I am at a loss for words as to how an entire year has gone by since Liam joined our family. He has been the greatest gift we have ever received and we don’t take one single day with him for granted. While this year has been hard and, duh, exhausting, he is worth every middle of the night wake-up and then some. Tyler and I are seriously smitten with this kid and can’t wait to watch him learn and grow in the years to come.
New this month:
Climbing. This child climbs on anything and everything. And it’s terrifying. Seriously, this kid is ALL boy and rearranges our furniture and his toys constantly by just pushing them around the house. He also has discovered a fondness for our Swiffer which is a-ok with me! I just make sure to put a clean Swiffer pad on there and let him go to town!
We also had our first weekend get away this month which was great for Tyler and I to recharge our batteries and reconnect. I talked all about that here but it was much-needed for us to refocus on our marriage. But boy did we miss our little guy so much!
Liam is currently wearing size 4 diapers during the day and size 6 (!!) overnight diapers. Not sure what we’re going to do if the size 6’s don’t cut it anymore. He’s still in some 18 month clothes but has been transitioning into 24 month stuff and has even worn a few 2T shirts although they are still a bit big. We don’t go for his 12 month appointment until Friday but I am quite curious to see how big he has gotten. One thing is for sure, he is not going to be little by any means!
Sleep:
Ugh. We’re still struggling here y’all. I feel like I’m starting to sound like a broken record about this topic but our little guy just doesn’t seem to be a good sleeper. I totally jinxed myself when I talked about our sleep training experience and we have been on a roller coaster ride ever since. Liam’s newest sleep habit is waking up between 3:00-4:00am and wanting to party for about 2 hours. Since we have previously sleep trained, we tried that method again but it didn’t get nearly as well as it had in the past.
Liam now stands up in his crib so when we let him cry it out he will stand and scratch his toenails down his feet which results in him breaking the skin on his poor little feet and getting scabs. The first time he did it his right foot took forever to heal because he’d scratch the scab off and we had to wrap it with medical tape to keep it covered so it could heal and stop bleeding. Then, once the other scabs were healed, he did it again so we have now resorted to putting him in either footie pajamas or socks every night in case we need to let him cry a little bit at night.
I’m a little at a loss as to what to do here but we have diffused lavender essential oil all night, we have a consistent bedtime routine, he’s well fed and dry every time, etc. He just seems to either want to come and snuggle or is legitimately wired for 2 hours and then will fall back asleep until 7:00-7:30am. The strangest part is, he will randomly sleep through the night so there’s really no rhyme or reason to it
I figure he’ll be sleeping through the night by the time he starts kindergarten?
Food:
Liam has always been a great eater but we have struggled here a little bit in the last month. We get a daily report from his daycare each day and they seem to always tell us that he eats great for them but when it comes to eating at home, he isn’t a great eater. He has definitely gotten picky and is limited in what he wants to eat but has also been great for others so again, I’m a bit at a loss. Maybe he eats so much at daycare he doesn’t want to eat dinner? But he doesn’t eat that well at breakfast for us either so I really have no idea. He’s still clearly not missing any meals so maybe I just need to let it go.
Recent Favorites:
- Pickles
- Pizza
- Mickey waffles
- Peanut Butter
Likes:
- His toy kitchen and slide
- Climbing on anything and everything
- His pacifier
Dislikes:
- Having his nose, hands and/or face wiped
- Taking medicine
- Being told “no”
12 Month Favorites (and a few that we’ve been loving):
- Bob Revolution Flex
- Banana Baby Toothbrush Teether
- myBaby Soundspa Lullaby Sound Machine and Projector
- The Nose Frida
- Graco Tablefit High Chair
- Fisher Price Learn with Me Zebra Walker
- Baby Einstein Discovering Music Activity Table
- Nuby No-Spill Super Spout Easy Grip Cup
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Figure Playset
- Fisher Price Corn Popper (an oldie by goodie!)
- Step2 Water Works Water Table
- Little Tikes Cozy Truck
- Fisher-Price Bright Beats Smart Touch Play Space
- Summer Infant Pop ‘N Play Portable Playard
- Little Tikes First Slide
- Step2 Little Cooks Kitchen Playset
- VTech Drop and Go Dump Truck
- VTech Go! Go! Smart Wheels
- Little Tikes Gas ‘n Go Mower
Book Favorites:
- Little Blue Truck
- Magic Bunny
- On the Night You Were Born
- Goodnight Moon
- Time for Bed
- Chicka Chicka ABC
- Pat the Bunny
- Green Eggs and Ham
- Guess How Much I love you
- Goodnight, I love you
Previous Monthly Check-ins:
All photos in this post are by Ashley Duke http://www.faithphotography.net.
12-month sleep regression is real! but it passes! I have 18-month old twins, and the hardest thing is breaking the habit. What worked for us was going in, holding them for a few minutes and then restarting the bedtime routine so it clicks – i’m supposed to go back to sleep.
Thankfully Liam slept through the night last night and I think it happens when he doesn’t eat as much at dinner. He’s so finicky we have to hand feed him sometimes or pick him up and feed him bites to get him to eat all of his food but if that’s what it takes for a good nights sleep I’m all in!