Today James is 10-months-old and we can hardly believe it. His first birthday is just around the corner, and he's becoming more and more like a little person every day. He's grown and changed SO very much this month...
(Happily testing out his new wagon this afternoon, despite the 40-degree weather)
He went from barely mobile, to hardly containable. The boy can crawl, frog hop, and pull-up onto his knees at will. Sometimes he even gets up onto his feet, though those instances are very short-lived because he stands with his booty pushed so far out that he tips right over! And he dances! He dances on his belly, while sitting up, and when up on his knees. He doesn't need music either, he often just breaks into dancing (or rocking/bouncing as it's probably more accurately described) at random moments. In fact, he WOKE UP dancing this morning. So darn cute! We have no idea how he has the energy to go all day at such a pace, but he does. We can hardly keep up. And even though he MUST be burning calories left and right, he still managed to gain a whole pound this month. Hooray! The bit of formula we've been supplementing with and all the solids he's eating now (usually 8oz per meal) are doing the trick! In fact, over this long weekend we had a major success in that James will now drink formula by itself (i.e. not mixed with breastmilk in any ratio). Thank goodness too, because my supply has REALLY dropped in the past couple of weeks and my ability to pump is nearly non-existent. We're still nursing morning, noon, and night (and I'll pump once/day while at work to maintain that), but James is getting 2 formula-only bottles/day now to ensure that he's getting enough milk. And though I cried while giving him that first bottle on Thursday when we were home alone due to daycare being closed, I know it's best for him, and he's doing great with it. It is what it is, and honestly I'm just happy we made it as far as we did. Hopefully we can keep up the part-time nursing through the next 2 months though...
We were going to post a blog titled "What WON'T James eat?", but there's really nothing now that the kid doesn't consume. He's even eating avocado again - easy to pick up and feed himself when rolled in toast crumbs! He LOVES to feed himself and is eating all sorts of table foods these days... scrambled eggs, pancakes, toast, french toast, waffles, biscuits (he's a huge fan of breakfast), rolls, garlic bread, shredded turkey, chicken, and ham, cous cous, bits of pasta and ravioli, pieces of banana, pear, carrots, green beans, avocado, and cheese (he prefers the orange cheeses, like cheddar and colby), corn, beans, peas, and even grilled-cheese sandwiches. Pretty impressive, eh? Seriously, for only 5 teeth (the 5th broke through a couple days ago and the 6th is on it's way any day now - both on top), 3 of which are barely past the gums, the kid does just fine chewing and mashing anything he desires. In fact, he shovels it in so fast we've been calling him a chipmunk because his cheeks get so full. Luckily, he hasn't choked himself a single time (knock on wood). And WE'RE really loving his love of food too. It's so fun (and so easy) to just let him eat whatever we're having.
(Can you see all 5 of those pearly whites?)His personality is really shining these days, and he sure makes us laugh. Besides the crazy cheezer grin my Dad taught him, the kid is working on mastering lots of the goofy looks that Jay gives him. OK, me too. But mostly Jay. He's getting pretty good at some of Jay's looks, but my eyebrow-raising has him totally perplexed. He'll get it in good time. Speaking of which, we're still working on waving, clapping, and blowing kisses. After witnessing Eli give awesome high-fives, we've started working on that too. So far James just looks at us like we're nuts though, or he blows raspberries at us (something we're SURE Eli taught him, since he's the raspberry pro - see the below video from Christmas), but we're patient.
One amazingly adorable thing James has learned is playing and initiating Peek-a-Boo. He loves it when we hide around corners or behind furniture, and he's a smart guy too - he knows where to look for us next when we pop out of different areas. He'll lean his head the direction he expects us to show up, then just grins and giggles when we appear where he thought we would. Every once in a while we can still trick him though (thank goodness). And recently, he's been initiating the game on his own. He'll hold a blanket or other object (sometimes even his shirt, as in the below video) up in front of his face and wait for us to say "Where's my baby?" Then he'll put it down, wait for us to say "There he is!", and then give us his big smile:
He's still a great sleeper at night (usually ~11 hours), but his naps are becoming wildly unpredictable, shorter, and fewer in number. He used to take 2 good naps a day (1-2 hours each) plus a catnap or 2. Now, some days ALL we get are catnaps. Then, some days he sleeps for 2.5-3 hours at a stretch. We definitely think the kid is moving from 2 naps per day down to 1 nap per day already, as most of the kids at daycare get (since now that he is in the Infant 2 room, he is no longer behind closed doors and is exposed to the goings-on of the entire facility). That's just fine with us... we just wish we knew WHEN that 1 nap was going to be each day!
Also, I am now 14 weeks along in this new pregnancy. That means I've entered the amazing 2nd trimester (I hit that milestone on January 1st, actually - Happy New Year to me and BLT)! Quick question though... Where are all my 2nd trimester benefits? I'm STILL nauseated and STILL tired. It wasn't like this last time - if I remember correctly, those minor difficulties were gone by week 12! Hmmm, maybe next week?...
Here I am today at 14 weeks 2 days:
*Sorry BLT, but your Mommy will not be posing for any bare-belly shots this time around. Your big brother graced me with far too many stretch marks during his final weeks in utero. And I'm still carrying around a bit of my baby weight from him too. You know what they say: "9 months to put it on, 9 months to get it off", and you were concieved on his 7-month birthday... But don't worry, I promise to document this newly growing belly for your baby book though, regardless of my insecurities*
Obviously, my belly is a bit bigger at this point than it was with James. I know you're all curious and will just go look at my old blog post to compare anyway, so I'll save you the effort. Here I am with BLT (left) and James (right) at the start of the 2nd trimester:
Doctor appointment #3 is scheduled for Wednesday, but nothing exciting is planned. Just the standard check-up procedures. I'll let you know how it goes though...
No comments:
Post a Comment