Hellobee

I’m so excited to start sharing Little C’s monthly updates with the hive.  Our weekly photos are getting dicey because C is thoroughly incapable of sitting still, but here’s what I came up with this month.

Stats

Little C had his full measurements taken at his nine month appointment, but because of an exciting sick visit to the pediatrician, we got an extra weigh in just before his ten month “birthday” – he weighs a whopping 20 lbs. 12 oz., which is a full pound more than he weighed in at 9 months.  He was measured at 29.2 inches at his 9 month appointment, and his percentiles were 82nd for height and 40th for weight.  My little man is long and lean, with a completely average head.

As C gets older, his hair is getting longer and curlier!

This month, we moved him (a little preemptively) into size four diapers, after a series of horrendous blow-outs that could or could not be attributed to diaper fit (or possibly all of the exciting new foods and their impact on the digestive tract).  He will likely be in “4’s” for quite some time, since the suggested weight limits are 23-37 lbs., and he isn’t even at 23 lbs. yet.  We also upped clothing sizes this month, graduating into 12-month Carters/Old Navy/Gap clothes.  His H&M nine month clothes still fit, but the rest of his wardrobe needed an upgrade, which was quite disappointing, since here in the Midwest, he will still need long sleeved clothes for at least six more weeks (and likely even longer).

Little C in his big boy 12 month clothes

Health

This winter has been a brutal one.  Little C has fought cold after cold, and this month was no exception.  At the beginning of the month, I thought we had beat it, and then a couple weeks later, it came back with a vengeance. Two Thursdays ago, Little C woke up at 2:30 a.m. in a fit of feverish hysteria. Mr. Confetti and I were already up tending to our sick puppy with a stomach bug, and next thing we knew, it was like the newborn phase all over again, facing a sleepless night head on.  Since C hasn’t been waking at night for months, it was quite the shock to our systems.

Sick baby in mommy’s t-shirt

Poor Little C spent the next few days taking Advil round the clock to keep his fever down, and I had an incorrect hunch that the fever and drippy nose were connected to teeth. C already has six teeth, and each one arrived with a fever and a ton of angst. While he was showing all of the signs, after 5 days of homeopathic teething tablets, Advil, teething toys, ice in the mesh feeder and still no teeth, I resigned myself to the fact that this was likely just more “creepy crud” (to quote our pediatrician) that he was fighting.

A stuffy Little C being held by Mr. C

As the snot sunk from his nose into his throat and turned into a raspy cough, we visited the pediatrician just to be safe, and she confirmed that the battle against the never-ending virus continues.  I hate to admit it, but I was hoping it would be something that could be addressed with antibiotics, so I could do something more concrete to help my little man (besides the obvious torture with the snot-sucker and Boogie Wipes).  Sadly, time and better weather will be our saving graces I think.

Sleep/Schedule

As a mom, I have always been one who values sleep and consistency in nap/night schedules above all else.  Little C continues to have a very early bedtime – we always aim for six p.m., but he’s usually showing sleepy signs so early that he’s passed out in his crib by 5:50 p.m.  For a long time, he was doing 12+ hour nights, but at the beginning of the month, his wake time kept creeping earlier and earlier.  It is amazing how 30-40 minutes makes a huge difference when your wake time begins with a 5 instead of a 6.

As naps go, we don’t follow set times for naps, instead following the “2-3-4” schedule.  This made for some strange days early in the month, with Little C waking at 5:30 a.m. and going down for his first nap around 7:30 a.m.; every day, I would wonder aloud just how we would make it through the day.  Nearly every day, though, C would make it work with a shorter morning nap, and then three hours of wake-time later, a long afternoon nap stretch. Between 3 and 4 hours later, it would be bed time all over again.

After the sickness set in, Little C’s wake time stretched later, oftentimes until 7:30 a.m., because his night sleep was interrupted with lots of coughing.  It has been incredible just how much he has been sleeping as he fights off this virus.  The “2-3-4” chunks of wake time have been looking more like 1.5 – 2.5 – 2.5.  Yep, that’s less than seven hours of wake time for my poor sick love.

