Eighteen Months Old!

Oh, wow, I knew I missed posting in April but hadn't realized I missed March as well! There is so much to share! I hope this post doesn't ramble too much.

I'll start with today. Our little man is 18 months old! Happy birthday, N! We had his portraits done yesterday in his baseball jersey. A baseball and bat were two of the poses. That was fun. He kept throwing and running after! We did manage a few good shots. I told the photographer she could stop with less than 10. There were some cute ones and honestly, the more they take the harder time I have deciding.

I guess the big news for April was he had a little surgery. We drove to Albany, NY, to see Dr. Kotlow for N's lip and tongue tie revisions. We knew he was tongue tied shortly after birth but we didn't know much about it. All the medical professionals told us since he was nursing well, we could just take a wait-and-see approach. Poor little guy had been through so much already I agreed. If only I knew then what I know now. He did breastfeed fine and he gained weight rapidly. But then at his nine-month well baby check his doctor felt he wasn't eating enough solids. She sent us to see a pediatric ENT who agreed he had a tongue tie and said we could wait, he could clip it in the office but might not do a great job (due to his having teeth already) or we could book the procedure for the OR. I knew I didn't want the OR thing. So we left and figured we'd decide later. Fast forward to February I am a La Leche League meeting and a woman there had just driven to Albany to have her two sons revised. She showed me pictures of her older son's lip tie and I thought N didn't have that. I lifted his lip and was shocked to see he did! His front top two teeth came in with a gap. So after much thought, discussion, and research, I decided I wanted N's fixed as well. Yes, he was old enough nursing was essential anymore but I read about the consequences of unresolved ties. We booked the procedure and the hotel and drove up to Albany on a Sunday. (The reason so many people go to Albany is Dr. Kotlow revises with NO anesthesia and he uses a laser instead of scissors.) He had the surgery on a Monday morning. The doctor talked to us for a bit, put on a video for us, and when he came back in, N just held out hsi arms to him! I was amazed; he doesn't usually do that. So the doctor said, "We'll be back." I didn't realize it was time! But he was only gone six minutes. He came back red-faced, sweaty, and crying. I held him for a bit and he nursed and then he was just fine! In fact, he was all smiles when the doctor came back, even gave him a smile and a high five. The ride home was pretty long but he did well.

So that was not even three weeks ago and he has started saying new words now. In addition to mama and dada which he was already saying, he now says thank you (heard it only once), uh-oh (says over and over and over), poop, bye-bye, mine (occasionally), and I think hi as well. So he had six words by 18 months. Woo hoo!

We had to do stretches so the tongue and lip wouldn't reattach. The tongue was nearly impossible as he had nine teeth already (just got his tenth a few days ago). The lip was easier. For the tongue he said to put peanut butter on top teeth. He is allergic to peanut butter so we used sunflower seed butter (which he loves). It has a similar consistency to PB so I think it had the same effect. He really had to work that tongue to get it off his front teeth. As of today, I saw NO reattachment so that is good.

He had a new teacher at school from 1/21-5/10. I was sad to see her go. He is now with one of the college students; she is great and I really like her. He moved from Toddler A to Toddler B in March (the 18th I believe). He is doing well! He is starting gymnastics now (Junior Gym Nest). He went Friday for his first class (a free trial to see how he likes it) but he did not participate just watched (which is normal for a first time) so they sent a note saying he can continue to watch for free. Once he starts joining in then we will pay. I'm excited. I never was involved in any of that so I want that for him.

He just loves to help. He helps put stuff away. Whenever I'm in the kitchen and open the fridge, he is right there filling it with bottled drinks. He is getting independent. For the past few weeks he has tried dressing and undressing himself. He gets his coat and runs to the door and wants to walk to the car by himself when he sees I am ready to leave. He is getting to be a better eater too. He was anti-meat for awhile but today he ate maybe one-third of a hot dog at a baseball game and then he ate chicken for dinner but wouldn't touch mac 'n cheese. Yay!

He had his first ER visit in March. It wound up being a not-so-big deal but it was scary at the time. He and I were sick with a virus. We went to urgent care on Sunday but there wasn't much they could do for us. I stayed home Monday and Tuesday with him and as he napped Tuesday I figured we were well enough to go back to work and school Wednesday. (He had also stayed home with S on Friday so it had already been awhile.) When he woke up from his nap he was covered in hives. Big, ugly, nasty hives. Welts really. I was alarmed. He has food allergies and very sensitive skin. We had recently been having issues with detergent but not a detergent I had used on his stuff. I didn't know what to think. I gave him Benadryl, and called the doctor. They said to bring him in. She thought it was an allergic reaction and prescribed steroids (oral). I gave him him his first dose and he got even worse later that night. It was terrible. I called her and she called back and I was crying. She said to go to the ER. I mean, he was just covered in welts and he was clawing at them. He was so miserable and I could see why! At the ER they said it was the virus coming out of his body. They gave him a steroid shot. We stayed home Wednesday and he was still no better Wednesday night. I called the doctor and they said to come in. she still felt it was an allergic reaction and said to get in to see the allergist. So I called first thing in the morning and got an appointment. He and I went back to work and school Thursday afternoon. And Friday was his last breakout. it was so horrible. Poor little guy was just miserable.

