11 months already?!
What?! I can hardly believe that
we will be celebrating our little guy’s 1st birthday in a
month. Time is flying and I wish I could
find a way to hit the pause button for just a minute.
The past month with Mitchell has been both difficult and
wonderful. It was difficult because he
spent a great deal of time cutting teeth and fighting a cold. Poor little man was a little bit miserable
for a while. We made it through and,
with the aid of Motrin and lots of snuggles, Mitch is now sporting two new
teeth (for a total of 4) and his cold is finally going away. We've spent a lot of time at home lately due
to my broken foot and Mitch being under the weather. As a result, we've been able to slowly get
Mitch into a better sleep pattern. He’s
a little bit of an insomniac sometimes and he’s not a fan of his crib. Up to now, we've not been able to get him to
take regular naps. He would basically
just go, go, go and then fight sleep before finally giving into exhaustion and
taking a 15 minute cat nap. I know that
I didn't help the situation at all because I love to just sit and rock him in
the evening after Evie has gone to bed.
We both enjoyed that quiet time together, but it got us into a pattern
that was hard to break. We realized something
had to change and, with some perseverance and routine changes, Mitch is now
taking two naps a day and sleeping in his crib the majority of the time. He’s not sleeping through the night in long
stretches, but he will sometimes sleep 4-5 hours at night which is an
improvement. We’re still getting up with
him at least once a night, but we can usually get him back to sleep pretty
quickly. I am trying to pause before I
go into his room and see if he will get himself back to sleep. It’s worked a few times, but he usually
stands in his crib and cries until I go and get him.
Outside of sleep, Mitch has also made strides with
walking. He’s a full-fledged walker now
and is starting to crawl less and less.
Pat and I have been amazed at how quickly he’s advanced. We were out talking to the neighbors the
other day and Mitchell decided to just walk down the driveway. He made it almost to the next house before he
stumbled. But even then, he just got
back up and kept going. He’s got good
balance and can crouch down to pick stuff up and walk across the room carrying
his cup or a toy.
 |
| He never stops moving! |
Verbally, Mitchell still isn't saying too much other than
Mama and Dada. He will also say ‘uh oh’
and ‘hi’ (although this sounds more like ‘die’ to me). We’re trying to get him to say ‘bye-bye’, but
so far he will just say ‘ba’. He likes
to babble to himself and he is learning to make his requests known. This is especially evident at meal time. Mitchell loves to eat and he has not trouble
letting us know when he’s hungry. He’s
isn't eating much baby food these days.
We still give him a jar of fruit in the morning and maybe a Gerber
yogurt cup with some baby oatmeal mixed in it, but mostly, he just eats what we
are eating. If I can cut it up small
enough, he will eat it. I’m thankful
that I haven’t seen any evidence of food allergies. He’s had eggs, dairy and wheat with no
reaction. We try and keep his diet very
healthy and I’m not really a fan of giving him refined sugar, but he does get
the occasional taste of a cookie or ice cream.
He’s still nursing or having a bottle every 4 hours or so. We introduced the sippy cup and he’s getting
pretty good at drinking his water. I’m
hoping to wean him off the bottle and nursing around a year, but I’m
anticipating a little bit more of a struggle with him than I had with
Evie. Let’s just say he’s very attached
to his mama.
Speaking of attachment, Mitchell is getting more
social. He’s still timid in new
situations and crowds, but he’s starting to gain some confidence, especially
now that he can walk. He’s seems
fascinated by new things and, as long as he knows we are nearby, he likes to
explore. That said, there are times when
he only wants to be held by his mama.
This can be a challenge, especially if he’s like this first thing in the
morning when I am trying to get ready for work.
He’ll hang off my leg, sucking his thumb and chanting “Ma ma ma ma”
until I pick him up. I’ve gotten pretty
good at putting on makeup while holding him.
Pat tries to help, but Mitch will just struggle to get down and then
make a beeline back to me. It’s
frustrating for everyone…he’s definitely a Mama’s boy!
Overall, Mitchell is doing fantastic. He’s an absolute joy and such a good baby!
Happy 11 Months Big Boy!
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