We’re doing one more Z update before he turns 1, and oh my gosh, he’s going to be a whole year old so soon!
Z is so smiley and social and curious, but he has a healthy dose of, “Excuse me, you aren’t my mommy,” in there. In the last few months, he’s grown increasingly attached to and comfortable with his grandparents and great-grandparents, as well as a few cousins and some of my mom friends, but if I’m around, he sticks very close until he warms up.
His blue, blue eyes light up when you look at him, he loves to be interacted with, and we’re predicting him to be the family extravert. He’s funny, fast, a climber, and he still loves to be held. I don’t get as much time to sit and stare and marvel at him, but when I do, I can’t believe he’s mine. He’s so freaking sweet.
I feel like he’s huge, even though he’s objectively not. At 9 months, he was in the 40th percentile for weight and 70th for height. He still seems so much bigger to me than C did. He’s in 12 month clothes now, but I’ll probably size him up when I buy clothes for next season.
After getting 8 teeth in about 2 months, he’s seemed to be working on teeth a lot. His gums are perpetually swollen and my goodness, is he a biter. But only last night did I feel another one starting to cut through. /maybe he’ll get a bunch more in a row. Who knows.
Z has army-crawled for a long time, and it’s his fastest mode of transportation. He also crawls quite a bit. He switches back and forth depending on mood and surface he’s crawling on. These days, he’s also working on standing independently and is almost ready to start taking steps. He thinks about it and then he generally just dives toward his target.
He loves swinging, books, playing with water and dirt, going on walks, playing games, and being sung to. He mimics sounds a lot, and I am pretty sure he says several words (and tries more), but if I’m being honest, I forget what it’s like when a kid first starts using words.
Sleep
His sleep is not terrible, mostly. For the most part, I put him down in about 20 minutes at night, and he might get up once before I go to bed, but he usually doesn’t. Then he sleeps till 2 (or 1, or 3, or 5… it varies), and usually goes back down in 20-30 minutes.
He mostly refuses to nap on-the-go these days. Occasionally, he’ll pass out in a stroller on a hot day, but those naps are short-lived. So, we try to be home in time for naps. He’s been hovering between one and two naps a day for a couple months. We’re currently back at one.
Food
Z eats everything and lots of it. He’s the biggest fruit lover, shovels in handfuls of whatever meat we give him, and thinks dairy products and peanut butter are just great. He’s not as big on veggies as his sister, but he’ll eat some if I suggest it. Except tomatoes. He loves tomatoes.
He still nurses a lot – probably 5-8 times a day, depending on his nap schedule. He mostly nurses to sleep and upon waking, but sometimes it’s for hydration on a hot day or comfort or as a snack. The only thing that stop Z from eating is C because she’s just too interesting.
The Sibling Thing
Oh, my gosh. They adore each other.
C loves Z and gives him 800 hugs and kisses a day. She loves him so much that she loves all babies and considers them hers. It’s so cute and also we work on not invading the space of all the babies we see out and about. She’s a fantastic big sister. And he idolizes her. There’s no one whose speech he imitates as much as hers. He stops whatever he’s doing to look at and/or follow her. Her love for him can be a little aggressive, but he eats it all up and acts tough. They play silly little sibling games to make each other laugh, and they can play mostly independently for an hour at a time. It’s not usually that long, but even thirty minutes feels amazing. iTwo little kids this young is a lot to handle! And it’s also the cutest thing ever.
Schedule
We kind of have two schedules now. Some days he’s up at 6:30 and takes two naps, others it’s 7:30 or later and he takes one.
If he gets up before 7, he’s usually napping by 10, but it also might be 10:30 or 11 before he dozes off. We usually get outside for a walk before nap, and then C plays independently while I put him down. Sometimes that’s his short nap, and C and I will read or do a preschool activity, and then we get out of the house to spend more time outside or do some other activity as early as it makes sense given his sleep. We usually come back home before 2 and play to unwind.
If he gets up at 7:30 or later, he usually only naps once. So, we get out of the house as early as we’re ready (usually around 9, but sometimes I manage 8:30) and go for a walk or to a park or on a play date and stay out as long as we can. We come back home to play and read books when being out and about isn’t working anymore. And then we eat lunch or I get Z down for a nap. Sometimes he has post-nap lunch if he’s really tired and can’t make it through lunch.
C starts quiet time while I try to get Z down for an only/afternoon nap. C and I play or rest while he naps. When he’s up, we go outside for a bit and then I try to get dinner finished between 5:30 and 6pm. If the kids are happy to play together after dinner, we both clean up. Otherwise, whoever is more overstimulated cleans up and the other goes outside or plays with the kiddos. Z is usually ready for bed closer to 8 on a 2-nap day. He might get up once or twice before 10, or he might not. I go to bed as early as I can most nights, and he’s up once or twice throughout the night, and then we do it all again.
