with the boring stuff...6, 6-9, 6-12, 9, 9-12, and some 12 month jammies fit. Size three diapers. I'd say he's able to wear the MOST stuff right now. If I want to squeeze him into something I'm not emotionally ready to 'let go' of (haha) or it matches the outfit I'm putting together...I make him wear it. A couple weeks ago on a chilly morning for early church I made him wear skinnies that were too small and a puffer vest that's still a little too big (and by the end of the morning TOO HOT!) but it. was. adorable.
Holy cow I forgot I have so much to talk about...like this amazing piece of news...WE ARE DONE BREASTFEEDING! On the day we went to the fair last month...I fed Mav in the morning and at noon, he had a bottle with Nana after his nap at 4...and at 8:00 he REFUSED to eat. Like...cried until we gave him a bottle instead. And I REJOICED. No tears. No sadness. We had a good run and it's finally time for mom to wear real bras again. Bless.
His actual birthDAY was the first day he started proficiently crawling. That will make that milestone really easy to remember. He'd been scooting and reversing and spinning around on his bottom for so long that he was mobile long before that...but he's actively peg-leg crawling now and has been for exactly 20 days. Way to go Mav! He does this cute funny thing where he will stand with his butt up in the air to 'walk' over a threshold or go from carpet to hardwood and it's hilarious.
Sleeping through the night is pretty much a slam dunk at this point (he will prove me wrong tonight, by wailing randomly at 11pm, but whatever). We start bedtime routine at 7:45 and he's IN bed by 8:00, unless we have something going on or visitors are around. I love the 8:00 bedtime. It's such a HUGE change from last year at this time when I would feed him for the last time at 9:00 and put him down between 9:30 and 10. It feels like Josh and I have more of a 'night' together which is nice. He's supposed to sleep until 8:00 but that hasn't been happening for a while now. I'm just happy if he makes it to 7/7:30 and I can leave him in his room to 'happy talk' until I'm ready to get him for the day. And he's old enough, if he wakes up at 6 or 6:30...we can survive until nap time with errands, Sesame Street, and mealtimes.
In other sleeping news...we're down to one nap!! That's really more of a 'thirteenth month' thing, but it's too amazing not to share. I could tell he was 'ready' when his second nap of the day started getting really short and crappy (and it was supposed to be the big awesome one). I was always waking him from a DEAD sleep at his first nap...plus he started having a few night-wakings that were unexplainable/odd (teeth perhaps, and I didn't really mind the cuddles but it was a sign). This one nap thing has cured all of that (minus some early-waking...we're working out a few kinks). He naps for 3+ hours and I hardly know what to do with myself! Yesterday I had time to eat lunch, clean up the house, lay out for an hour, do my Bible Study homework...AND THERE WAS STILL AN HOUR LEFT!
Here's the schedule we stuck to for most of his 12th month:
8:00 - Wake up, bottle
9:00 - Breakfast
10:30 - Nap
11:30 - Wake up, bottle
12:00 - Lunch
2:00 - Nap
4:00 - Wake up, bottle, snack
6:00 - Supper
8:00 - Bottle, bed
Here's the schedule we're working with now:
8:00 - Wake up, bottle
9:00 - Breakfast
12:00 - Lunch
1:00 - Bottle, nap
4:00 - Wake up, bottle, snack
6:00 - Supper
8:00 - Bottle, bed
I realize the bottles in this schedule aren't super necessary...but I'm not about to mess with those now that's he's sleeping great. It's probably dumb, but I think we'll keep them for a little while longer. Plus Josh likes giving him the bedtime one and cuddling him occasionally now that Maverick isn't attached to me 24/7. He chugs them and since he's always been on the smaller side (until recently!), it's another reason to give him a bottle four times a day still.
Some odd favorites we've noticed...opening and closing doors. If someone comes in the door, Mav is across the house and in the kitchen so fast because he wants to be there to play with the door...not the visitor. He loves the washer. He also loves the vacuum cleaner...like...he chases me around the house while I vacuum and touches it whenever I get close enough. If I happen to leave it out for a little bit when I'm done, he will sit beside it touching it and 'playing' with it for as long as I let him. He likes kisses. Being tickled. Eating pillows, blankets, the arm of the couch (two top teeth have appeared since my last update and he's working on another bottom one I think...which would be #5!). If I accidentally leave the dishwasher open, he's over there in a flash ready to inspect. He likes stacking things and putting things inside other things...last week he took all of his magnets one at a time and put them in my laundry basket. He also figured out his magnets will stick to the washer, so if I turn around and he's not in the living room, it's because he and his peg leg have made it into the laundry room with a magnet to put on the washer. It's pretty stinking cute. :)
He's not pulling up on anything yet but he's getting close. He loves being 'walked' around by whoever will tolerate it longer than I will. I don't like to 'walk' him too much because we reach a certain point in the day where if we start the walking and then I have to put him down to do something else...he throws a fit. Yes, the fits have started and they are not pleasant. Mainly it's in the evenings, but he's started in a phase where he protests every diaper change with kicks and fake cries which turn into real cries when I give him a firm, 'no.' I'm just excited he clearly knows what NO means! So I'm working on being consistent/diligent with that.
