Toby: 12 Months!

12 whole months…where oh where did the time go?  Somehow my baby turned into a toddler overnight, and I’m not sure how I feel about it yet…while he’s been very fun to play and interact with, the temper tantrums have been in full force.  “Toddler Toby, you’re not being fun” is something we have been saying often lately. 

This past month brought on the walking and he mastered the skill in basically a week.  It was crazy fast how quickly he picked it up but you could see him walking longer and longer distances each day.  Now he waddles around the downstairs level all the time, usually with a small toy or teether in his hands or mouth.  He rarely crawls anymore.  We can tell he wants to walk more in public but he’s distracted very easily (especially by stroller wheels) so we try to keep him contained in the mall or while doing errands.  I’m still nervous about letting him roam more at the park because of the boo-boo factor but I guess that’s something we’ll just have to deal with.  I do carry a little first-aid kit in my bag now :)

We also survived the first illness this past month…the dreaded tummy bug.  Sigh, I think it was harder on me than him because of my puke phobia.  All in all without going into gross details, it could have been much much worse than it was and I’m sure the next time he gets sick it will be awful haha.  It was so hard watching him recover and not letting him eat that much.  He would arch his back and scream after finishing a measly 2 ounce diluted formula bottle and then run into the kitchen looking up at the bottles since he wanted more.  Just hoping he’s a kid that doesn’t get sick a lot each year…

Other major change is that Hubby is back on a normal work schedule, so 7:30-5:30 or 8-6 depending on the day.  He’s been up early to get up with Toby in the mornings so I can lay in bed for an extra few minutes or actually take a shower if I’m feeling ambitious.  It means a longer afternoon for me and Toby but so far we’ve managed well.  It’s a good thing this change happened during the warmer months where we can spend more time outside. 

Weight: 22.3 pounds (60th percentile).  So relieved after his doctor showed me his stats since I was worried he’s been picky with food lately.  She said that’s normal, though, and the pickiness will peak at 15 months and then get better as he gets closer to 18 months.  So just trust what he’s eating and keep offering all types of food.

Height: 30” (52 percentile). 

Medical Issues: Just the tummy bug this past month.  Skin is doing well, some patches come up here and there.

Sleep: Over the past few weeks he’s been waking up earlier and earlier…a few days he was up at 5:30ish which was not fun.  Now it looks like he’s been up around 6:15-6:30 each morning.  His doctor said there’s not much we can do to get him to sleep in later and he’s probably not going to be ready to drop a nap until he’s closer to 15 months.  So I’ve been trying to put him down for the AM nap by 9:30 at the latest so that way he will be tired enough in the afternoon for another nap.  The afternoon nap he usually fights for a good 15-20 minutes but he does end up falling asleep so I know he still needs it.  Usually in bed by 7:45pm for the night.  I don’t think he needed us to go in overnight at all this past month?  He wakes up sometimes but usually falls back asleep on his own after a few minutes so he’s definitely a good night-time sleeper.  Schedule is: Wake up at 6:30, first nap from 9:30-11:00 (sometimes this is 10-11:30), then second nap from 3-4:30pm (sometimes this is only 45 minutes), start getting ready for bed no later than 7:15, in the crib by 7:45.

Clothes/Diapers: Wearing 12 month stuff and there’s really no need to start wearing 12-18 month stuff yet.  He still fits into a few 9 month onesies.  Wearing 4’s for diapers.

Diet: Drinking four 6oz bottles each day but we have the green light to switch to whole milk.  We still have a full container of formula left so my plan is to mix that with milk for the next couple weeks since when I gave him a sippy cup of milk last night, he just played and spit it out like he does with water.  Will also probably decrease the amount of formula/milk to 4oz for a bottle.  I don’t think he’s ready to give up bottles yet so looks like we’ll do the formula weaning first.  He’s eating basically everything we eat now – he has maybe a few stage 3 purees each week.  We still do fruit purees as he doesn’t like eating strawberries or blueberries in whole form.  He does like bananas, though.  Definitely going through a picky stage – some stuff he was eating before he will not touch now and gets so mad when we try to sneak a piece in his mouth.  Favorite foods: bagel thins w/cream cheese (we each have a half in the AM), yogurt (I think he could eat yogurt for every meal if we let him), chicken, deli cheese, ground turkey, peas, carrots, black beans.  And of course he loves his puffs and veggie sticks.

Baby Gear Love: He plays with these cars a lot more now and can actually push them on the floor while he’s moving around.  He also uses this car a lot.  He’s still using little teethers as it seems like his back molars are bothering him sometimes.  We have been using this convertible car seat for the past few months and I can now say I do really like it.  It’s a bit of a tight squeeze with it rear-facing in my Civic but it works.  We only have the one seat so my car is the main vehicle when Toby is with us, but if we were both working out of the house, we’d definitely need to get another seat.  Hubby is the one who will re-install it between cars and it takes him 10 minutes or so?

Milestones: Was walking longer distances in late May.  Also learned how to stand himself up in the middle of the room without holding onto anything last week (was probably 6/10 or 6/11).  First birthday celebrated on Father’s Day, Sunday 6/16!  Went to the Southwick Zoo. 

Likes: Being chased around the downstairs (loves when we run into the entry way and hide, wait for him to come find us, and then run back to the living room).  Playing peek-a-boo behind the curtains.  Dropping food of his tray for the kitties.  When I sing Miss Mary Mack to him while changing his diaper.  Doing flippies on the couch with Daddy.  Helping me load and unload the dishwasher.  Helping me vacuum (but only with the central vac not with the good one, he’s afraid of the good one). 

Dislikes:  Being put back in the stroller after being allowed to roam freely.  Watching the dishwasher be closed.  Seeing any door be closed.  Taking an afternoon nap. 

Things I don’t want to forget:  How he gets SO excited when he hears keys in the door lock – he knows Daddy’s home and runs to the door to wait.  How he will watch Hubby leave in the mornings by looking out the small window next to the front door.  He gets a little sad so I have to distract him.  How he thinks it’s funny when Maggie jumps on the kitchen table to sniff his fingers for lunch meat leftovers.  How he smiles every time he sees Auntie while we’re Facetiming.  How he runs right over to me when I put the phone on speakerphone so he can hear who I’m calling.