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Monday, February 2, 2015

Craft: 9, 10 and 11 Months Old

I'm fairly certain that I won't be winning any "blogger of the year" awards any time soon, ha!  I cannot believe that I haven't posted since October 29.  Honestly, I am not sure where the time is going these days.  My baby girl turned 3 last Saturday and my baby boy will be 1 this week, and I am feeling pretty emotional about all of it.  I can still remember both of their births in vivid detail, and it seems like it was just yesterday that I was bringing each of them home.  GOSH I am feeling so sentimental.  I know that I am so back-logged on this poor blog.  When Craft was born, I knew I wouldn't have as much time to devote to it but I didn't realize that meant NO blogging!  My goal was to try to get through a year of monthly updates, which I have clearly failed at, but I want he and his future spouse to have something to read one day, ha!  I take solace in the fact that at least I've been keeping up with the monthly pictures (even if they are sometimes 2 weeks late, whoops).  In terms of milestones and updates, the last three months are all running together and there is no possible way I could separate them at this point, but I figured that a blog post spanning three months was better than no blog post at all.  Sit back and relax because it's gonna be a long one!

Weight/Length:  When we went to see Dr. V for Craft's 9-month appointment, he weighed close to 28 pounds (I can't put my finger on the stat sheet at the moment, which is hilarious because if I had misplaced any of Lilly's I would have had a coronary...second child problems, yes?).  I remember that he was still close to 90th percentile for weight and around 50th for height.  He looks so long and much thinner to me, though, all of a sudden.  Poor guy had his first real illness at Christmas - a double ear infection and pink eye in both eyes, ugh! - and when Dan took him to the doctor then he weighed about 24 pounds.  I guess the sickness/loss of appetite in conjunction with mobility caused the drop, but they didn't seem concerned.  I feel sure he's gained it back by now!

Little man at his 9-month appointment in November...



...and then at his first sick visit in December.  Doesn't he look pitiful?!


Sleep:  Not much change here, thankfully.  Craft goes to bed sometime between 8:00-8:30 pm and sleeps until sometime between 7:00-8:00am.  His wake up time is pretty inconsistent (in fact he's been sleeping until 9am some recently, keep it up son!), but it's rarely earlier than 7 (and when it's that early it's normally the result of a poop).  He still naps twice a day - around 10:00-10:30 for about an hour and around 2:00-2:30 for somewhere between 2-3 hours.  Again, afternoon nap length is unpredictable, but usually at least 2 hours.  I noticed when looking back at Lilly's 9-, 10-, and 11-month updates that she was still taking two 2-or-2.5-hour naps at this point.  I always wake Craft up from his morning nap after an hour so that he'll sleep a little longer in the afternoon.  Mean mama, I know, but it is a lot easier on everyone if their naps occur at the same time!  Again, #secondchildproblems.

Feeding:  The big change to note here is that we're down to nursing one time a day  (At my last update, Craft was still nursing 4 times/day.).  We dropped the bedtime feeding first, I think around 10 months, because he just didn't need it and wasn't really interested.  I was pretty devastated about that, because that was my favorite feeding of the day and the one I held onto the longest with Lilly (I can't say enough how different these two are in so many ways!).  Even at 10 months, C was already weaning himself and nursing less and less - never more than 2-3 minutes at a time.  Around that same time (10 months, I believe) we dropped another feeding so that we were down to twice a day.  In addition, I wasn't producing nearly as much pumping so the past several months depleted my freezer supply (never thought I'd see that day!).  We dropped another feeding right at 11 months because I kicked off the new year with a three-day work trip and didn't have enough milk to leave 2 bottles/day while I was gone.  Honestly dropping all of these feedings has not seemed to have any effect on Craft at all - as I mentioned before, he wasn't nursing a ton anyway and has been eating solids for so long that it didn't seem to bother him.  I am still hanging on to that last feeding, which is first thing in the morning when he wakes up.  I really can't tell whether he's even getting anything anymore, but I have such mixed emotions about being done that I'm clinging to it for now.  If I had to guess, I'd say he'll probably be over it sooner rather than later. 

With the decrease in nursing, Craft has been eating a lot of solids.  He mostly eats whatever we eat, and gets frustrated if he sees someone eating something that he doesn't have on his plate (which is pretty much at every meal since his older sister's entire diet consists of approximately 3 foods that she will eat).  I can tell that he's getting pickier, and he'll let me know if he doesn't love something but for now he's still at least trying whatever I put in front of him (for the most part).  Please God let it continue.  Craft eats breakfast usually around 8 or shortly after he wakes up, lunch at 12:00 or 12:30, he has an afternoon snack around 5:00 or 5:30 and we have dinner usually around 6:30 in the evening.  


Fist bump!

Messy boy!!!

Firsts This Month:  There are SO many firsts that I haven't blogged about, so I know I'll forget some.  Craft's first Holiday season - Thanksgiving and Christmas - was a blast.  First sickness (see above), which was not so much a blast but he was a trooper.  We took him to the doctor suspecting that he had pink eye, and the doctor said she couldn't believe that he was happy and smiling and babbling because he had a double ear infection and should have been feeling pretty miserable.  Who knew?!  First unassisted steps!  More on that below.  I know I'm missing so many "firsts," but that's the best I can do in my current state of exhaustion.  

I'm sure I should create an entirely separate "Holiday" post, but let's be honest, the odds of that happening at this point are zero so here are some of the highlights!

