Monday, January 11, 2016

Grayson's 12 Month Update!

Grayson is officially a year old! What an amazing year it's been. I can't believe we are entering into toddlerhood! I can say that this month was completely different than previous months and I could really see Grayson changing and coming into a whole new phase of life. Every age is fun, but he is at an especially fun age right now! And I am getting my workout in chasing after him, as he is into everything. This is the last monthly update I plan on doing until he is 18 months old. Sad, but I'm so happy to have documented these last 12 months in such detail. I already love looking back on them! We survived the first year -- and our child is happy, healthy, and extremely loved -- we did it!




Height & Weight: Grayson went to the pediatrician recently, so we have some up-to-date measurements! Grayson is 30 inches tall (57th percentile) and 21 lbs. 11.7 oz. (33rd percentile). He has gained weight (2 lbs.) and grown (1 inch) since his last appointment, so that's always encouraging to see! Since Grayson can be a fussy eater, I sometimes I worry about this weight, but he is a healthy and growing child! :)



Breastfeeding: The biggest adjustment with feeding this month is that Grayson is no longer breastfed and is strictly a whole milk drinker. At the beginning of the month, we were going to try out whole milk and slowly transition him. Well, the boy loves whole milk. He took to it immediately and would literally chug it out of his straw sippy cup. We went from 3 breast milk feedings a day to 1 nighttime feeding very quickly. He really had no interest in me (as far as breastfeeding) during the day and was completely content with his whole milk. Luckily, he also really loves his straw sippy cups, so I believe that has helped a lot. The only breast milk feeding left was the 1 during the night. I felt like I had tried everything and we just couldn't cut it. At that point, I was only feeding him once every 24 hours though, so my supply had really dropped. We went out of town for Christmas and Grayson slept through the night (hallelujah!), so I decided that was the night to end it. He didn't breastfeed that night and I wasn't going to start up again after 48 hours without breast milk (assuming he would want to feed the next night). I will say the transition hasn't been nearly as rough as I thought it would be! There have been a few nights that were tough, but now he will take a sippy cup of milk or water during the night. He's also slept through the night more often recently, so that definitely helps! For more details on ending my breastfeeding journey, click on the link below!
http://brittanyhgale.blogspot.com/2015/12/i-make-milk-whats-your-superpower.html




Feeding: As far as regular food goes, he cut back on eating as many solids this month. Not exactly sure why (I do think he's getting his molars), but he just hasn't been eating as much and has been a little more picky. Grayson has never been the best eater and while that can be frustrating, I always tell myself that he is growing and healthy, so that's all that matters. He still prefers to be spoon-fed purees and isn't the biggest fan of texture. He will typically just spit it out if there's much texture! This makes me laugh because for months Grayson wouldn't open his mouth for a spoon. He wanted to be independent and do it himself, but he was a little too young at the time. Now that he finally spoon- feeds well, he won't do anything else! Oh sweet child of mine ;) He does okay with finger foods and generally does like being spoon-fed table food. He usually wants and is really interested in what mom and dad are eating! As far as self-feeding and finger food goes, I don't think it's that he doesn't know how to pick things up and feed himself as much as he just doesn't want to. If you give him something sweet and put it on his plate, he will pick it up and feed himself with no problem. If you give him anything else, he plays with it and then throws it on the floor. We are still working on self-feeding and eating more regular food by himself, but I'm trying not to stress over it. He always gets around to doing everything eventually -- just in his own time and his own way! The few finger foods he enjoys are shredded cheese, puffs, eggs, yogurt melts, and crackers. He has begun feeding himself with a spoon on his own. This process is very messy and he doesn't always get a lot in his mouth, but he's doing really well with it. He always says "mmmm!" after every bite :) His current favorite foods are yogurt, peanut butter, bananas, cheese, chicken, pasta, hummus, avocado, and whole milk! Grayson eats 3 meals a day and maybe a small snack. He seems to do well when you offer him something small every few hours as opposed to 3 large meals...his tummy is still tiny!



Sleeping: Sleep has been a game changer this month! Grayson was still getting up once a night for the most part after I stopped breastfeeding (something that he has done consistently for months). We were offering him water or whole milk, rocking him, and then putting him back to sleep. Within a week or two, he started sleeping through the night!!! I've waited a whole year to be able to say that! He started off sleeping from like 830pm-630am without waking and recently has been sleeping from 9p-8a without waking, which is just about perfect. We've also had a few very busy weeks, so I know he's exhausted! He is also walking full-time now which I know wears him out. He is literally moving every second of the day that he is awake. I can barely pin him down for a diaper change or a meal. I'm sure this is contributing to him being exhausted at the end of each day and sleeping much harder. His nap schedule is all over the place which is one of the new changes I was referring to. Our schedule has been so out of whack because of the holidays, but he also just hasn't been napping as much. If it means that he sleeps better at night, I'm all for it! He rarely takes 2 naps a day and is down to 1 nap a day at this point. And this nap isn't terribly long. Maybe 2 hours max. Grayson recently learned how to stand up in his crib, so that's been somewhat of a challenge. We immediately lowered his mattress, but he can still stand and wants to play instead of sleep. He is so very distracted at this age, so nap time is a lot more challenging. He rarely even sleeps in the car which used to always put him out. Some days, I just put him down in his crib and he has "quiet time" for a while instead of napping. He loves his sippy cup and will just lay there drinking his water and relaxing for like 30 minutes. I'll think he's asleep and go in there and he's wide awake with his cup, but he is still getting some down time in. I'll be interested to see what his new schedule will look like, but I have a feeling we are in the process of transitioning to 1 afternoon nap a day! 




