Turning eleven months old means she’s only a month away from turning one. We have been talking about her first birthday party, but I’ve been neglecting it because I think in some ways I am in a little bit of denial. We’ve opted for a larger gathering, though, so I’m going to need to get on the ball. 

I haven’t been very active on HB recently – Baby O got sick, I’ve been very busy at work, and I’ve been feeling a bit of writer’s block. I am hoping that writing this update will get my creative juices flowing again.

ADVERTISEMENT

The deets 

We haven’t had Baby O weighed since her 10 month update, so I know she weights more than 21 lbs 14 oz. Some days, it feels like she weighs a whole lot more (especially when she’s on my hip)!

Sleeping 

We’ve just recently decided to drop her night feeding. By recently I mean 2 nights ago. Since Baby O is a good and predictable sleeper, we haven’t had to do any sleep training programs. However, she’s been waking between 3-5am at which point I would go in to her nursery, feed her very quickly, she would fall asleep and then I would put her back in her crib until she woke between 6-7am. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with this, but I know she didn’t NEED the night feed. It was a formed habit and it would be nice to drop it. Also, we have our first overnight trip planned in June and I really wanted to have this night feeding issue conquered by then.

The first night we decided to drop the night feeding, Missus Scooter knew she would be going in to do the checks on Baby O when she woke. I didn’t want to just let her cry it out so I was in the camp of having Missus go in a little more frequently to reassure and pick up/put down if necessary. Night #1 she woke at 3am. She was not happy to see Missus and realized no breastfeeding was coming. It took awhile to get her back down. She woke again at 4am and Missus Scooter went in several times to get her down. She woke at 5am and fussed briefly then put herself back to bed. She woke at 6am and did the same thing. We heard her talking and babbling in her crib at 7am so I shot out of bed and happily greeted her for a morning wake up. Last night, she woke at 3:30am. She was mostly fussy, not crying a whole lot but after several minutes I encouraged Missus to go in. She didn’t want to because she wasn’t crying but I didn’t want Baby O to feel abandoned (I know, I know, I’m probably being dramatic here). So she went in. It actually made things worse briefly, but after about 15 minutes of checking/leaving/checking, Baby O went back to sleep. She woke at 7am very happy. I am predicting this will take a few more nights and then I think we may have this night feeding issue licked (knocking on my wood desk as I type).

Her naps have also seemed to stabilize a bit, at least for now. She’s routinely taking 2 naps per day and they’ve lengthened to 1.5-2 hours. She goes down around 9:30am and then again around 2pm. Sometimes at the 45 minute mark, she will wake and cry a bit, but we’re letting her fuss for a few minutes in her crib and she’s been putting herself back to sleep. She’s much more happy when she gets a long, full nap. Sometimes it flat doesn’t work, but mainly it has been.

“Want to see my teeth? No way!”

Teeth 

One of the girls from the Village jokes that her baby’s mouth is like Fort Knox… no one is getting in there! Well, so is Baby O’s mouth. She really hates me poking around in her mouth and even when I try and trick her she seems to figure it out and clamp down. So as best as I can tell, she has cut 4 teeth on top and is currently cutting 2 more on top. I don’t think there is any activity on the bottom aside from her 2 middle bottom teeth, but I can’t really tell. We brush her teeth every night at bath time, and sometimes she cries so I assume they are sensitive.

Missus Scooter and Baby O after swim lessons

 Communication 

Communication is becoming so much easier now. For the most part, we know what she wants and why she wants it. She points at everything and when she is hungry she says “mmmmmm!” We have been doing baby signs with her for basic things, but admittedly we are not very consistent with it so I’m not sure it’s sinking in. She says “dog” and even makes the noise for “woof woof.” I’m trying to teach her other words and sounds, but the most she will do is copy my inflection and some syllable patterns. She’s started to give little bursts of frustration too. She will kick her feet and sort of let out a mad cry. I try not to laugh when she does this.

 
Baby O is very busy at our house!

Motor Skills 

Baby O is still crawling really well, and has started to climb. Going up is pretty easy. Going down is hard and confusing. We are always turning her around and showing her to go down backwards but she hasn’t grasped that yet. She is cruising very confidently and she has been letting go and standing on her own for several seconds at a time. She still likes the walker but she is constantly hitting corners in our house so I think it’s not as fun as it could be. I want to take it to the park where she can roll it for a long time without hitting a wall or corner. She’s basically into everything, as you can imagine. It’s really fun!


well good morning to you too!

Eating

Now that we’ve dropped the night feeding, Baby O’s feeding schedule goes something like this:

  • 7:30am Breakfast : solids. She likes eggs, omelets, oatmeal, sheep milk yogurt, fruit, avocados, small bits of toast
  • 9am : Small bottle (3-5oz) of breastmilk before morning nap
  • 12pm: Lunch: solids. She will eat whatever we’re having; a lot of the time it’s leftovers from dinner. We also do a lot of soup and veggies and fruit.
  • 2pm: Small bottle (3-5oz) of breastmilk before afternoon nap
  • 4pm: Small snack. She likes cheerios, pretzels, raisins, or fruit
  • 6pm: Dinner: solids.
  • 7pm: Breastfeed before bed
Since she’s still getting breast milk three times a day, it’s hard for me to imagine dropping any of these feedings, but I know it will come. I am not in any rush to wean her or cut back on a feeding…yet.
flirting with customers at our local coffee house

Personality
Baby O is going through a bit of a clingy phase. Call it object permanence or separation anxiety or all of the above, but she’s got it. It tends to be more pronounced with me over Missus Scooter and we think that’s because I am the one who breastfeeds her and perhaps also because I work outside of the home. Secretly, I don’t mind this clinginess… I think it’s sweet because Baby O isn’t really much of a cuddle bug. I also know this is temporary so I like it. This clingy phase has also been a factor in me not wanting to let her cry through the night weaning process.

“helping” at Home Depot

Mama(s) 

I’ve been a lot more active as of my last post and it really makes a difference in the way I feel as well as with my attitude. We finished the remodel on our deck and our bathroom and we are really happy with both! Now we need to move on to planning Baby O’s birthday party. We have invited about 30 people and plan on having it outside (weather permitting). We hired a taco truck to do all the cooking – it should be really fun and easy. I am going to make her cake and am trying to decide what flavor would be best. Do you all have input on this?