We flipped him to his new car seat on his birthday, sent the baby bath tub downstairs, and got rid of the jumper/bouncer in the living room. All good things, but I have GOT to find a better way to store that crap in the basement because right now it's a disaster. He hasn't had his one-year appointment yet (his 9-month was super late due to doctor scheduling issues, so subsequently his one-year check-up isn't until sometime in October) but we are not looking forward to the shots and blood-draws. Especially now that he's much louder when he cries and he's also found the upper register of his voice which makes for some nice, loud, high-pitched crying.
In the food department we have some work to do. These are the things Maverick gladly eats: Pasta, bread, cheese, mandarin oranges, berries, crackers, eggs, Chick-Fil-a chicken. These are the things he will try and promptly spit out: Green beans, black beans, tomatoes, peas, sweet potatoes, corn, hamburger. And he's not old enough that I can say, "sit there and eat that until I say you're done." So we keep trying all kinds of things but usually dinner ends with cheese sprinkled over everything on his tray in an attempt to get him to eat more of the stuff I know he'll spit out. He seemed happier about trying and eating things at 6/7/8 months when I was on the BLW track, but Josh wasn't sold on that idea and neither were a few other family members. It's silly because with 2nd, 3rd, 4th born kiddos, that 'method' is likely just what 'happens' and no one thinks to put a name to it. They just hand the baby a piece of pizza because that's what everyone else is eating and they let him give it a try. But I think because I named it and bought a book and talked about it...it became a 'thing' and then I just gave up. So I probably screwed him up and that's why he's picky. He'll get over it and I'm not losing sleep about it.
He clearly says "Dadadada" and will exclaim, "Dad!" when he's excited. Just this week he started clearly whining "Maaaaamama" and that's usually what we hear when he's crying too. It's cute now, but I am guessing the 'Mama' whine will get old quick. ;) He waves sometimes, will give high fives, kisses, and likes clapping. Those are the extent of his tricks, but he's likely to hide them if a stranger asks. He doesn't seem scared of other kids or people yet...I plop him right down in the middle of crying babies in the church nursery and he isn't phased. He prefers me or Josh over everyone else when he's crabby or his toofies are hurting though. He jabbers and shouts and 'talks' all the time. As he gets more mobile he's started 'going boom' more often. Last week it seemed like he fell and hurt himself somehow once a day or more (unfortunately fell twice and bumped the top tooth/gum that was coming in which was our first blood incident and NO fun for mommy and daddy...but I suppose it's one way to cut teeth faster). Oddly enough, this week has been a lot better as he gets steadier and more used to being on the go.
Our buddy loves playing by himself and I'm thrilled. He will play on his own in the morning for a couple hours if we don't have anywhere to be and I'm busy starting breakfast, etc. He gets to a point where he needs to be redirected or entertained for a minute to get him going on something new, but as we speak he's been flipping pages of one of his books for 20+ minutes and I haven't heard a peep. Other than the usual grunting noises he makes when he's 'working.' ;)
Out of everything...I think the things I'm most proud we accomplished this year are:
1. Falling asleep on his own for naps and night
2. Getting rid of the paci (he kind of just did that on his own)
3. Making it through breastfeeding for a year
4. FINALLY sleeping 12 hours straight through the night
5. Finding a schedule that works for us and sticking with it, even though it wasn't always convenient or fun or 'popular' with other people...it's so worth it to have structure and clear expectations of how each day 'should' go, then adjust to circumstances from there.
This month Mav was busy with his first trip to the fair, regular trips to the Farmer's market, his second Sargent Family Reunion, a trip to the zoo, closing down the pool for the summer, an overnight to G'ma and G'pas house, and of course his birthday party. ;)
We love this little peanut so SO much. Every day we get to be his parents is a gift that I never want to take for granted.
MmB
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