Liam Hayes,
Oh my sweet baby boy, YOU ARE ONE! How is this even possible? It feels like just yesterday Daddy was shouting "It's A BOY!" as the doctor laid you on my chest.
You are weighing in at 22.5 pounds (67th percentile), standing 29.75 inches tall (47th percentile) and your little noggin is 45.5cm (33rd percentile). You are wearing mostly 12 month clothes. That includes shirts, pants, onesies & sleepers. You can still fit into 9 months but we have honestly put most of them away as we are entering into a new season. You are wearing size 3 diapers. With brother we found that Huggies little movers worked best for him. Everything else was a explosion mess. However, you are the opposite! Huggies are not a good fit for you. We recently found the Hello Bello brand and it has been the perfect fit for you!
You are still drinking Mama's milk. In fact, you're enjoying it just a little too much. You have been nursing between 6-7 times a day & at our 1 year check up doctor says we need to cut that back to 3 times a day. I'm not sure who is going to be more sad about this me or you. As it is your birthday we shall wait until tomorrow to cut back.
At the beginning of this month we had a life changing thing for you, we got tubes put in your ears. We experienced 32 days of a continuous double ear infection when we had the tubes put in and you have been a different child ever since. You seem happier, you're eating better & while you still aren't as independent as you once were early on you are getting your independence back. You did very well with the surgery and even woke up perfectly normal from the anesthesia. The doctors and nurses warned us you would probably be very angry when you woke up but you surprised all of us by being calm and normal. It's been a welcome change for the first time since you were a few weeks old that we are on zero medications!!!
Your schedule hasn't changed a bit from last month. I look for it to change in the coming days as we start to come off the feedings. You are showing some signs of wanted to stay up a little later so we will see how that changes in the coming months too.
6:30: Up/Nurse
7:00: Breakfast
9:00: Nurse/Nap
10:00: Up/Nurse
11:00: Lunch
12:00: Nurse/Nap
2:00: Up
3:30: Nurse/Snack
5:00 Dinner (sometimes Nurse again)
6:00: Bath, Books, Nurse, Bed
You've gotten your 2 top teeth in this month bringing your teeth count up to 4. These 2 came in by the skin of your teeth, the last one coming through the day before your birthday. With your lip tie you're going to have the same cute little gap between your teeth like brother does. :)
Still a food lover. You my dear with eat absolutely anything put in front of you! Fruit, veggies, dairy, meat. You haven't really disliked much of anything. Your favorites are yogurt, blueberries, apples, broccoli, cucumbers, spaghetti, cheese, etc. Honestly, I could probably go on and on with your list. You seriously could not get enough of your birthday cake at your party.
You've gone from walking to running everywhere. You really took off fast on us and there is absolutely no slowing you down. You have about 2 speeds, fast and faster! Lots of people are afraid you're about to face plant at any second (including us) but you have no fear when it comes to getting around.
You live for outdoors and I mean ALL things outdoors. The second you hear a door crack you make a bee line sprint for the door & become hysterical if the door shuts before you get there. You especially love to be in the garage. You rarely leave the garage when the door is up, rather you will go to the edge of the door, sit down & watch the neighbors and cars pass by.
This month you discovered the word Dada and you are obsessed with it. You will say mama if you're frustrated or insistent on needing something but other than that it's all Dada. You're becoming more and more of a Daddy's boy as the months go on. I'm not sure how much longer I can stake claim on having a Mama's boy. I think it may be because we spend so much time together that you really value the time with Daddy when he's home.
This month I've been able to really see that you, my child, are going to be the one that gives us a run for our money. You are cute and you know it. If I want you to say Mama you look at me, give me a huge grin & say "DADA DADA DADA DADA!" If you are told no you give us the same enormous grin & continue to do just what you're told not to. We've tried being serious, swatting your hand, all things but you still look us as with the "I know I'm adorable & can do this" look. This is new as we are used to Mason who has a meltdown if our voices slightly raise or we are disappointed in him. In fact so much so that when we are getting on to you or telling you no Mason becomes very protective and upset at us for being mean to you while you're over there all smiles about it. We are going to have our hands. FULL.
Your favorite things include the following. Opening and closing doors. You seriously do this all day, every day! Cabinets, doors, drawers, toys, etc. whatever you can find that opens in any way you are opening it and closing it all the day long. You also have really started to love cars and trucks. You love rolling them around and watching the wheels. Any toys or possessions that Mason has are the object of your affection, right down to his drinking cup. We are talking night nights, cups, trucks, cars, toys, clothes, every. single. thing.
You still have some separation anxiety when we go places, mostly the church nursery. But honestly since we are home so much I think it's to be expected. However, you also have some separation anxiety at home. While you have this anxiety you seem to love a good stranger. When you're out in public you will go up to anyone to hold you. However, if you realized that I may be leaving you aren't having it. You really don't like me to be too far away from you at all. Your preference is that I am on the floor in the same room as you at all times. Even if I move up to a chair in the same room as you it's not good enough. As you play you come back and forth the majority of the time to get a hug and then go back to play. It's almost as if you fill up your little love tank and then go on to play. You also really love to be held.
Sweet boy you have brought so much joy to our lives in this past year! You've added more smiles, laughter, snuggles, tears, happiness, love, kisses and sheer and utter JOY than you'll ever know. You've taught me to be more go with the flow, less rigid on schedules, to listen to & trust my mommy gut & a you've shown me a second love that I didn't know existed! You are a blessing, you are loved more than life & you will forever be our little blonde haired, blue eyed, baby boy.
Love,
Mommy (Daddy & Mase too)
