This month has been a busy busy one with a lot of new milestones for Mr. Caden! It’s amazing how quickly he can change in a short time and how fast he is learning right now. It blows my mind sometimes!
- Caden’s upgraded to 12 month clothes. That means there’s only one size between Caden and Kamy at this point (18 months) since Kamy is in 24 months / 2T. That’s scary for a Momma! They already wear the same diapers and diaper covers, but there’s something about admitting he’s in 12 month clothes that makes me sad. He’s nearly too tall for his infant car seat, so I’ll be ordering another car seat like Kamy’s in the near future. Plus he’s getting mighty heavy to haul around in his carrier anyway … though I’ll miss the flexibility of just plopping the carrier in a shopping cart and strapping Kamy in the child seat. Now I’ll have to either drag a second cart behind me or always use the loooong shopping cart with the two child seats attached to the back of the buggy (it’s like driving a boat) when I’m at the grocery store.
- Two more teeth have popped through his gums, so now he can really do some damage with his teeth. They’re not very far in yet, but both broke through at nearly the same time. He didn’t seem to have much trouble with teething or being fussier than normal either, so I’m optimistic that he’ll have a relatively easy time teething. He definitely puts everything in his mouth right now though … nothing is safe and he can do some damage with those teeth!
- We also have liftoff now! Caden can crawl across the floor and will intentionally head toward a specific toy or someone (usually me) if he wants to be held. It’s not very efficient or graceful yet, but it is effective! He started out inch-worming across the floor — up on all fours, then balancing on his toes and falling forward onto his tummy … rinse and repeat. Up and down. Pretty adorable! He’s starting to reach with his hands now too, though he usually ends up lying on his tummy between each effort. In no time he’ll be cruising around and under foot constantly. He certainly doesn’t stay where I put him any more, so I’ve gotten used to searching the room for him when I walk out for a few minutes. Fortunately I’ve got a great built-in spotter in Miss Kamy who will let me know if he gets into or onto anything he’s not supposed to. I’ve already caught him with his hands up on the brick surrounding the wood burning stove twice … Kamy knows you’re not allowed there.
- Caden will comfortably sit in a high chair now when we’re out in a restaurant, without being dwarfed by the chair and being too tipsy for my comfort. He also uses the high chair at home more frequently now, though putting him in the Bumbo on the table while we eat is pretty handy too.
- Eating solid foods has gone really well! He is not a picky eater at all and will pretty much swallow anything I offer him. He may not care for it as much, but he’ll usually polish off at least one full container of baby food in a setting. He loves apple, oatmeal, and any kind of fruit puree. We’ve also been feeding him pureed strawberries, mashed bananas, and baked sweet potatoes. I got a good deal on a bunch of the Sprout organic baby food that went on clearance at our grocery store (and was buy 5, get one free at the same time), so we’re stocked up for another week or so. Considering he’s eating one or two jars / packets / containers per meal, two or three times a day, we go through a lot of baby food! I can’t wait until he’s old enough to really start eating table food with us and I can stop buying as much at the store. He’s still nursing before naps and bedtime, but it’s definitely a smaller percentage of his calories in a day. Caden also loves to chew on Kamy’s water bottles, so we need to get a stock of his own so he can learn how to drink water from them.
- Caden’s Momma or Bust philosophy is starting to wane … to the relief of my tired arms. He’s not quite as picky about who is holding him all the time and will let other people hold him for a change. Church is still hit-or-miss depending on the chaos of the nursery and his mood for the day. While I do appreciate that I can fix almost anything for him at this age, I do get tired of hauling him around all the time. He’s also getting better at amusing himself when I put him down and doesn’t immediately start fussing to be picked up again.
- Our other big project this month was working on sleeping at night. He’s never been a self-soother and has no interest in either a pacifier or sucking his thumb. It’s hard to ignore him at night and listen to Mr. Pitiful cry it out. He blessed me with a full night’s sleep the Sunday and Monday after Mother’s Day … the first time in nearly three months! Usually he’ll wake up about an hour after going to bed, again around 10pm, some time after midnight, and then occasionally around 5 or 6am. Too many times! I’ve been ignoring him when he wakes up around 10pm and then getting him once some time after midnight. If he can get to where he’s consistently getting up only once, I’ll be happy for the time being. =P It doesn’t take long for me to get him back asleep at night, but he’ll only settle back down if it’s me … Daddy just makes him mad! It’s another case of Momma or Bust.
- Nap times are getting more consistent right now too. He’ll usually take an hour or so nap in the morning and then will take another hour nap in the afternoon. If he takes shortie naps, a third might be squeezed in, but that’s not assured. Sometimes I can get Caden and Kamy’s naps to line up … synchronized napping makes for a happy Momma, especially when I have time to lay down a take my own nap as well!
My sweet baby isn’t an infant any more! He’s already getting so big (and tall!) and he doesn’t look like an itty bitty baby. =( I’m not ready for him to be so big yet. <Sniff> It seems like just a few weeks ago that he was born, how can so much time pass so quickly?
