Peter at eleven months old
A sweet, curious, and very busy boy: that’s what Peter is at eleven months old. He hit a growth spurt over the last few weeks and is suddenly chubby again, and just tall enough to get into all new kinds of trouble. He becomes more mobile every day. It’s not uncommon now to turn around and see him standing up in the middle of a room, without any furniture to hold on to. He can also crawl from one end of the apartment to the other at lightning speed! Here’s a look at what his daily routine and personality are like these days:
Favorite Activities:
- Saying “ah” – He’s not really saying words yet, except for the occasional “ma ma” or “da da,” but he often expresses his opinion by uttering “ah” in a variety of intensities, lengths, and volume. It’s amazing that one little sound can have so many meanings!
- Opening the kitchen drawers that contain the sippy cups and kids’ dishes, and pulling them all out one by one, scattering them around the kitchen floor. I have to watch my step, but I’m just glad that he stays entertained this way while I’m washing dishes or cooking a meal.
- Standing up from a seated position, without pulling up on anything for support – we have been very impressed by this demonstration of strength and balance! He is usually holding a toy when he does this. He can also stand in place for several seconds before falling or sitting down. No hands free steps yet, but he’s getting close!
- Wandering off to his or Benjamin’s room to play with toys by himself – He especially enjoys digging through the toy box in Benjamin’s room. They must seem much cooler than all the baby toys in his room. Benjamin also has an alligator mirror from IKEA that is a soft, cloth lined, full length mirror. Almost every time Peter goes in the room, he knocks this over, sits on it, and makes funny faces at himself. So cute to watch! He also likes to climb up on Benjamin’s bed (which is just above floor level) and rub his face on the soft sheets, and to grab Benjamin’s sound machine off the night stand and turn it on. He is a busy, smart baby. I’m happy that he can entertain himself so well!
- “Dancing” to music – It doesn’t matter if it’s on Benjamin’s CD player, on a commercial, or on a movie. He’ll dance to anything with a beat! Benjamin was watching The Prince of Egypt a couple of days ago, and Peter danced his way through the opening song (“Deliver Us”), and when it was over, he reached his arms up in the air very dramatically, and applauded enthusiastically. It’s nice to know that he appreciates good music!
- Crawling around with a small toy or sock in his mouth (must be related to teething)
- Waving “hello” to the wall lamps in our apartment building (he doesn’t wave to people, only the lights – I’m not sure he knows what waving means – either that, or he knows something about the lights that we don’t!)
Naps and Night Time:
- He now takes a predictable morning and afternoon nap. I usually wake him up from the morning nap after an hour and a half, so that I can run some errands with the boys before lunch. Also, I believe that he takes a longer afternoon nap if I don’t let him sleep too long in the morning, which then allows me to have a longer break while both boys take their afternoon nap (usually two hours or even more!).
- His morning nap starts between 8:30 and 9:00, his afternoon nap between 1:00 and 2:00. He is always ready for his nap. After I sing him a quick song, I lay him down in his crib and cover him up, and he usually falls asleep immediately. Occasionally he talks to himself for a few minutes, but he rarely cries about nap time any more.
- He goes to bed at night between 8:30 and 9. Again, he’s always exhausted and ready for sleep, so it’s an easy process. He still wakes up at least a few times a week during the night. I think that lately he’s actually been hungry during the night because of his growth spurt, so I’ve been happy to nurse him. And I am only awake with him for 10 or 15 minutes, so it’s not too disruptive to my sleep. He wakes up in the morning between 6 and 7. He’s a much earlier riser than Benjamin was at this age. (Benjamin slept until after 8:00 for the first two years of his life!)
Meals:
- I intended to start giving Peter breakfast every morning about a month ago, but it doesn’t happen every day. In fact, most days he doesn’t have any “food” until I give him a mid morning snack of yogurt or cereal, but he seems satisfied by his morning feeding of mama’s milk. He usually has a fruit and a vegetable baby food for lunch, and then cereal with a baby food dinner (a meat/veggie/sometimes fruit combo) at night. Sometimes he also has an afternoon snack. I know he needs one if he gets fussy around 4:00. He still isn’t a fan of textured foods. I’ve kept trying mashed up avocado and banana, but after lots of gagging I usually give up. He does like Cheerios and puffs, though.
- I had my first success with homemade baby food this week. I mixed up a batch of cooked carrots, added some water, and pureed them in the blender, and they were so creamy and delicious that I snuck a few bites! Next up I want to try sweet potatoes and maybe peas.
- After a few months of refusing to drink formula or breast milk from a bottle, I’m happy to report that Peter has decided it’s okay again. We eased him back into the idea by giving him a baby bottle of water at meal time in his high chair. Over a period of a few weeks, he got comfortable sipping the water, so the next time I was gone, he decided to drink the bottle of formula that Brad offered him. Hooray! I can now feel free to leave the house for longer than three hours at a time, and not have to rush home to put him to bed myself. He was starting to become quite the mama’s boy, so I’m glad that we’re getting away from that mindset now.
He's proud (and surprised) that he can now sit on the little bench on our balcony.
Odds and Ends:
- He has some more new teeth, but I have lost count. All I know is that he’s been drooling like crazy, chewing toys, and has a toothy grin.
- His poop schedule has normalized. For about six weeks he was having lots and lots and lots of poops. We were going through diapers like crazy! Now he just has one or two dirty diapers a day. I think it was a virus that took forever to go away. The probiotics we gave him for awhile seemed to help, but it was really just a “let it run its course” thing.
- He developed the ability to walk with a push toy this week. He was very proud!
- His hair is getting curly and thicker. It’s fun to have two curly headed boys!
- He experienced two firsts recently: a swimming pool and fireworks. He was skeptical about the pool at first, but once he figured out that it felt nice and that he was safe in my arms, he giggled and splashed his hands in the water and had a great time. He also was impressed and inspired by Valencia’s 4th of July fireworks show. He laughed, clapped, and reached his hands up in the sky as if trying to grab them. This is quite different from when I was child: I screamed and cried in the car during one fireworks show, and my dad had to carry me on his shoulders and run for the exits at Disney World to avoid me melting down when the nightly fireworks extravaganza started!
- He has shown his first interest in books. I’ve read him a few board books, and he laughs his way through them and touches the pictures.
Pausing for a brief moment before continuing on his near constant path of exploration and discovery!
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