Stats
Weight: 25.5 lbs (95th percentile)
Height: 30” (81st percentile)
Diaper Size: Size 4 Pampers
Clothes: 18 mos. & some 24 mos. clothes/24 mos. jammies
Personality
L.J. is still as mild-tempered and even-keeled as they come. He’s got a curious streak a mile wide and loves to explore. He is into everything and rarely still! We’ve seen a few glimpses of him wanting control/independence this month. He will fuss at a diaper change and often insists on feeding himself. He will actively push something away when he is not interested. One of the cutest things he does is toss his lovey aside if he has no interest in settling down for nap/bedtime. He typically snuggles right up to them!
L.J. is very social and makes new friends wherever he goes. He always has a smile to share! One of my favorite traits is his persistence at getting someone’s attention. If they respond to him (and it’s pretty hard to ignore him!) he rewards them with the cutest grins and smiles. He is such a ham!
We have only experienced a bit of separation anxiety. He loves school and his teacher, so fortunately we’ve only had morning tears once or twice. L.J. had some pretty significant separation anxiety over Thanksgiving, but he also wasn’t feeling well so I’m sure that was a factor. He does, however, get very upset if daddy goes outside and doesn’t take him along!
Playtime
We need a good nickname for L.J. – something along the lines of “Captain Destructo.” If there is a mess to be made, L.J.’s all over it. He’s become adept at crawling, so his ability to get into things he shouldn’t has increased substantially. How do babies crawl so fast?!?
Our living room is full of toys, but L.J.’s favorite playthings include:
- The metal colander in the kitchen (he knows exactly where it is kept)
- Anything he can find in mommy’s closet
- Daddy’s laptop cord
- The doormat by the front door (eww!)
We’ve seen him transition to more “toddler” toys this month, and he really enjoys toys that show cause and effect. He still loves any type of block or ball, and knocking down towers delights him to no end. He likes dumping things out, and it’s not uncommon to see him kneeling in front of his big toy basket flinging things out behind him.
The park and riding toys remain two of L.J.’s favorite things. The blue car at my parents is an absolute favorite, and rumor has it that Santa may be bringing another special toy for L.J. to play with at home.
He got to ride in the racecar cart at the grocery store for the first time this month, and he thought he was so big and so cool!
Eating
We gave L.J. his last bottle on his birthday (hopefully!). We have been working hard at transitioning to milk and a straw cup over the past few weeks, and have been having great success. He took to milk right away and drinks it eagerly. He still does best with a straw cup.
Since he took to milk so easily, we phased out all bottles except his first morning bottle over Thanksgiving week. It was surprisingly easy! We portioned out the rest of his formula starting the week before his birthday – doing three days of a 4/2 ratio and then 3 days of a 2/4 ratio (formula:milk). The day after his birthday I gave him cold milk in a straw cup and he did just fine! Here’s to hoping we won’t have any regression in this area.
We also noticed that his acid reflux and spitting up stopped as soon as the formula did. Yay!
L.J. can eat some adults under the table. He loves to eat and is not the least bit picky. The only food he has spit out so far is red peppers. Can’t blame him for that.
For the most part, we eat a family meal for dinner. I don’t cook around him, but I do keep him in mind when I cook. Some of the meals I’ve made that he’s really enjoyed include bourbon chicken, beef stew, homemade baked chicken tenders and ravioli with meat sauce.
A few new things he had this month and really enjoyed: cottage cheese, soup and squeezie pouches. Oh squeezie pouches –you won! I wasn’t planning on buying what I considered to be an overpriced marketing gimmick. Then I gave one to him as a treat, just to see what he’d do with it. He inhaled it and didn’t spill a drop! And decided that they are delicious. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to get them on sale. (Though even on sale they cost too much…) I now understand why they are so insanely popular. So convenient, so easy, healthy and kids love them. I’m converted.
One other big milestone that coincides with his first birthday: no more packing lunches and bottles! He moved to school food when he turned one. I wasn’t quite ready to relinquish control of his diet (we’re still monitoring carbs and I’d prefer no juice), but we don’t have much choice. The meals at school seem balanced so I’m not too concerned. And did I mention milk is included in his tuition – woo hoo!
Sleeping
No changes – still a great night sleeper. Naps vary.
Milestones/Firsts
This month L.J. learned to clap and give High 5’s.
He also became much more proficient at crawling. He can now easily get into a kneeling position; no standing yet.
We heard L.J.’s first word – “Mama.” He also says “Hi” and “Hey” (translated by us) and “Baba” (we don’t know what that refers to).
He celebrated his first Thanksgiving, and the end of bottles, formula and baby food.
Dear L.J.,
We made it! One full year! On one hand, it feels like just yesterday that we welcomed you into the world. On the other hand, it feels like you’ve been part of our lives forever. That’s because we love you very much and you are such an important part of our family. You are sweet, social, curious, funny and intelligent – and so much more. You are calm and mild-tempered, yet busy as a boy can be. Your first year has been memorable, challenging and very rewarding. I feel so blessed to get to be your mommy. It’s been a wonderful adventure and I can’t wait to see what’s ahead in year two! No matter how “big” you get – you’ll always be my precious firstborn baby boy. I love you!!
Love,
Mommy
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