Clothes: Grayson is now in a size 5 diaper and size 12 month clothing. He is right on target with clothes and can even wear some 9 month pants -- the poor thing has short legs! I love dressing him up in little boy clothes though. The clothes are getting cuter and cuter as he gets older.



Mood: Grayson is just so silly these days...I absolutely love it! Josh and I were talking about how fun it is that he is starting to understand when things are funny or silly. We can joke around with him and play with him more which I love! He is so sweet -- gives lots of kisses and hugs, has started to willingly cuddle with you, loves to constantly babble and talk, enjoys exploring and is always into something -- curious about everything and anything (washing machine, vacuum cleaner, toilets, trash cans, dog food and water bowls, and plungers included), super smart, and very determined and stubborn. He still belly laughs like crazy and is full of so much personality and life! I think this has been one of my favorite parts of this year -- I love seeing his personality develop! I see certain parts of Josh and me, but he's also his own little person! Overall, he's a wonderful little boy and we are so thankful for all that he adds to our lives!



Teeth: Grayson still has 8 teeth, but he's been drooling a lot lately which is very unlike him, so I think he's working on those one year molars!



Milestones: Grayson is now pulling up and walking like a pro! He is extremely quick and is across a room in seconds. He is walking full-time now and rarely "crawls". As of a month ago, he could walk and army crawl, but he couldn't really pull up and transition well. Backwards order, I know. Now, he pulls up on everything quickly, goes from laying down to standing, and laying down to sitting. Once he discovered that using his knees was helpful, he began pulling up really well. He doesn't sit still anymore and I have to watch him like a hawk. Mobility has taken on a whole new meaning! I have literally lost him in our house. He walks away and I can't figure out what room he is in. We are entering a whole new world (one that may include baby gates very soon)! But it's also very fun to see him reach this milestone and it also gives my arms a break! He walks in public a lot now instead of being carried.



Loves: giving high 5's, dancing, anything musical, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Patty cake songs, animals, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, playing catch with a ball, being outside, playing the drums, anything do to with technology -- phones, remotes, and keys. Grayson isn't very interested in toys at this point and is much more interested in things he shouldn't be playing with. It's like he just knows what's dangerous -- the joys of having a little boy! He's rough, tough, likes to get dirty, and doesn't understand the concept of "gentle". He's not one to sit still and focus on something. He's always on the go! Grayson has recently being more interested in books which is really exciting! He has so many books, but never had enough patience to read them with me until recently. Grayson continues to love other kids! He especially gravitates toward older children and has a blast with our youth group. If he sees a child in public, he squeals with excitement! 



Things I want to remember:

-Meeting Santa -- Grayson absolutely hated meeting Santa which I completely expected! I felt terrible putting him into this random man's arms when he was clutching on to me for dear life, but it sure made for a funny photo! He was very interested in Santa from afar, but once we got close, he wanted no part of it! We also went to a really great Christmas lights display (which was where the Santa was) and he really liked that. Grayson loved all the lights, children, and activities. It was a really fun evening minus the scarring Santa experience! ;) 





-First Christmas -- Grayson's first Christmas was a lot of fun! Although he was almost a year old, he still had no idea what was going on, but it was exciting to start new traditions as a family of 3 this year. His favorite gift was probably his Ninja Turtle sippy cup with a straw -- it's also the "milk cup" and he's obsessed with it. We enjoyed days of celebrating with family, cousins, and church family during the Christmas Eve services. 









-First birthday -- Grayson's first birthday went really well! Of course, it was an emotional day for me, but he had a blast at his party! We had a Winter Onederland themed day for him and I felt accomplished after all the planning and preparation that went into it. I wanted his day to be perfect! We had close friends and family come to celebrate our little 1 year old and it was tons of fun! Although he didn't want anything to do with the cake smash which surprised to me! The ball pit was probably the highlight for most of the kids. Grayson is slowly becoming just one of the kids, as opposed to, the baby being held by mama in the corner. At one point, I looked over and all the kids were having this big battle with all the plastic balls and Grayson was right in there with everyone! He was running around and throwing balls and just grinning from ear to ear! I'm probably going to do a more detailed post on his birthday festivities sometime this month! 



Our lives have changed so much this year! We went from having a tiny, helpless baby to now having an independent toddler with his own personality and a completely different set of needs and wants. I love Grayson more than I could ever put into words and his first year of life has been amazing! Thank you for coming on this journey with me as I've navigated being a first-time mom! I've learned and grown so much this year and I have enjoyed sharing my journey and Grayson's first year with everyone!