Eleven months old!

My boy's getting older!

This is the last month birthday before I have to say I have a one year old and a two year old.  (It sounds crazy when you put it that way!  Only until March, when Lucy turns 3.)

Eating:
Nothing different, except that he eats a lot MORE now.  He still nurses in the morning, at lunch, after nap, and before bed, and once during the night.  He eats a big container of baby food at each meal and sometimes yogurt, too.  We've started to give him bits of whatever we're eating, too, and he seems to like that as long as it's something very mushy (banana, tofu, rice, quinoa, pasta, etc.)  I know he'll get up to eating more textured foods and I hope it's sooner rather than later but I'm not going to push him.  He definitely likes baby food fruits more than veggies, but I don't blame him, because have you tasted baby food peas lately?  NASTY.

He has six teeth (that I know of) ... two on the bottom and four on the top.  I have a feeling he's in the process right now of getting some, but I can't feel them yet so I don't know where they will pop through.

Sleeping:
The same!  I have been trying to be home in the mornings when he needs to take a nap because if he doesn't, then he takes one long midday nap but then is way too tired before bed.  It's best when he can take his mid-late morning nap and then an afternoon nap ... best for him and better for Mommy!  He still wakes up once a night, but honestly it is not something I am bothered by at all.  Of course I will be ecstatic once he's really consistently sleeping through the night, but getting up once a night to feed him really quick and put him back to bed is fine with me.

Lucy didn't sleep through the night until she was over a year old, but I was pregnant with Ian and I was getting desperate for her to sleep through the night because I was pregnant and tired and envisioning a life with two kids that woke up at all hours of the night.  Plus Lucy was not the type of baby that you just fed and put back in the bed.  She had to be rocked fully back to sleep and then you had to carefully put her down and try to sneak away before she woke up.  Plus she was still waking up multiple times a night (3-5 times).  Ian has really been such a great sleeper -- I know to be thankful!  I always put him in his bed fully awake and it is never a problem.

Movement:
His primary mode of transportation is still crawling, but he definitely loves to stand and cruise at any opportunity.  He can stand on his own for just a few seconds, but I have a feeling that probably by a year old or maybe a few months after he might get this walking thing down.

Talking:
His favorite words right now are "Dada" and "Nana" which we thought referred to his Nana, but now I think we are certain it applies to our dog, Nina.  :)  (sorry, Mom!)  He loves to point at Nina and say "Nana".  He says "Mama" very clearly when he is upset, but otherwise it's "Dada" or "Nana".  He always says, "Uh-oh" and in the right context.  If he drops something or if Lucy drops something or knocks something over, he says "Uh-oh."  I think it's adorable!  He says lots of other babbling type stuff.

Personality:
What can I say?  I am in love with him!  He is sweet, observant, funny, snuggly, busy, smart, and my buddy!  He loves his sister, and he loves his Mommy, and he's now started to actively want to be held by his Daddy when he can.  He still likes to be with me the most, but he's getting independent and wanting to get down and explore things when we go places.  He is always surprising me with what he knows and what he's connected in his mind.  When I see him, my heart melts!  I look forward to celebrating his one year birthday in a month, and I literally still feel like it was yesterday that they pulled him up out of the water and put him on my chest and it was like my heart had burst with happiness and love.  My perfect little boy.

Ten months old!

I can't believe it, but he's ten months old!

Eating:
He's still nursing ... when he wakes up, around lunchtime, late afternoon, and then again before bed, and then usually once during the night.  He also eats a little jar of baby food and maybe a half-carton of baby yogurt at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  He isn't a fan of very thick or textured food still, but we keep offering it and I know he'll get it eventually.

Sleeping:
He takes two naps (if all goes as planned)... once around midmorning and then again around 2.  He goes to bed anytime between 7-8, and gets up around 7am, and he still wakes up once a night.

Playing:
He crawls very fast, and can pull up on anything and he is just starting to cruise from one place to another, like the coffee table to the couch, etc.  He loves to be with Lucy and I wherever we are.  In fact, he can be happy as a clam one minute and if we leave the room to get something he will start crying.  He doesn't really put things in his mouth like Lucy did.  He just loves to play with whatever Lucy is playing with, too.  We have fun just sitting in their rooms, playing with their toys.  He loves Lucy and she makes him laugh!  I posted this video above so you can see what a typical interaction between them is like.  It's all fun until somebody gets hurt!!!

