Sunday, May 20, 2012

11 Month Old Offspring

Declan is 11 months old now!  Since he was born, I haven't stopped being surprised and amazed at his development.  It seemed like every week, if not every day, there was something new to be proud of.  In the past 3 weeks he went from taking his first steps to being a real toddler. 


He's still sleeping pretty well, although he's kind of recovering from all of the traveling we just got home from.  Most nights he sleeps 11-13 hours straight, depending on when he goes to bed (he always wakes between 6:30-7 now - thank God it's not 6am anymore!), and taking an hour+ naps at 9am and 1pm. 


 He has recently learned to put his two lower and four upper teeth to work and take bites off of bigger foods, such as sandwiches and strawberries.  At 12 months it'll be safe for him to eat just about anything, so we can add honey and eggs to his diet.  I think we'll remain cautious with nuts, but he has probably already had them in other things since we haven't been very careful to avoid them.  For the past two days I have been giving him goat's milk in a sippy cup.  He has been losing interest in nursing for several months now, but I was determined to keep offering it to him until he was a year old.  Just in the past couple of days, I have gone from trying to nurse him 3 times a day to 2 times (morning and evening), although he hardly even tries in the evening now.  He just wants to squirm in my lap and keeps pointing to his books, wanting me to read to him instead.  I am sort of thinking of taking more of a "don't refuse, don't offer" approach to the bedtime nursing for the next week or two and see how that goes.  I'm not too sad about weaning him.  I am more worried about two long upcoming trips we have planned over the next two months and wondering if I'll wish I had kept that resource as a way to comfort or soothe him while everything else will be unfamiliar away from home.  But at the same time, maybe it will be better to have weaned him by then for the convenience. 



Not saying a lot of different words yet.  Almost everything he says is with the "m" sound.  He doesn't seem to decipher between "Mama" and "Mo" (more) since when he is demanding more food, it usually comes out as "Ma ma ma ma ma! MA!" - how to teach patience to an 11 month old?  I don't know!  When asked, he'll tell you what the cow says (Mmmmmooo!), or the dinosaur (a gravelly "Aaaarrrr!"), or the dog (Aaa!  Aaa!), or the little pigs (Eee Eee!), or the cat (a very soft whispery "Eeeooooo").  We've still been trying to get him to say "Dada" or anything with a consonant other than M, but he will just grunt softly in response.  So, that's still to come... (poor Ryan! lol)

His favorite "toy" is any blanket or item he can put over his head and play, "Where's the baby?" with.  He giggles and squeals like crazy when playing peekaboo or hiding behind the corner or furniture.  Playing with his toys is one thing he does very well, though.  He'll wander from the living room to his room, dragging toys in between, for several hours out of the day.  If I put the Toddler Radio station on Pandora in his room, he'll play in there for hours.  He loves soft squishy things like pillows, sheepskin, and a blue stuffed puppy that he has.  He hugs on and loves to bury his face in it. 



I am very thankful for what an easy baby he has been.  The acid reflux was a bump in the road.  It was difficult and scary to not know what was wrong, but I feel a lot more equipped to deal with things now, should anything else come up.  Having a chiropractor as a resource for health treatment makes me feel a lot better.  A tough diaper rash, a fussy day here and there, a little runny nose once, but so far no ear infections, fevers, stomach bugs, allergic reactions, colds, etc.  I credit breastfeeding, chiropractic care, good sleep, a little exposure to dirt here and there, a healthy appetite, and just plain old God's blessing to his wonderful health.  I hope all of our future children are this easy (one can dream, right?)!



I keep praying for God to keep me humble.  I know that pride comes before a fall (and have experienced it many times!).  I am so proud of that kid though.  His accomplishments, his adorableness, his humor, his health, and so on.  Mother's Day was just last weekend, so there are a lot of, "You're a great mom!" flying around - and while I would love to take credit for the joy that my son is to the world - (c; - I know that, truthfully, I'm just drenched in blessing.  I really don't know why God decided to make it so easy for me.  I think about the verse that says that He won't give us more than we can handle, and it makes me wonder if He knows that I can't handle a lot - lol - but seriously... I think about moms that have been through heartache with their babies.  Another topic for another time, maybe.