14 Month Milestone

This may be TMI so please skip this post if you are uncomfortable discussing breastfeeding.

We made it to 14 months of breastfeeding! Shortly after Adam turned a year old, I weaned him down to nursing twice a day. National laws allow for a nursing mom to take needed breaks throughout the day for nursing or pumping while at work. That protected time only lasts until a child is one year old. It's wonderful that needed time for pumping and nursing is able to supply a child with breastmilk for an entire year. And slightly sad because the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding through the first year of life and beyond if both mutually beneficial to child and mother.

But I digress. Adam was successfully weaned to nursing twice a day shortly after turning one, right when I lost the protected time at work. Nursing only twice a day was not stressful and very easy. Eventually Adam stopped nursing in the morning. And then he stopped nursing all together when we were in DC. I really thought that I would be sad and tearful when Adam refused to nurse. Sure, I was a little bit upset, I felt like my little baby boy was growing up. But it also made me really happy. He is eating really well and drinks whole milk like a champ! He is really thriving and doesn't need Momma as much. It's bittersweet but I didn't even shed a tear.

In other news, we all went down to DC so I could attend a medical conference. I enjoyed the conference and Adam and Jeff enjoyed the National Zoo and Natural History Museum. And then Adam and Jeff left for vacation in SC with Grammy Sue and Graunt Judy. Jeez, it was really hard for Mom to say goodbye to her favorite boys! Adam and Jeff were away in SC for 4 nights, the longest by far that I have been away from Adam. I missed Adam like crazy but just kept picturing how much fun Adam was having with everyone in SC.

Adam has learned to walk! He started walking by himself a few weeks ago but rarely wanted to let go. But one day Adam didn't want to take our hand anymore. He's now walking everywhere (with a few crawls here and there) and can walk about 50-100 steps without falling. He walks with his hands outstretched for balance, he looks like a zombie!

Adam is sleeping better! Around 12 months, we found that Adam wasn't sleeping as well when I woke him up at 5:30am to nurse him. So we dropped that session. And we dropped the nursing session before I went to bed. Adam was quickly able to sleep 7:30pm to 6ish am. And then that turned into 6:30am. And now he usually sleeps 7:30p until 7am. Sometimes Adam even sleeps until 8:30am without waking up during the night! WOW! Adam's sleeping has really come a long way! Mom and Dad feel soooooooo much more rested too! Let's hope I didn't jinx his sleeping tonight!

That's all our news for now!

Dwarfed by the Giraffe at the National Museum of Natural History

Admiring the Seals at the National Zoo

Swimming in Kiawah

14 months

Adam is 14 months old!  Here are a few photo highlights from the last month:

 Looking stylish while enjoying lunch at Max's Oyster Bar.

Hanging out on my best friend, Jack.

At the Butterfly Conservatory with Mom.

Adam loves to read, even in the car!

13 Months

Adam is 13 months old today!

Last month when we are the pediatrician, Adam had only gained 3 ounces over the past 3 months. From birth until 4 months Adam was in the 90/95% for height and weight, and slowly every month he's been dropping in percentiles. At 12 months Adam was in the 5% and this made Momma sad and worried. Every meal we would do regular food first, he would "try" it, maybe chew for a second or two, and spit it out. Inevitably it all ended up in his lap or on the floor, or not even touched. And every meal ended with a puree that he happily ate. Regular food and then purees had been our routine for over 3 months without any improvement. I thought maybe he didn't like regular food because he doesn't have many teeth, or maybe he has a problem swallowing food. I went ahead and called for an early intervention evaluation. The state of CT provides free in home evaluations, it's part of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Professionals determine if your child would benefit from services, like physical, occupational, or speech therapy. The cost of services is determined by your household income. I only learned about this a few months ago and I think it's really awesome.

Scheduling an evaluation takes week. Adam still hasn't had his appointment. But now I don't think he needs one. Adam learned how to chew food and actually swallow it! Things are starting to look up!

At 12 months it is routine to do blood work. Adam is not anemic and his lead levels are not detectable, more great news! But we also had allergy testing done. Turns out that Adam has lots and lots of allergies. So far, we know he has allergen antibodies to wheat, sesame seed, soy, peanuts, milk, and eggs. He's never had nuts or shellfish. However Jeff is allergic to those foods and I would bet $10 that our little boy is allergic to those items as well. We have an appointment with a pediatric allergist next week. I'm really hopeful that we will learn more about Adam can and can't eat. And hopefully we will then see some improvements in the height and weight categories.

And my growing boy is a super FAST crawler, loves to cruise around the furniture, LOVES to walk around with his truck, and loves to walk around holding someone's hand. He has zero interest in any toys and just wants to move, move, move!

And of course what you really want, some pictures!

Adam loves to say hi to himself in the mirror

Another haircut

Adam LOVES to walk around with his truck

Bath time stinky face

 Out to lunch with his buddy, Gianna

Mommy gets the best hugs 

Lunch with the cuz

 Adam likes to read during diaper changes

 Fun at the park with Mikayla

 Adam's artwork on display at the hospital

Adam is 1!!!!

Wow, Adam is now 1!!!

Awesome cake that Oma made

Adam and Keira enjoying their books that Aunt Judy made 

I think someone likes cake

Grampy Hank and Grammy Sue love Adam

Thank you Pinterest

Balloon wreath

Monthly photos in an awkward 1 shape

I made the Adam portion

Money shot of the M&Ms

Coming home outfit, 3 month outfit, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months

Outside Perspective

Sometimes an outside perspective really helps.

