Our sweet little boy is one year old! He celebrated in style with friends and family at our home with a "First Rhodeo" themed party. Yeehaw! He had so much fun and it was a great time for everyone to enjoy good company - and of course good cake.
Aside from the party fun, Rhode also had his 12 month appointment and I was thrilled to see him charting great with significant growth. He has been a lean bean since about 2 months when reflux kicked into full force so I have been always keeping a close eye on his weight and truly celebrate those milestones with a bit more gratitude than before because they feel harder worked for if that makes sense. He just crossed the 20 lb mark as he turned 12 months which was fantastic news. He is in the 85% percentile for male height and about 25-30th for weight which is just fine by me!
Our healthy little guy is happy, sweet, and wild. He is adventurous, not afraid to take risks, and stronger than I could have ever expected. He is doing things Isla still has not yet attempted as her curiosities have always been about bringing everything into order - his are all about making sense of chaos (after he's created it, of course). This guy definitely keeps me on my toes.
He is working on tooth #6 and surprisingly he got his lateral incisors before his central incisors so that's made for a very cute smile.
He babbles like crazy which surprised me too. This kid is full of surprises. I thought he would be a quiet, chill, observant type but the joke now was that he was plotting the whole time that he was sitting quiet as a baby. He is still an absolute delight. He's just a chatty, busy delight with places to go and people to see!
His words are moreso just sounding out consonants at this point but he does manage "dada" "mama" "bra ba" for brown bear "laaa" for light and "mmmm" for milk. He does sound like he's carrying on full conversations in his own language though and he no doubt has lots to say.
He is not yet walking but very close to it. It hasn't clicked in his brain yet that he has the strength, he just needs to let go. He walks confidently and strongly when holding onto something and the last few days he's really picked up the pace. I am in no rush at all but I can tell he's almost there. Perhaps before 11 months... we shall see!
Rhode's an excellent sleeper and has been for months. I don't even remember when we gently sleep trained him...but he sleeps from 7:30-7:30 every night without waking. One very significant difference in our routines is that I have become very interested in evidence based safe sleep and have become very interested in this topic. Keeping baby's safe from preventable accidents really speaks to my heart and the type of things I value - and this has been a real godsend of information in my life. Rhode is a safe sleeper and it's a great thing. I am sure I'll write a post on that someday with much more info - but you can always find me on IG @samantha_erin talking about safe sleep if you're interested.
Naps have been a little more challenging but not bad. I try to stick to his routine of 11-1 and then 3:30-4:30 but the first nap often goes a little late and then he wants the second one later like 5pm...which really messes with the evening schedule because he ends up thinking it's night and not waking up. Soon enough he will move to one nap but right now it's obvious he still needs both. I would push for an earlier first nap but between our EarlyON play center and church, it's hard to do anything if he naps 10:30-12:30 every morning. This is a temporary thing that will soon resolve itself.
We had a bout of gastro hit our household after New Years which made Rhode go into a nursing strike that I thought for sure was going to end our nursing journey but he actually picked it back up. My goal was a year with both children. Isla stopped at 14 months when I was pregnant with Rhode. I don't really see myself nursing Rhode into the summer but if he only nursed at wake up and bed time I would be fine with that...it's just a bit of nutrients to top him up in his diet and I don't mind giving him that for awhile if he asks for it though I know it's not really totally necessary at this age so if he stops, that's fine too. He's begun having sippy cups with milk and he has a big appetite for food. He's a champ and eats a lot and still nurses 4 times a day too. He also loves water and drinks quite a lot. He's never had any constipation thanks to his love for water.
He's a true sweetheart with literally the best laugh in the world. It sounds like a baby laughtrack - as if it isn't even real. That coupled with his toothy grin and hearts everywhere are melted. He absolutely loves the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear and brings it to me to read often. He has also loved that book to the point it is taped up and covered in stains but it's very easily replaceable so we just let it get well loved.
Well, that's the Rhodie update. I am really looking forward to the warm weather that is just around the horizon as Spring rolls in and brings a thaw. Winter is not my favourite but we make do. Spring however brings so much beauty and excitement to my heart - to hear the birds return. To see the buds spring up from the earth. To be able to go outside with only a light jacket or warm sweater and soak up some sunshine. I can't wait to be out in the yard again with the kiddos!
