We have a one year old, you guys! I have to admit-I have been randomly bursting into tears all month, but it is getting better.  I think it’s just my hormones from weaning off pumping and all the feels from making it through a whole year with a baby and keeping him healthy. I’m still that mom that wipes down everything before putting Jack in the shopping cart or the restaurant high chair. When will that end? Probably never!  Plus, we honestly just started taking him out in public more consistently recently. We have had first child parent phobia or something to that effect, but we are getting better!

On to Jack’s update!

Growth:

Jack had his check up last week. He is 21 lbs ( 60%ile), 30 inches long (55%ile), and his head is 19 inches all around (98%ile). His growth has been pretty consistent and is increasing percentiles with his weight.

Development:

Jack is still crawling, pulling up, and cruising. He is starting to stand on his own a little more, and we are eagerly awaiting those first independent steps. He can wave bye bye, clap his hands (he knows English and Chinese), fix his hair (by putting his hands in his hair and shuffling his fingers), puts his arms over his head when we say YAY!, brush his hair, give a high five.  Jack knows the sign for “more” and is using it more consistently. We are working on “drink” and “eat.” He knows the names of several toys and stuffed animals. He will give his favorite friend (Papou, the stuffed panda) a kiss, cuddle with him, and share his snack with him. He plays peek a boo around his play tent, and thinks it’s the most hilarious thing. Jack loves to look at himself in the mirror and smile. He loves playing with his toys, but household objects tend to hold his attention better and going through the cabinet is a dream for him. He follows a few commands (throw the trash away, drop your paci, give this to me, throw the ball, bring this to me). Everyday, we work on learning new things, exposing him to language, and it’s fun to teach him things and eventually have him accomplish whatever it was that we were working on. We have invested in the Lovevery playkits and were gifted the Lovevery playmat, and I think they have been worth it. The toys have been top notch quality, and we’ll be able to save them for future babies and likely pass them along to future cousins as well 🙂

What we are working on:

Teaching Jack how to point to things, language–he says mama and will repeat it and I think is starting to associate mama to me, but otherwise, babbles a ton. Working on stacking blocks, which he shows very little interest in. Learning body parts, animals, colors, ABCs, counting. Working on eating with a fork and spoon, not pocketing food so much, not dropping food/cups/utensils/plates on the floor.

Eating:

As far as milk, Jack gets a sippy cup of milk when he first wakes up, bottle before nap #1, bottle before nap #2, and bottle before bedtime. He currently gets a mixture of breast milk, formula and almond milk. I started supplementing after he turned 11 months because my supply dropped and we tore through the freezer stash too. He drinks about 20oz-24oz of milk per day. We started offering a sippy and open cup at 6 months, and Jack drinks water from a straw sippy right now.

Jack is eating table food, and has tried all different types of things. His favorites are avocado, tofu, and eggs. He also loves his snacks. We give him a variety of Beechnut toddler snacks, flaxeed toddler cookies, prunes, cheerios, bamba, and homemade banana muffins. We are working on trying new things every week, and it’s somewhat of a challenge because he doesn’t eat just “anything” and will throw food on the ground when he is full or doesn’t like it. He will definitely choose a “beige” food over a vegetable or fruit, which I think is funny and frustrating at the same time.

Sleep:

Jack takes 2 naps at around 9am and 2pm each day. His second naptime will depend on when he woke up from his first nap. His nap length started becoming more consistent after 10 months, and they recently have been very consistent. We usually can count on Jack staying asleep for at least 1 hour, and it’s typically closer to 90 minutes for each nap.

Bedtime is between 6:30pm-7:30pm. He goes to sleep earlier if his naps were short that day, or if he woke up very early from his 2nd nap. Lately, his bedtimes have been closer to the 7pm hour, and less at 6pm, which was happening more a few months ago. Jack sleeps between 10-12 hours, and we hope that one day, his typical wake up time is after 6am 🙂 Right now, he is still an early riser, and 6am-6:15am is somewhat rare, but always a good thing. He naturally adjusted and slept when daylight savings ended, and we were so thankful.

We are learning flexibility. Sometimes we nap on the go if we are out and about or visiting friends, the best naps still happen in his crib.

Elimination:

I am super excited to report that Jack is no longer constipated. He’ll probably be embarrassed when he reads this one day (or maybe not) but I know a lot of babies struggle with this. For Jack, as soon as he started eating solids, there was a change in his stool and it took a turn for the worst. It became more solid, dry, and irregular. Truthfully, there wasn’t one food or remedy that solved it completely for us. I believe that it just took time for his little body to regulate. I recently started giving him prunes after reading about their gut health benefits and he loves the Beechnut bars (the ones with 5 ingredients!) too. Jack also drinks water throughout the day, which likely helps. We have also given him a daily probiotic for the longest time, so hopefully that makes his tummy happy. Our pediatrician recommended a probiotic with fiber included, so we will use that if needed.

Likes:

Exploring our house, pulling open drawers and taking everything out, being loud with the pots and pans, shaking things that make noise (like a medicine bottle), helping me with laundry by pulling everything out of the washer or dryer (we are working on the putting the clothes IN part), dancing and bobbing up and down to music, reading, being held up very high, going outside, hugging and snuggling with his stuffed animals, playing with the activity box, and really playing with anything that’s not a toy and not allowed. And Jack does not dislike the car seat anymore! Right after he turned 11 months, that got much better.

Dislikes:

Diaper changes, although it varies. He goes through stages where he will not lay still on his back. He has also been experiencing separation anxiety for the last month so when he’s not ready, he does not want anyone else but mama holding him.

What is next:

Continuing to work on language and gross motor development. Preparing for Jack’s 2nd plane ride for Thanksgiving. I will be taking Jack to Lake Charles alone, and then Yung will fly in later and we will all come back together.

I can’t believe it is November. We had a small birthday party for Jack at the beginning of October while family was in town, and recently celebrated Halloween. I am starting a new job in December, and life has been non stop in the best way. Hoping to write more updates in the near future <3