This week we've been on vacation in Kiawah. Adam is crawling ALL over the house. He's even pulling up and using the wooden walker and going for short jaunts around the house. He loves having tons of space to explore. We've had lots of fun riding bikes with Adam in the infant seat. The weather has been really nice so far, we spend lots of time outside. Bike rides, runs, walks, kayak trips, and meals outside. We are really enjoying spring time!

And Adam is his usual mostly happy self. He smiles A LOT, he especially likes to smile at women. He is such a lady's man. And he also has a few quirks. He does eat some table food, he chews it but he usually spits it out. And he's on the smaller side now, for height and weight. I'm a parent, of course I worry about these things. Is Adam eating enough? Is he getting too skinny? Is there anything else I should be doing for him? Can I help him learn to walk? How can I help him eat better? Should I try to help him less? What the heck is the right thing to do?!

My friend Liz joined us in Kiawah a few days ago. Liz doesn't see Adam's quirks, she sees a happy and healthy little boy. And you know what else, she thinks Jeff and I are amazing parents. The kind of parents she thinks other people aspire to be. So you know what, I'm going to take the credit. Jeff is a great dad and I'm a great mom. I spend lots of time worrying if I'm a good enough mom, especially seeing what other moms do on Facebook, blogs, and Pinterest. You have a constant feeling of not doing enough for your child. Not doing enough creative projects, not teaching him enough, not doing something enough. But at least for tonight, I'll put those fears aside. Because it turns out, I'm a great mom.

11 Months

Wow, time keeps flying by!  I know some parents get sad that their babies are growing up when they turn 1, but I'm not. Adam is such a happy and inquisitive guy, and he has only gotten more and more fun with time. For example, he has a super cheesy grin that he just started using, especially when he sees me. It's like, "yeah, I know I'm cute". And he's started imitating Jeff and I more. He smiles when we smile, he claps when we clap, and he mirrors us in other ways too. Speaking of mirrors, this kid LOVES to look at himself in the mirror. He smiles at himself, grins, laughs, and tries to give himself a high five.

Adam started scooting on his butt at about 10 months, but he didn't get very far. He's gotten better at the butt scooting this past month and he has also started crawling! Not your typical crawl either, leave that to the unimaginative babies. This kid uses both hands, a knee, and a foot. Not sure how he developed that kind of crawl, but it works for him. It's very easy for him to switch from butt scooting to crawling and back to sitting.

Adam is also exceptionally affectionate. He LOVES his cousin Keira. Last weekend he scooted over to her every chance he got and tried to a lay a big wet kiss on her. His entire face lit up every time he saw her. His daycare teachers have also told us that Adam is affectionate with his classmates. He likes to give out hugs and kisses to his friends. My little love bug!

But it's not all sunshine and buttercups over here. Adam is turning into a picky eater. We try and offer a variety of different foods when we sit down to eat together as a family. We are trying to have Adam eat more table foods. Adam likes chicken, meatballs, and cheerios. And other than that, he prefers to eat purees. He really has no interest in toast, pasta, eggs, cooked or steamed veggies or fruit. We just keep offering in hopes that with more exposure, he will develop new tastes.

Mum-Mum and Da-Da

Wow, we haven't posted in a long time!

Let's see what's new. Adam is still not crawling. He does lean and reach waaaaaay forward. He also spins around on his butt and scoots his butt forward. He looooves to pull up to a standing position.  He has started to get a little more adventurous and will stand while holding on to the sofa or holding onto a person with one hand. He loves to get into a standing position so much that he sits down on his butt every few seconds to stand up again.  And Adam has 2 teeth!  He has 2 bottom teeth that came in a few weeks ago.

The most exciting thing that Adam has done lately is that he is calling Jeff and I by name!  He calls me Mum-Mum and he calls Jeff Da-Da.

Jeff and I have started to discuss cloth diapering pros and cons. Some days it just seems like cloth diapering is so much work. Adam constantly pees through his diaper when he naps and needs a full outfit change. Plus it's a lot of laundry. To keep things smelling fresh, we wash the cloth diapers every other day. On the other hand, we've already paid for all of our cloth diapers, so when we buy disposables, well, that's an extra cost. And I actually don't like disposables either. I think they smell terribly, like chemicals.  Did I mention they cost money? The only solution is to toilet train early.  You know, if that's my biggest internal debate then I think we are doing pretty well overall.

Remember awhile ago when I wrote that we were weaning the 10:30pm nursing session?  I'll be honest; we tried for a week and Adam did not do well with it. So after a week we went right back to nursing at 10:30pm. And you know what?  We are all sleeping better with it.

However, we did start daytime weaning. Around 1 year old, I plan to have Adam weaned from nursing. Not completely and not exactly at one year, but the time has come when he turns one that he will get the majority of his nutrition from food. It's a slow process and it will take a few months, but I can't believe we've come so far. Nursing has been the MOST challenging thing (remember I've run 2 marathons) and also the MOST rewarding thing I've ever done.

Big Pats fan here!

Cousin love

Notice Adam's 2 teeth!

 Having fun at daycare

Adam is 10 months old and does NOT want to pose!

Visiting Nana and PopPop

Someone loves Cheerios

This is what handsome looks like

Typical day at work for me