Hope everyone is enjoying their winters and getting fresh air when you can. Thanks for reading about my little man :)
Aside from the party fun, Rhode also had his 12 month appointment and I was thrilled to see him charting great with significant growth. He has been a lean bean since about 2 months when reflux kicked into full force so I have been always keeping a close eye on his weight and truly celebrate those milestones with a bit more gratitude than before because they feel harder worked for if that makes sense. He just crossed the 20 lb mark as he turned 12 months which was fantastic news. He is in the 85% percentile for male height and about 25-30th for weight which is just fine by me!
Our healthy little guy is happy, sweet, and wild. He is adventurous, not afraid to take risks, and stronger than I could have ever expected. He is doing things Isla still has not yet attempted as her curiosities have always been about bringing everything into order - his are all about making sense of chaos (after he's created it, of course). This guy definitely keeps me on my toes.
He is working on tooth #6 and surprisingly he got his lateral incisors before his central incisors so that's made for a very cute smile.
He babbles like crazy which surprised me too. This kid is full of surprises. I thought he would be a quiet, chill, observant type but the joke now was that he was plotting the whole time that he was sitting quiet as a baby. He is still an absolute delight. He's just a chatty, busy delight with places to go and people to see!
His words are moreso just sounding out consonants at this point but he does manage "dada" "mama" "bra ba" for brown bear "laaa" for light and "mmmm" for milk. He does sound like he's carrying on full conversations in his own language though and he no doubt has lots to say.
He is not yet walking but very close to it. It hasn't clicked in his brain yet that he has the strength, he just needs to let go. He walks confidently and strongly when holding onto something and the last few days he's really picked up the pace. I am in no rush at all but I can tell he's almost there. Perhaps before 11 months... we shall see!
Rhode's an excellent sleeper and has been for months. I don't even remember when we gently sleep trained him...but he sleeps from 7:30-7:30 every night without waking. One very significant difference in our routines is that I have become very interested in evidence based safe sleep and have become very interested in this topic. Keeping baby's safe from preventable accidents really speaks to my heart and the type of things I value - and this has been a real godsend of information in my life. Rhode is a safe sleeper and it's a great thing. I am sure I'll write a post on that someday with much more info - but you can always find me on IG @samantha_erin talking about safe sleep if you're interested.
Naps have been a little more challenging but not bad. I try to stick to his routine of 11-1 and then 3:30-4:30 but the first nap often goes a little late and then he wants the second one later like 5pm...which really messes with the evening schedule because he ends up thinking it's night and not waking up. Soon enough he will move to one nap but right now it's obvious he still needs both. I would push for an earlier first nap but between our EarlyON play center and church, it's hard to do anything if he naps 10:30-12:30 every morning. This is a temporary thing that will soon resolve itself.
We had a bout of gastro hit our household after New Years which made Rhode go into a nursing strike that I thought for sure was going to end our nursing journey but he actually picked it back up. My goal was a year with both children. Isla stopped at 14 months when I was pregnant with Rhode. I don't really see myself nursing Rhode into the summer but if he only nursed at wake up and bed time I would be fine with that...it's just a bit of nutrients to top him up in his diet and I don't mind giving him that for awhile if he asks for it though I know it's not really totally necessary at this age so if he stops, that's fine too. He's begun having sippy cups with milk and he has a big appetite for food. He's a champ and eats a lot and still nurses 4 times a day too. He also loves water and drinks quite a lot. He's never had any constipation thanks to his love for water.
He's a true sweetheart with literally the best laugh in the world. It sounds like a baby laughtrack - as if it isn't even real. That coupled with his toothy grin and hearts everywhere are melted. He absolutely loves the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear and brings it to me to read often. He has also loved that book to the point it is taped up and covered in stains but it's very easily replaceable so we just let it get well loved.
Well, that's the Rhodie update. I am really looking forward to the warm weather that is just around the horizon as Spring rolls in and brings a thaw. Winter is not my favourite but we make do. Spring however brings so much beauty and excitement to my heart - to hear the birds return. To see the buds spring up from the earth. To be able to go outside with only a light jacket or warm sweater and soak up some sunshine. I can't wait to be out in the yard again with the kiddos!
Hope everyone is enjoying their winters and getting fresh air when you can. Thanks for reading about my little man :)