So I think that is a good update for now!

My little mischief maker!

N is just cracking me up these days. He likes to run away and hide from me and when I come after him he says, "Ha ha ha." He loves to climb the steps and go to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He is all about shutting doors these days! He also loves to put his puzzle pieces in a bag and carry it around. He comes downstairs in the morning and goes straight for the bag of puzzle pieces. He also loves to "help." He put a bunch of (clean) clothes in my hamper the other day. He was very pleased with himself. Mm, I love that boy.

We took him to his 15-month appointment last night. He is still 24 pounds and is now 31" tall and his head finally grew; the nurse measured 18.5" although I could have sworn it was 17.5". But it grew. It was 17" for a long time. He got three shots; they still make me sad. These were the first three in his arm; up until now they were all done in his legs. He got varicella, Hib, and MMR. The nurse blew up a glove for him and kept whacking S with it. N was giggling. We brought it home with us but now he is scared of it! He still thinks it's funny if I hit his daddy with it though; he just doesn't want it anywhere near him!

February Update

Our little guy N is just about 15 months old now! He is walking very well. He still occasionally falls over but his balance is pretty good. He likes to "run" away from me now. He escapes from the bedroom and goes to the bathroom and shuts the door behind him. When we're downstairs he'll go to the stops and climb up and wave bye to us from each one. Once I catch him it's a big gigglefest!

He still loves to answer anything that looks like a phone. "Hello?" And he points remote controls or anything that looks like one at the TV and presses the buttons. He is a little thief too! I had the diaper bag all packed the other day with his sippy cup of water. And when we got to my sister's (2 hours away!) the cup was not in there. I ran out to the car and it wasn't there either. When we got home I found it on the kitchen floor. He must have taken it out of the bag and ran to the kitchen. He loves going through the cabinets.

He is doing pretty well in the toddler room but he has gotten clingy again with me. His first few weeks in there he was very happy to scamper off and when I'd come to pick him up he would just continue to happily play. Now as soon as I put him down he cries. It really saddens me. I think it's good for him to be there; he gets to learn so much he'd never learn at home. But I do wish I could spend more time with him. I wish I could work part-time.

They tell me he's eating better there. I still don't feel like he's a great eater. He is picky too. He doesn't eat much meat and he'll only eat pureed veggies. Hey, I tried baby-led weaning first and he was never interested in veggies. His first food was avocado and broccoli wasn't far behind! He still is not interested.

I am so enjoying watching my boy grow up. He is such a joy and a pleasure, and yes, a tiny bit of a challenge, but totally worth it! <3

January Update

Our boy is walking all over now! He started transitioning to the toddler room at his school three weeks ago and his first day there is when he started waking close to 100% of the time. He seems so grown up now. He doesn't seem as clingy as he used to.

Some adorable and funny things he has done lately are: wipe my noise with a tissue (payback, Mom!), as well as put his cup on a coaster on the end table. He points remotes at the TV and " answers" anything shaped like a phone. When he is in the tub, he grabs his Aveeno Baby wash as soon as he sees me get the washcloth and he turns it upside down and "pours" it onto the washcloth. So funny.

Christmas and a New Year!

The holidays passed in a blur this year. We have been fighting a lot of sicknesses here. Baby boy N had a fever before Christmas and then the weekend before when we were going to be celebrating with my family he seemed sick. Hubby S got sick the weekend before as well, with the same thing he had back in September where he coughs til he throws up. I have a touch of it too but not as bad as he does. We actually all went to urgent care last night. I have an earache and S may have pneumonia but we never heard for sure.

N enjoyed opening his Christmas gifts. At first he'd only be interested in the first gift and wouldn't care to open a second gift. But then he loved it and he started opening gifts that weren't even his. He also took off walking on 12/22, taking way more consecutive steps than he ever had, at my parents' house. He continues to walk like that, never all the way across the room but 5-6 steps in a row. He is a bit wobbly; it is so cute. He carries a blanket around with him though and it trips him up all the time. I wish he wasn't so attached to the blanket because it is sad to see him trip!

N and I had such a cute moment on 1/2. He was eating some puffs (he loves the apple-strawberry flavor from Target, yay!) while sitting on my lap and I kept pretending to try to eat one out of his hand so then he fed me one. And then he kept feeding them to me and I couldn't get him to stop. Then one fell down my shirt. I was wearing a V-neck. I said, "Oh, where did it go?" and he kept saying, "Ah go?" And then I pulled it out and he just giggled. So then he thought it would be funny to start purposely putting them down my shirt and he'd say, "Ah go?" and then he would crack up when I pulled it out. It was so stinkin' cute! It was the first time I heard him try to repeat a word I was saying. He was clearing saying "go." Ah, I ♥ my little munchkin!

