For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of becoming a mother. When I was young, I had dozens of baby dolls, all of whom had names, and I spent hours each day mothering them. When I outgrew the doll stage, I compiled lists of suitable names for my future children (Henry was not on the list, FYI, but most of the names had an early-1990s charm--think Mariah--so that's not too surprising). And then, as soon as I was old enough, I began babysitting. But my greatest desire was always to have a baby to call my own.
One year ago today, my dream came true when Henry Cole entered the world.
But even on June 26, 2012, I didn't know that being a mother to Henry would be so much better than anything I could have ever dreamed or imagined it would be.
Several people have asked me over this past year whether I "love" motherhood. And, honestly, the first time this question was posed, it threw me for a loop. I simply can't imagine not being in love with motherhood. It brings me more joy, by far, than anything else in the world. Even during the early days of no sleep and round-the-clock feedings, and despite the fact that I'll probably never sleep past 8:00 a.m. again. Watching Henry grow and develop into a toddler with a cheerful, easygoing, determined, vivacious personality. Seeing Mark, the man who had never once changed a diaper or even held a baby prior to Henry's birth, become a devoted, instinctive, wonderful father. Hearing my son say "mama" and realizing that he actually connects the word with me. It's all I could have possibly dreamed of, and more.
So thank you, Henry, for making me a mama. Happy first birthday. We love you more than you will ever know.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Mommy and Me
I love soaking up as much time with my baby boy as I can. He won't be this cuddly and snuggly for long!
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| I'm hiding his pacifier, not doing some weird pose... |
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| Grin! |
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Eleven Months
Henry turned eleven months old on May 26, 2013! Here is what Henry was up to last month!
Sleeping
After a fairly rough last month due to teething, this month has been phenomenal sleep-wise! Henry finally, finally takes regular naps of predictable lengths. About two hours after he wakes up, he takes a nap of about 1.5 hours. Then, he takes an afternoon nap of about the same length. Sometimes he'll take a quick cat nap in the early evening, around 6:30 or so, sleeping for 30-45 minutes. Henry also regularly sleeps 9.5-10.5 hours at night. He is asleep around 9:30, and he sleeps anywhere from 7:00 to 8:00 generally. It took 10 months, but it is so nice finally to have a decent sleeper. Now, I'm worried when Henry's molars begin coming through that this will all go to pot, but hopefully we'll at least get another month or two of rest!
Eating
The biggest change for us this month was that I weaned Henry completely. It was a gradual process. My milk supply decreased greatly when I was feeding him only twice a day, and by the beginning of the month I only fed Henry at night at around 7pm. But after a week or so of this, he would eat for only 4-5 minutes, and I knew he wasn't getting much milk. Additionally, while he never bit me, I think just the presence of his teeth was causing me some damage, and it was painful to feed him. So, I decided that one night would just be the last time. It was a bit emotional for me; Henry could not have cared less. He was never a huge comfort feeder; I honestly don't think he would have cared if we had weaned much earlier. So, he is on formula now until he turns a year old, when we can introduce cow's milk.
As far as solids, Henry still eats yogurt and fruit in the morning. But we have introduced many more table foods to his other two meals of the day. His regular rotation includes pieces of cheese and bread, black beans, pieces of steamed carrots, peas, chicken, and cut up fruit. We also have given him parts of our meals in small bites. He was a huge, huge fan of ground turkey tacos! He also liked guacamole, quesadillas, macaroni and cheese, and a lasagna bake.
Moving and Shaking
Perhaps the biggest news this month is that Henry can now stand on his own without holding onto anything. He's probably only done it a dozen or so times, and once he realizes what he's doing, he sits down in a jiffy! But he has pretty good balance. He has never attempted to take a step when standing alone. He does, though, love to cruise around with his walker. He does laps around the house! It's too cute.
Henry also cruises along furniture regularly. He now can walk along ottomans, our day bed, the glider in his room, and various dressers.
Henry is a master at climbing stairs. He can scale the stairs from the first floor to the second floor of the house in about 15 seconds flat. We climb right behind him, of course. And the scary thing is, he has absolutely no fear of falling down, because he's tried to climb down the stairs the same way he goes up. Once we carry him down, he goes right back up. I don't discourage it too much because it's good exercise for both of us! But we now have a gate that we can put up in front of the stairs to prevent Henry from climbing them, and we also frequently block his access with a large ottoman.
Verbal/Emotional Development
Henry has gotten much better at sitting still and playing with toys for several minutes without constantly needing to move onto a different activity. He'll even let me read him three or four books, as long as they're short, and particularly if they involve textures or pull tabs!