First Thanksgiving!  We celebrated with the Baums this year.

Picking out our Christmas tree at the Raleigh Farmer's Market
Decorating the tree in one of many pairs of Christmas jammies (Mama has a problem...)

This year's Christmas ornaments

Decorating Christmas cookies
Pullen Park Holiday Express with the Eakers



C's first visit with Santa!  Clearly Craft could care less.  Lillian was less than amused.
Lilly's Christmas program at school, and quite possibly my favorite photo of all time.


Watching big sister's Christmas program at dance, and dressed for the occasion!

Before church on Christmas Eve


Christmas morning...Santa came!



Opening gifts at our Christmas celebration with the Eakers
Developments:  Craft is a walking machine, y'all.  Not long after the 8-month post he perfected his crawl and then it was no time at all before he was cruising (around 9 months I believe).  He would pull up and hold onto anything he could get his little hands on to walk around.  Sometime around 10 months Craft started taking steps without holding onto anything, but really just 2-3 at a time.  As we neared 10.5 months he was getting more confident and taking more steps at a time, and then right after Christmas (so right before 11 months) something clicked and he started walking all over the place.  He has quickly perfected his balance and doesn't look quite as much like a baby drunk anymore now...and he is fast.  "I can't turn my back for 5 seconds" is the understatement of the century here.  He has also just in the past couple of weeks learned that he doesn't have to fall, that he can instead squat and then stand back up from that position.  Those thunder thighs are STRONG!  We are working on keeping him away from the stairs (we have one baby gate at the top but have left it off the bottom for now) and out of the dog bowl and toilets. 

C's fine motor skills are coming along nicely as well.  He loves to hold a spoon or fork and try to feed himself (we have to put the food on the utensils for him, obviously).  He's very interested in shape sorters and puzzles, and can clap, high five and wave among other things.

Craft loves to babble and explore his little vocal cords, and he has the sweetest little voice you have ever heard.  Some words he says are: hi, hey, hello, mama, dada, Lilly, Layla, balloon, book, quack quack (kack kack), uh oh, baby.  I'm sure I'm missing a few, but those are the ones he says most often.  He also LOVES reading books and is very picky about what he wants you to read - lift-the-flap books are his current favorite.  He loves being songs and dancing (and clapping!) as well.  Some favorite songs are: Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, Open Shut Them, any and every Laurie Berkner song (lucky little stinker gets to see her at his first concert next month with big sister) and Baby Bumblebee, to name a few.

We have 8 teeth!  He got two teeth which I blogged about a while ago, and then in like a two-week span before Christmas got 6 more at the same time.  Baby vampire!

I can't remember whether I've said it on the blog before, but the best way I can describe this little man is that he's all boy.  He has SO much personality and is a lot like his daddy in so many ways.  He loves his mama and wants me to be in his sight at all times.  The child also has NO FEAR.  We are in for it, I'm sure.  The biggest change that I can see in Craft as of late is that he all of a sudden does not look like a baby anymore.  That change happened overnight, and I just hate it.  Slow down, baby boy!

Likes:  I thought that Lilly was a happy baby, but her baby brother is ecstatic.  I swear he is one of the happiest babies I have ever encountered, so most things make him happy, but I'll play along:  food. singing. dancing. clapping. waving. petting layla. pulling on layla's fur. drinking layla's water. playing with things that his sister doesn't want him to touch (which is pretty much everything).  books. bath time. being outside (he will walk to the door and bang on the window and cry to go out!). walking. giggling. talking. LILLY - he loves her so much.  daddy and mama.  and carney, of course.  babies.  walks. other kids.

Dislikes:  Diaper changes are the main thing I can think of here...lately, they are a huge challenge.  Craft is generally unhappy also if he's hungry or overly tired.  And if mama won't pick him up right this second when he wants to be held.

What I'm Thankful For:  I have so much to be thankful for that I don't even know how to list.  I'm thankful for my sweet little family of four, for a loving husband who works so hard for us, for two healthy babies.  I'm thankful for great friends, a wonderful extended family, and a job that I (mostly) really enjoy (and that allows me the flexibility to be the mother that I want to be).  I'm thankful for wonderful childcare in the form of our nanny and "school."  The list goes on and on.

What I'm Looking Forward To:  It is kind of the truth but also kind of a lie that I'm looking forward to Craft's birthday.  I'm excited to let him eat a cupcake for breakfast and make new memories, and I'm excited to be able to visit with friends and family to celebreat our little man.  With that being said, I'm feeling emotional about the fact that he is almost one, and I also know myself and the stress that will ensue come party day.  Oy!

Next Pediatrician Appointment:  Monday, February 9 for Craft's 12-month well check.  Perhaps the urge to blog will strike again and I'll update with some real stats?!

I did take photos at 9, 10 and 11 months so I'll just post a few highlights below because there are a ton.  

 9 months old:





This is Craft's "Say Cheese, bubby!  Smile for Mommy!" face.  Ham!!





10 months:








"It comes off?!?!?!"

"Victory!!!"


 And finally, 11 months.  In case you weren't aware, the theme these days is, "I won't sit still, ever!"











Those thighs, though...



 
Whew!  I'm caught up (on Craft's months, at least) and it feels so good!  Up next: Lilly's third birthday, then hopefully Craft's 12-month update sometime this year!  :-)  Although it has taken me over a week since I sat down and started writing to actually finish this post, so let's not hold our breath I guess.  

Happy Monday!





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