13 months

I decided I want to continue these monthly posts because I like looking back and remembering things that Neil did. We won't take monthly pictures, though, so I'll include some that we've taken from the previous month. For next month I might start a better format. I'll be looking for good examples to get ideas between now and then.

Neil is starting to walk. I'm not sure when you can consider that they're walking. He can definitely stand without holding onto anything for a good amount of time, walks holding just one of my hands, and is starting to walk in between things. I saw it about halfway through the month for the first time when he walked from a kitchen chair to his high chair (about 2 steps). I was so surprised! Towards the end of the month he walked about 8-10 steps in front of Dave, stopping in the middle, standing on his own, and then continuing on. But he prefers crawling over walking still and if he's tired he doesn't want to walk.

I see him now and can't remember when he wasn't crawling, rolling, or mobile. It's weird to think that in a few months I won't remember what it was like before he walked.

Neil only has two teeth that we can see and I don't feel any more coming in yet. His two teeth are so cute though!

We definitely can't eat anything in peace anymore. Neil sees what I have and wants it. (Now I have to attempt to be more healthy to be a good example.) And even if I have the same thing on my plate as he has on his, he wants mine. Typical, right? He ate like a champ on the cruise and still doesn't seem to be very picky although avocados are still his favorite. So far he also seems to like peas a lot. We are at the point that we can pretty much go to any restaurant and order off the menu for him. We actually don't usually order off the kid's menu, either. He seems to really like grilled chicken as well, and maybe fish (based on how he ate fish on our cruise). I don't like seafood at all though so I want to take advantage and order fish when we're at restaurants. I guess I need to learn some good fish recipes to cook it for Neil and Dave and I'll eat something else. We let Neil try ice cream for the first time on the cruise and of course he loved it.

Breastfeeding/nursing: So the cruise was a bit enlightening because I was with Neil 24/7 pretty much and he could nurse on demand. He seemed to nurse 3 times a day when we're together all the time. First thing in the morning, late morning, and then as part of the bedtime routine. We also gave him whole milk and water. However, I really can't pump anymore at work because of the way my job is. I'm not "protected" by the law anymore and I think most people there would be shocked to know I'm still nursing. So I did cut out that last pump at work and was able to do it after we returned from the cruise. I used the last of my freezer stash the day Neil was 13 months so from here on out it's whole milk and water for him. I'm going to continue nursing morning and night although I'm noticing that my supply is REALLY dropping now. I think we're going to start giving him food for breakfast as well.

This seems to be his eating schedule:

Nurse/bottle in morning (I pump before work the days I work) 7:00am 4-5 oz and yogurt
Lunch with whole milk 11:00-12:00 5oz
Snack with whole milk 3:30 5oz
Nurse at night around 7-7:30 I just pumped for a date night and only got 3 oz

We might be missing a mid-morning snack but we're still playing things by ear. Neil now eats a lot for dinner. The last two nights in a row he ate as much chicken as I did.

Cutting out that last pump session at work was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. Every other time I've cut out a pump session I've gotten very full and been sore. I was a little full the first couple of days, at the end of the day, but not too uncomfortable. And Neil seemed to empty me at the night nursing, which is good.

I also cut out his 5pm nursing session. He wants it more for comfort because if I give him whole milk he doesn't want that. So now I'm dealing with after work crying/temper tantrums that I'm not sure how to handle. I try to hold him and even that doesn't help. So maybe it's mean but I've kind of taken to just setting him down on the floor and letting him cry. If hugging/holding helped, I would do that. But it doesn't make a difference. The only other thing I can think is that he is tired. They don't give us sheets with what he did at daycare now that he's over a year old. I know that he was cutting down to one nap a day there (in the afternoon) and on the weekends he naps both in the morning and the afternoon so maybe that's the problem. But if he sleeps at 5pm then it pushes back bedtime. This whole thing is something I'm trying to figure out. We have moved up his bedtime a bit to see if it helps. We'll keep working on this. He does sleep well.

Neil is talking up a storm. I can't understand a lot of what he says but sometimes I can figure it out based on what he's pointing at. He calls fish "pout" or "pout pout" (from a book Dave reads to him with the pout pout fish). Cats are either "Tigger" or "kitty." He says banana (ba), ball (ba), truck, boat, dog (woof and d)... those are just some of the words I've heard the last few days. He says a lot more. If I don't understand what he's saying and can't figure it out, I try to respond and just say something like "Oh really". The sign language is good although he doesn't seem to understand yet when to say things. If we say "please" or "thank you" he signs it but doesn't offer it on his own yet.

Neil does seem to be overtired. I have a feeling they've cut out his morning nap at daycare but I'm not completely sure. I know he wasn't getting it all the time. He sleeps really well at home though and his routine for sleeping is: 

Wake up around 7am

Nap around 8am for about 2 hours

Nap around 12-1 for 1-2 hours

Bed between 7 and 8pm

The reason I think he might not get the morning nap at daycare is that sometimes after work he just wants to sleep in my arms, and he doesn't need that on the weekends. Dave and I are trying to figure out what is normal for this age.

This video is cute- our friends told us about another toddler who says cheers so we thought we would try it with Neil. It's so cute but now he wants to "cheers" all the time, ha.

Just one thing about me. I finally feel like myself again. I think part of it is that I have been breastfeeding and that's finally slowed down enough that it really doesn't affect me. I'm going to try to run at lunch at work and have a running buddy for there, who is willing to run in the cold, snow, etc. But I am starting to feel thin again (although my hips are definitely wider than they ever used to be) and I'm not super hungry all the time. I notice when I eat more I do gain more weight so I think that breastfeeding isn't allowing me to eat extra calories and not see an effect haha.

Stats:

Size 3 diapers
Size 12 month clothing, and we started using some 18 month sized Gerber pajamas.