Henry also figured out how to put toys inside of boxes and bins, and how to pull them back out. He has this one toy that's essentially a large plastic block, and one of its sides has openings in shapes of circles and rectangles. This side opens with a handle. Henry will put smaller toys, such as balls or blocks, through the openings, and then pull the handle to retrieve the toys.
Still no words, as far as I can tell, but he babbles to himself all of the time. And he knows lots of words. He looks for Rowan when I say her name, and will look out the window when I say outside. I'm really hoping Henry will say his first word by a year, but we'll see.
Other Notables
Henry now has seven teeth! Four on top, and three on the bottom.
Henry began a music class this month! We go weekly, and he learns some basic sign language and plays with musical instruments. We both have a blast! It's good for Henry to interact with other babies his age, too.
I am just in love with this stage. Henry is the sweetest, smartest, giggliest, loveliest little boy. I feel so fortunate to be his mom!
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| Hey--look at my top teeth! |
After a fairly rough last month due to teething, this month has been phenomenal sleep-wise! Henry finally, finally takes regular naps of predictable lengths. About two hours after he wakes up, he takes a nap of about 1.5 hours. Then, he takes an afternoon nap of about the same length. Sometimes he'll take a quick cat nap in the early evening, around 6:30 or so, sleeping for 30-45 minutes. Henry also regularly sleeps 9.5-10.5 hours at night. He is asleep around 9:30, and he sleeps anywhere from 7:00 to 8:00 generally. It took 10 months, but it is so nice finally to have a decent sleeper. Now, I'm worried when Henry's molars begin coming through that this will all go to pot, but hopefully we'll at least get another month or two of rest!
Eating
The biggest change for us this month was that I weaned Henry completely. It was a gradual process. My milk supply decreased greatly when I was feeding him only twice a day, and by the beginning of the month I only fed Henry at night at around 7pm. But after a week or so of this, he would eat for only 4-5 minutes, and I knew he wasn't getting much milk. Additionally, while he never bit me, I think just the presence of his teeth was causing me some damage, and it was painful to feed him. So, I decided that one night would just be the last time. It was a bit emotional for me; Henry could not have cared less. He was never a huge comfort feeder; I honestly don't think he would have cared if we had weaned much earlier. So, he is on formula now until he turns a year old, when we can introduce cow's milk.
As far as solids, Henry still eats yogurt and fruit in the morning. But we have introduced many more table foods to his other two meals of the day. His regular rotation includes pieces of cheese and bread, black beans, pieces of steamed carrots, peas, chicken, and cut up fruit. We also have given him parts of our meals in small bites. He was a huge, huge fan of ground turkey tacos! He also liked guacamole, quesadillas, macaroni and cheese, and a lasagna bake.
Moving and Shaking
Perhaps the biggest news this month is that Henry can now stand on his own without holding onto anything. He's probably only done it a dozen or so times, and once he realizes what he's doing, he sits down in a jiffy! But he has pretty good balance. He has never attempted to take a step when standing alone. He does, though, love to cruise around with his walker. He does laps around the house! It's too cute.
Henry also cruises along furniture regularly. He now can walk along ottomans, our day bed, the glider in his room, and various dressers.
Henry is a master at climbing stairs. He can scale the stairs from the first floor to the second floor of the house in about 15 seconds flat. We climb right behind him, of course. And the scary thing is, he has absolutely no fear of falling down, because he's tried to climb down the stairs the same way he goes up. Once we carry him down, he goes right back up. I don't discourage it too much because it's good exercise for both of us! But we now have a gate that we can put up in front of the stairs to prevent Henry from climbing them, and we also frequently block his access with a large ottoman.
Verbal/Emotional Development
Henry has gotten much better at sitting still and playing with toys for several minutes without constantly needing to move onto a different activity. He'll even let me read him three or four books, as long as they're short, and particularly if they involve textures or pull tabs!
Henry also figured out how to put toys inside of boxes and bins, and how to pull them back out. He has this one toy that's essentially a large plastic block, and one of its sides has openings in shapes of circles and rectangles. This side opens with a handle. Henry will put smaller toys, such as balls or blocks, through the openings, and then pull the handle to retrieve the toys.
Still no words, as far as I can tell, but he babbles to himself all of the time. And he knows lots of words. He looks for Rowan when I say her name, and will look out the window when I say outside. I'm really hoping Henry will say his first word by a year, but we'll see.
Other Notables
Henry now has seven teeth! Four on top, and three on the bottom.
Henry began a music class this month! We go weekly, and he learns some basic sign language and plays with musical instruments. We both have a blast! It's good for Henry to interact with other babies his age, too.
I am just in love with this stage. Henry is the sweetest, smartest, giggliest, loveliest little boy. I feel so fortunate to be his mom!
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