Oh, dear Lachlan,
What a slacker of a mom I have been. Things have been really busy since the new year. We had company for almost 2 weeks in January and my schooling started up again so I have much less time on my hands. With you being a busy busy boy, I am often very tired and putting you to bed and hitting the books, and/or couch.
You started walking just before your first birthday and by the time you turned 13 months, you were running. You are a very busy boy, like to run, point at everything, be held and snuggle, give kisses and imitate animal sounds and other noises like sirens and trains. Your vocabulary is expanding and so far your words are: dada, mom, mama, doggy, bow-wow, meow, up, all done, hot, hat, cat, tree (chee), hi, yeah, more, elmo, no, and likely others that I am forgetting. Some words are a strech but we understand you. You're understand a lot - we can ask you to blow a kiss and you will, if we ask you if you want to take a bath you pull at your shirt and go for the stairs to go up to bathe, when we ask if you want to go "byebye" you go to the door, when we ask if you want a snack you go to the pantry and when you point at the stove you say hot. It's so neat to see your little brain working and to be able to communicate with and understand you.
We had an excellent first birthday for you. Both sets of grandparents came and lots of friends came as well. I put a lot of time and planning in to your party and couldn't have been happier with how it turned out. I do have to say, I was glad when it was over as it was stressful planning and hosting. :) I thought for sure that I would cry a lot at your party, especially when people were singing happy birthday to you. Turns out, I only cried when the first couple people showed up as it hit me that it was really happening. I definitely had my moments before your birthday. The night before your actual birthday I softly sang happy birthday to you and after you fell asleep, I went and sobbed in my bedroom. I cried the night of your actual birthday, too. In hindsight, I am not sure why I felt so emotional. I feel like perhaps somewhere in my head I thought it was the end to something. But, now that all is said and done, it was just the beginning to something else and in the end, I am just so happy and thankful to have you in my life, whether you are 11 months, 12 months or 12 years. No matter how old you are, you'll always be my first born and will always be my baby boy.
You've become quite the guy for routine. Every night between 6:50 and 7:10 you let us know you are ready for bed. We ask you if you're ready for a bath, you go upstairs and stand next to the tub (after running in and out of every room once or twice), start pulling at your clothes and then get in the bath. After a few minutes you stand up and try to crawl out, pointing to the sink where you brush your teeth. So, we brush your teeth and you let us know when you're done (most of the time) and we go in your room. You go to grab your brush and it has even got to the point where you lay down so I can put on your diaper without you running around while I attempt to diaper you! Then, we get a bottle (yes, we're still getting a bottle) and after you are done you usually point to your crib and you go in and don't make a peep! It's a pretty amazing thing. You are still waking up about once in the night and then you wake about 630-7am every day.
You're very into pointing at everything and you do this super cute thing where you point at something interesting or that you want, and then you turn your hand in and point at yourself with a curved finger - almost like you're saying, for me? You prefer walking rather than being in the stroller and are getting good about holding out your hand for us to hold it (well, sometimes - on your terms!).
Your eating is hit or miss. You don't like as many things that you used to like but you still have a pretty good spread in what you like. You're still not super keen on meat but you will eat it more often than you did before. We're still doing the bottle and hope to slowly wean that if you seem receptive at all to the idea. We may try that next weekend and see how that goes. Obviously you won't be 5 and still wanting a bottle, but still. We discovered that you really like strawberries. I had heard somewhere not to introduce strawberries until you were one so we waited. I think last weekend was the first time you really had strawberries. You may have had a bite here and there, but goodness, I bought a thing of strawberries and you probably ate 9 strawberries in one sitting; it was pretty intense. You also like eating rice krispies with milk for breakfast and still love your scrambled eggs.
You really enjoy books and will sit and flip through the pages by yourself if we are too busy or unable to read to you. But, you will bring books to me constantly and turn around to sit on my lap so I can read them to you. You like the same 3 or 4 books on repeat, but that is OK!
Some big news is that you had your first "surgery" this last month. We went in on March 6 and you had a frenectomy done in your mouth. When we went for a dentist check up it was confirmed that you had an attached frenulum (where your top lip meets your gums). It was optional of whether we wanted to do it or wait but they said that it would likely need to be done at some point, likely around 11 if we waited. After the research we did and our feelings on it, we decided to do it and get it out of the way. So, we had your frenulum snipped and stitched. Im sure by now the stitches have mostly dissolved out, but I am too scared to pull up your lip. It was a super traumatic experience for you, me and dad, but I'd rather not document the details here. The good thing is, after we came home and you took a three hour nap, you were good as gold. You woke up unphased by what happened and no one would've ever known what happened. I am so glad that we did it and that it is over and done with; no more worry about it. The bittersweet news that came along with finding out you had an attached frenulum was that it was likely the culprit of our failed breastfeeding. Of course, I cried. But, I just look at it like this, it gives me hope for next time and it allows me to release some of those negative feelings I held on to regarding myself and breastfeeding and failing as a mom. I know now that it likely wasn't me; I didn't give up too soon and it was out of my hands. Had we of known, you would've been snipped as an infant and your latch would've been so much better. But, it is what it is. I thought not breastfeeding you and giving you formula was the end of the world; obviously it wasn't. :)
You're an amazing little guy and we are truly lucky to have you. I will try to update more than every 2 months and maybe even more than every month. Perhaps they will be a different kind of entry but it will be something.
Happy belated birthday little guy. I love you so very much.
xo,
Mommy
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