12 months. 52 weeks. 365 days. 8,760 hours. 525,600 minutes.
It all means the same thing, Hunter is 1 year old!
I can’t believe we are here. Time has flown by these past 12 months.
I have a hard time thinking of him still as a baby. But he’s not really a toddler yet. He doesn’t look like one to me (probability because he looks bald with the blonde hair!). But he sure does toddle around. Since he started walking almost 2 months ago now, he’s a pro at it. He’s almost a runner too.
We’ve had some definite changes this month.
The first and most recent (as in just this week) are his naps. It think he’s already beginning to transition from 2 naps to 1 nap a day. Yikes. Thankfully, it’s a long one. His morning nap was getting shorter and his afternoon one beginning earlier. He used to take it them around 10:30am and 3pm, but now his afternoon nap is closer to 1-2pm. They’re usually anywhere from 1.5 hours (which is a bit too short – leave him kinda crabby) to 3 hours.
But even yesterday was different. He fell asleep in the car for 20 minutes at 10:30am, then fell asleep at home around 12:30pm and slept for just over 2.5 hours. That was a pretty early afternoon nap, which then left him tired so he happily went to bed early around 6:45pm. Every day is different! I’ll just have to wait and see what happens. We won’t be on any type of schedule next week while we’re camping so he can just let his little body nap when it wants to.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that he understands sooooo much more now. And he can follow directions. He’s so good at going and getting things that I tell him to (books, his shoes, random toys) and sitting when I tell him to. Those are the happy good things.
He’s also understanding and then choosing to test his limits of not doing what’s told. Like throwing his food on the ground. It’s one thing when he does it on accident, I don’t mind that. When he does it, we say no, then he does it continuously knowing that he shouldn’t (because he knows!), that’s the wrong kind of stuff. He’s beginning to throw little tantrums when he’s told no or doesn’t get to do something that he wants that he shouldn’t do because it’s dangerous.
My mom taught him to give hi-fives, which is awesome, but I think it turned into a hitter. The sad face above was when he was told no after hitting Jacob in the face. He hits hard!
On a lighter note, one thing I’ve started working on is having his eat out of a bowl or off a plate, instead of just his tray. Typically he just chucks the bowl, but now he’s getting better at leaving it and picking food out to eat. He still mostly just eats off of his tray because it’s easier.
Speaking of food, this is what a typical day of Hunter eats looks like:
Breakfast (around 8am): banana + custard oatmeal or scrambled eggs with parmesan or yogurt pancakes
Lunch (around 12:30pm): a slice of whole wheat bread with tuna or cheese (or leftovers or beans) + steamed veggies (yams are a favorite) + fresh fruit + avocado
After nap snack (around 3-4pm): yogurt or cheese + raisins OR smoothie OR peanut butter whole wheat toast
Dinner (around 5:30-6pm): whatever we have for dinner (pasta dish, burritos, casserole, pizza, etc) + fresh fruit + steamed veggies or peas
Around 6:30-7pm before getting ready for bed he’ll nurse.
As long as he’s feeling well, he’s such a good eater. Last week he went through a little sickness and he still has tons of snot coming out and phlegm in his lungs. I keep a water bottle of his around all the time so he can drink water whenever he wants. Some days (like today) he chugs it and I have to refill it a couple times, then other days he only takes sips.
So we’re down to nursing just once a day. We’ve even had a couple days where he nursed zero times. When he begins to get tired and fussy before bed, he definitely asks for it – he has a specific cry that means ‘let me nurse!’. I don’t really think he’s getting much milk though. He’s started crying like he’s frustrated while nursing, probably because there’s not much in there. I don’t feel like my milk is coming in at all either. Since he’s past 1 year I’m okay with us not nursing anymore… I figure when he stops asking for it, then we’ll be done. Even though, I think I will be sad once we actually are done. It’s such a nice special bond.
When I was away at my BodyCombat training last weekend and Jacob put him to bed, he went to sleep without a problem not nursing or not getting a bottle of milk (which we don’t really do). I think right now it’s much more of a comfort thing for him.
So not related to Hunter specifically, but more to me. I’d been waiting and waiting for my cycle to return, and at 11.5 months, it came back! I guess it took going down to nursing once or twice a day for my body to jump start into baby making gear. Now that it returned, I’m fine with Hunter nursing past a year. Had it not returned by his 1 year birthday I was going to stop. It’s crazy how long I took for it to return.
At his one year check up he weighed 20 pounds 9 ounces (25th percentile) and was 29 3/4 inches long (50th percentile) – so pretty much following his growth chart from when he was born! He feels much heavier than 20 pounds. He now says owl and when we ask what sound an owl makes he goes whooo whooo – so cute!
That’s all for my baby boy’s 1 year update. Tomorrow we leave for Hunter’s first camping trip! I hope he loves it and sleeps well. He’ll be sleeping in his pack n play, which he’s slept in just fine, but then other times he will not for naps. I’m hoping for no rain!
Do you like to camp? Have you taken your little kids camping? What was their favorite thing to do?
We’re going to be right by the beach so I’m hoping for lots of nice beach strolls + digging in the sand.
Heather