Food and Drink

Beginning at nine months, we added lunch into the mix for Little C, bringing him up to three meals a day.  I had been dreading adding lunch, since we do most of our activities in between his naps, and I am usually hustling home just in time to pop him into his crib for nap round two. For the most part, I had been following the “solids before one are just for fun” mantra, although as we creep closer to his first birthday, I am encouraging him more and more to eat substantial meals.  He spent most of the month picking at his food like a bird, probably because his stuffy nose had affected his appetite.

Little C versus a pear. Delicious.

Aside from yogurt, Little C has been completely rejecting spoon-feeding, preferring instead to pick up his food from his high chair tray himself.  So far, he has enjoyed nearly everything we have offered, from chicken and beef to cheese, fruits and vegetables.  C is showing signs of sharing his father’s quirky eating habits.  Mr. Confetti likes to eat one food at a time, and Little C does the same thing, picking up all of one item before eating another, even when they’re all strewn across his tray.  Green vegetables are always picked last; he clearly prefers fruit, proteins, grains and dairy to veggies already (insert shrug here).

Lots of green stuff still left on the tray.

In prior months, Little C never really took to the sippy cup, so this month I introduced a straw cup, which has been a huge hit and a surprisingly easy success. Little C is still taking five bottles a day.  Because he was such a spitter when he was younger, I always preferred giving him smaller, more frequent feedings.  He is showing no signs of being ready to drop any of his bottles.  I’m hoping in month ten to encourage increased solids intake so that bottle weaning at a year isn’t such a drastic change. If anyone has tips on this, I’d love your feedback in the comments.

Play

With C’s increased mobility, he is showing less and less interest in his toys, preferring to get into trouble instead, going after dog toys, shoes and anything else he can find that isn’t appropriate (despite all my attempts at baby-proofing).  We followed Mrs. Stroller’s lead and introduced a toy rotation, which has helped with the boredom effect to some degree, but no matter how frequently I swap things out, he always prefers dog bones to all else (not that I actually allow it – I just spend a lot of time taking them away, only to have my dog bring them back into sight a few minutes later. Ah, the joys of motherhood).

A whole bin of dog toys? Yes, please.

When he actually takes note of his toys, he loves anything that he can shake and make noise with, and his go-to move is still putting everything in his mouth.  Blocks – in the mouth.  Cars – in the mouth.  Rattles – enjoy the noise it makes when shaken, and then straight into the mouth.

Exploring the new walker that Grandma Confetti got him

We have had lots of play dates this month, and we were enrolled in three baby classes. Little C much prefers staying close to me than crawling off with the other kids. His separation anxiety is still going strong, so even when he crawls off for a little bit, he is always double checking that I am close by, and he panics if he can’t see me. In music class, he is so funny because he is obsessed with the teacher and the guitar, always crawling right up to her and clinging to her ankles or grabbing at the guitar.

Milestones/Misc.

At the beginning of the month, Little C finally shifted his preference from scooting to crawling, and by mid-month, he was speedy as can be.  He is cruising more and more, and at the end of the month, my maniac son figured out how to climb onto our living room chair all on his own.  Yep – it is absolutely terrifying, since he has no idea how to safely get down.

“I got here all by myself!”

This month he started waving and clapping tentatively.  His clap is so funny – he tends to get stuck with his hands together and then shake them while clasped, and it looks like he is doing Billy Ray Cyrus’ Achy Breaky Heart dance (anyone remember that?!).  He thinks it is just the silliest thing, so we are rolling with it. Another big change this month is that we are seeing him understand a few words.  The first one was actually our dog’s name.  I was calling our dog, and called out “Kenzie,” and he looked right at her.  It is amazing to watch him learn and process information.

This month, we also took a big step, dropping the pacifier during day-time waking hours. Little C has been quite attached to his “pepi” since he was a newborn, and our pediatrician feels strongly about having children drop the pacifier by 12 months. I don’t have strong feelings about it, but I figured it was probably a positive step, and since he stopped using it during the day, his babbling has increased quite a bit.  He still prefers “yah, yah” and “bah” to the traditional “da-da” and “ma-ma.”

My little baby is looking more and more like a little boy, and I would be lying if I said it didn’t freak me out a little bit.