So here we are in 2013! I wonder what this year will bring! I'm hoping we can conceive a new sibling for N but we will see.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It's almost time for N's second Christmas. I am excited for him to open his presents but honestly, we could have just wrapped a bunch of boxes filled with tissue paper and he'd have two of his favorite things, paper and boxes. Wow, does this kid love paper. His eyes light up when he sees a napkin, a paper towel, a pile of newspapers, a roll of toilet paper, you name it. You rip any paper you get into shreds.

So far I have purchased for him a Tag Jr. (Scout) (because he got some Tag Jr books for his birthday but had no Tag Jr), a Hallmark recordable book (hoping to make that an annual tradition, this is year 2!), a bunch of musical instruments AKA a baby band, a wearable blanket and a pack of Onesies (wow, cool, Mom, buying CLOTHES for Christmas...hee hee). I really wanted to get a toy box but I think I waited too long.

Happy First Birthday!

What a bittersweet day. I now have a one-year-old! I will update with his latest milestones. He took a few steps on Friday (11/16) but is not walking steadily yet, which is just fine! He has six teeth now, four up top and two down the bottom. He got all the top ones in October. Busy month!

One less than exciting new thing he is doing is throwing tantrums. S calls it flopping like a fish but N will just throw his head back and flop back wherever he is. He doesn't care if there is only a hard floor underneath him or worse, a table behind him. I keep having to do diving catches so he doesn't injure himself.

We had his party on the 11th, a bit early. He was so cute with his cake. He took polite tentative little swipes of icing and then finally grabbed a fistful and went to town. We had a rubber ducky theme; everything was aqua and yellow. He got a lot of nice gifts and a good chunk of money which I deposited right into his savings account. I joked how he has almost as much money at a year old as I did at 18 years old! I'm really not joking though. I only had about $300 and he has over $250!

Here is a letter I wrote to my wonderful baby on his first birthday:

My precious son, I can hardly believe you are a year old already. This was quite possibly the fastest year of my life. I long awaited the day I'd become a mother and now that I have a year under my belt, the experience has not disappointed; in fact, it has far exceeded any ideas I had about the experience. It has been challenging at times, of course, but mostly it has been amazing and so rewarding. Going from holding an innocent helpless newborn to watching a little boy zooming around a room and hearing him "talk" and watching him learn is such a rewarding journey.

You love music. I find you dancing (bouncing) along to songs. And you seem to be drawn to books the same way I am. I hope you will discover the joy of getting lost in a book; it is one of my favorite pastimes. You love to laugh. I like to be silly with you, bouncing things on my head or picking things up with my toes; you think I'm hilarious. Your giggles are the sweetest sound I've ever heard, okay, maybe second to hearing your cry for the first time, which brought a feeling of such relief that you were finally here and going to be just fine! I went through so much to bring you into this world and I would do it all over again a million times to ensure your safe arrival. Your birth went quite differently than I planned. I pictured welcoming you into the world either in water or on our bed. Instead you were born in a cold operating room. It didn't matter to me that day; I just wanted you to be OK. It took months for the grief to hit me, to realize how grieved I was, to see how "sterile" and "cold" your entrance into the world was when I wanted it to be warm and real. You seem completely unaffected by it, and for that, I'm so grateful. I am sorry I couldn't have your entrance be a more peaceful one; I'm sorry every day. But you're good, so good. And I'm doing all right. Your father has had to hold me many a night while I sobbed for what I missed. I will not call the birth horrible though; it brought you to me and there is nothing horrible about that. You are my sunshine.

It appears I am your favorite person in the world and wow, does that feel good. You are definitely a Mama's boy. You are so handsome; I finally see your daddy in your face. When your eyes are closed or when I see you from the side profile that is when I see your daddy. You sure shocked us by having blue eyes! They are such a beautiful blue. I have always loved blue eyes but never imagined I'd have a blue-eyed child. You are full of surprises. You are so smart and determined. You do not let obstacles stop you from getting what you want; I've been told I am raising a strong-willed child. And I do not disagree. But you are so sweet. You love to cuddle. You love to find your way onto my lap as you've found your way into my heart.

Leaving you when I had to return to work was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It felt like I was leaving a piece of my heart behind. Watching your little personality develop at school and seeing how much you learn and how you are making friends helps ease that for me. I know it is good for you to have your independence. We get lots of quality time together on the weekends and evenings. And it is important for you to have strong role models in your life and I hope I am that for you as I balance motherhood (my most important job!) with my career.

I took your picture quite often. I took monthly pictures with stickers for your Onesies and then almost every Saturday I took a weekly picture. Wow, was that a challenge by the end of your first year. You did not want to sit still for even 10 seconds. I think we did a good job capturing most of your milestones on film. I will enjoy looking back at these pictures in the years to come and I hope you enjoy them too. It is sweet to see you go from lying to sitting to standing, from being toothless to having six teeth, to having a good amount of hair to having tons of hair (we say that you are "blessed in the hair department").

I have to be careful not to dwell on missing the newborn days. They were special, getting to know you, being so proud that this adorable boy was mine, watching your dreamy smiles and your milky smiles, holding you close. But now you are just this awesome little person who makes me laugh every day. I have so many hopes and dreams for your future but most of all I just want you to know how much you are loved. You've brought so much joy to our lives; we will never be the same!

With all my love,
 Mama