Grayson has just blown me away this past month! Every day he seems to show me something new that he has learned or mastered. He can stand up, totally unassisted. He walks in big, clumsy steps until he plops down and remembers how much quicker it is to crawl. He cruises along our furniture, barely holding on with one hand, like it's no big thing. He says new words all the time-- EY! (hey!), uh-oh!, duh! (duck), cat, mama, dada, whoa!. He can also bark, moo, his own adorable version of meow, baa, and make monkey sounds (thanks, Gramps!). He can sign for "more" and "all done!" (these are the only signs I've taught him, but it only took a couple times of showing them and he figured it out just like that!) He can turn pages in books (though not always in the right order), lift flaps in the flap books (without ripping them!), and point out objects on the page. He loves reading and will hand me books to read for hours! If he really loves a book, he'll keep handing it to me over and over and over until I distract him with something else.
He's still obsessed with the little show on Hulu Plus called "Big Bugs Band." He calls it "BABMM!" (which is from a part of the hip-hop song that says "bamboo!") He will randomly say BABMM throughout the day. He once even woke up in the middle of the night, said "BABMM," put his paci in and went back to sleep without another word! In the living room, he looks at the TV, says BABMM and will search for the remote, trying to turn on Bugs. If he finds the remote, he will point it at the TV shouting BABMM!! I can usually distract him with books instead, or putting Pandora on the TV. I try not to give in to his demands every time.
He has 4 teeth and eats most table foods. His new favorites include chicken soup, vanilla Greek yogurt, and red beans and rice. He has also started eating plain Cheerios. Of course he still loves black beans and puffs. He gets very few pureed foods anymore, but I do keep some frozen cubes of green smoothies on hand for quick meals.
He now drinks one of his bottle-feedings from a sippy cup at school. Still gets two more bottles at school, and still nurses on demand at home. No real weaning plans at this point--my main goal right now is to work him off the bottles. I do plan to keep giving breastmilk at least through December. Then I'll re-evaluate my pumping plans after Christmas break. But it will be good for him to get the extra antibodies during cold season, and I've already set my schedule to allow for pump breaks this semester anyway.
Sleep...we don't like to talk much about sleep! Not because I think his sleep patterns are a problem, but because he does not sleep through the night and I don't want unsolicited advice on that. Sure, I want more sleep. But we're taking it all in stride, and it works for us.
Grayson is losing his baby fat and slimming down to look like a mature, little boy! It's crazy! But he still has his adorable, mostly bald head -- so there's that! There is no mistaking the red hair that's slowly growing up there, though! I won't know his updated weight and height until his 12 month checkup.
I'm surprisingly not as emotional about him turning a year old as I was a month ago. Maybe I'm still in denial. Or maybe I'm realizing that there will be no magical transformation in the next few weeks and he IS still going to be a baby! The thoughts of all the "shoulds" aren't really nagging at me anymore. As I said, we're taking it all in stride. Last night as we climbed into bed and I said, "Maybe Grayson will sleep through the night." Scott and I both laughed and he said, "Yeah, that'll happen!" (sarcasm. of course, it will happen one day, but it doesn't feel that way to us!) The conversation continued, through our good-natured laughter:
Scott: and we'll tell him to go to bed and he'll just go.
Me: Yeah. He won't need to be rocked or bounced or held until he falls asleep. He won't need to nurse or have a paci. And he'll just stay in his own room all night long until we come get him in the morning.
Both of us: lots of laughing
Sure, those things will happen one day (probably!), but it sure as heck doesn't feel like it will happen any time soon. And honestly, that's really okay. Some of my sweetest moments with Grayson are shared while I rock him to sleep at night. I whisper to him and tell him stories about my life, my hopes and dreams for him, and I say a little prayer for him, all while he dozes off (that's on a good night. On a hard night he pinches me and climbs all over me and I make Scott put him to bed instead!)
I know Grayson has SO many more new tricks, but honestly, they happen so quickly that I kind of forget that it's a big deal. We play a game once and he knows how to play it from then on. He can now use the ring stackers, he remembers silly games with do with his rubber duckies in the bath and tries to reinact them. It's like he just watches us do something and then he's like, cool. I got this, Mom! And that's it. He can officially do whatever that thing is. Amazing.
There are still times that I miss his infancy stages and times when I cling to what is left of that stage like my life depends on it, but most other times I'm just enjoying the ride and having such a fun time watching my sweet boy explore, learn, develop, and grow. :)
I can't believe he's almost a year old. Isn't it crazy? I know "they" tell us it happens fast, but during those first few (difficult) months for me, it didn't feel like that. But here we are! And you're doing such a great job. Grayson is adorable. Happy early birthday, sweet boy!
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