Talking:
He says "mama" and "baba" and a string of other unintelligible sounds.  "Mama" is definitely the clearest thing he says.

Personality:
He has very distinct personality traits.  He is a mama's boy!  As long as he's with me, he's happy.  He's starting to reach out and want to go to Wesley, though, even if I'm holding him.  He does NOT like being left with other people, unless it's like my mom here at our house or something.  He's either super happy and bubbly or being very shy and clingy.  You never know what you'll get, although the shy and clingy side tends to be more dominant if he's tired or hungry.

It's amazing that even at 10 months old he seems like such a baby still!  We started trying to have another baby when Lucy was 10 months old, and I can't even imagine doing that with Ian still being so young!!!  Crazy how the second child will do that to you.

We love him and I can't believe his first birthday will be here in only two months.

More teeth

For a while, Ian just had the two bottom teeth.  Then we noticed that he was showing little nubs up top, too, and this week they broke through, along with another tooth up top to the right of these teeth, and I can tell the tooth to the left of these teeth is very close to breaking through also.  That means he would have six teeth soon!  I can't believe it.  Lucy didn't have that many teeth for a while, I think.  I say the sooner the better -- let's get it over with!  haha.

Nine months old!

Ian had his nine month check up today.  Here are his stats:

Weight:  19 lbs, 7 oz.
Height: 28 inches
Head Circumference:  18 inches

He's getting so big!  He is finally crawling around on his hands and knees instead of just army crawling around.  He's pulling up on everything, but not cruising yet.  He loves to play with Lucy, and he's been saying "Mama" and "Baba" a lot lately.  He has two more teeth coming in up top.  I mean, they are literally about to pop through.  He eats three baby food "meals" a day and still nurses every few hours (although that is mostly due to me, not to him crying for it...).

He's been waking up every night around 10:30pm and then again at like 6am.  I think it going to be time soon to try to help him sleep through the night... not sure how we'll do that but I think we will have to try soon.  I'm so tired!

I had to fill out a little questionnaire today at the doctor's office, and it was designed for a 10-month-old, and he basically has all the skills of a 10-month-old, except for his fine motor skills.  She said just to take out the questionnaire again at 10 months to see if he has those skills yet.  I know a lot of that comes from picking up small bites of food between their thumb and finger, and he's not yet eating bits of food.  He's still a puree man. :)

We love our boy!

Eight months old!

I just realized this morning that I let his eight-month birthday come and go without a little update for posterity.

He is definitely crawling everywhere now -- but only army style, not on his hands and knees.  He is really good at getting from laying down to sitting up by himself, and I've even caught him a few times pulling up to his knees while holding on to something.  We had to lower his crib about a week ago because we found him holding on to the side of the crib and pulling up.  He may army crawl forever -- we'll see!

He is eating baby food about twice a day now (if I remember to feed it to him).  So far he's had squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, rice cereal, peaches, and yogurt.  Sometimes I try to feed him more solid table food but I think for now he just enjoys mashing it between his fingers.

He's been waking up more at night (I say "more" -- usually it's just two times a night instead of his regular one time a night).  I think it may have something to do with his teeth, and the fact that he's been fighting a little summer cold complete with runny nose/congestion.

At this age Lucy was still waking up multiple times a night and needed to be rocked back to sleep and gingerly placed into her crib while you made a swift exit before she woke up.  Ian, on the other hand, I just put him to bed all the time awake and he falls asleep on his own.  He wakes up once a night usually, sometime between 1:30 and 5:00am, and then sleeps until about 7:30am.  I really don't mind.  I know he will eventually sleep through the night.  Knowing this is the last time I'll have to do this "getting up in the middle of the night" thing makes it much easier to handle.  I'm in no rush.

Happy eight months, baby boy!  We love you.  Can't wait to see how much you weigh and what you're doing at nine months old.

First word!

Not sure if I'm officially saying this is his first word, since he does babble a lot, but it definitely sounds distinctly like Ian started saying "Mama" in the past couple of days.  Wesley even said one time that I walked out of the room and Ian clearly said, "Mama".  haha.  Lucy said "Dada" first, so I am a little happy that my mama's boy Ian said "Mama" first.  :)

First teeth!

I was waiting to post this in hopes that I might get a picture of those suckers, but Ian will barely open his mouth to let me look at them so I doubt a picture is going to happen.

But I noticed Tuesday (July 3, 2012) that he had two tiny white teeth at the bottom -- his front two bottom teeth.  They are adorable, and sharp!  :)