Eating & Communicating

Caleb is such a good eater! Since he turned 8-months-old, he has been eating three hearty (for a baby) meals a day and two snacks in addition to his five regular breastfeedings. Since he turned 9-months-old, he has been eating everything that we eat. (I didn't follow the recommendations for introducing foods.) I just put a helping of our dinner into the Magic Bullet (food processor) and there is Caleb's lunch and dinner the next day. He has baby yogurt and oatmeal cereal for breakfast every morning, and Cheerios and fruit for his snacks. He eats everything I offer him, with very few exceptions. Just recently he has learned how to indicate that he would like a certain food (pointing at the cabinet where we keep the Cheerios, reaching for a banana on the counter), and he has sometimes resisted the meal in front of him because he wants something else, but he eventually eats what I'm offering.

A few days ago he started signing "more", and he signs "more" every time his food is gone. The first time I kept giving him more b/c I was so happy that he was signing, but now I just have to distract him when he's had enough, or he might just eat all day! I still do baby sign language with him regularly. I sign "up", "please", "all done", "open", "drink", "eat", "diaper" and a few others. For me, the purpose of signing is so that I can expect him to communicate some basic wants/needs without the whining that he uses now. When the baby gate closes right in front of him, instead of whining and crying, he can learn to say "open". Well, so far, all he has picked up on is "more", but I'm told that signing takes off more after a year. He DEFINITELY understands a lot of words, phrases and questions that he hears a lot, and I know he understands from his strong reactions every time he hears them. "Do you want to go outside?" sends him running to the front door. "Are you hungry?" sends him whining all the way to the high chair (as if he just realized he's starving). He also responds immediately to "Take a bath?" "Want some milk?" "Where's Dadda?" "Watch TV?" "Turn on the light" and "See the dogs?" "Time to change your diaper?" sends him whining and running, and "I'm gonna get you!" makes him laugh so hard he can barely walk.

He repeats the sounds that we make, particularly the initial sound "Ba" for "ball", "Da" for "dog", "ba-ba" for baby... you get the general idea, but doesn't have any words that he consistently uses to label the same thing. He does say "da-da", but he calls many things and many people "da-da" with only a slight but distinct preference for calling Marcus "da-da". I haven't heard any form of "ma-ma" from him since he was babbling at 5-months and then completely gave up the "mm" sound for months.
It is so much more fun to spend time with him now that he understands so much and is able to communicate some on his own. The downside is that wilfulness (on his side) and discipline (on mine) has entered our relationship, and that makes everything a little more stressful. My only sadness is that one year is almost over and I truly can't believe that he is becoming a little boy instead of my baby. If his independence at 11-months makes my heart ache, what will I do when he's a teenager??????

Mobility & Tantrums

It has been more than 4 months since I took the time to write an entry on this site! It has also been more than 4 months since Caleb became mobile... Hmmm...

Caleb started crawling at 6 1/2 months, and since then his personality has blossomed. So many options opened up for him once he could crawl: instead of just playing with whatever toy I put in front of him, he was able to choose any toy in the room. And he didn't limit himself to just toys, either! With the realization of his power to choose came the realization that many other things in his environment could be altered to please him, if he would just assert his new-found control. He wanted to touch and explore everything in sight, and he often threw a bonafide temper tantrum when he was denied what he was pursuing, be it Daddy's soda or Mommy's cell phone or the dogs' medicine. His fits at this age were (and still are) just incredibly adorable, and I really have to fight to keep from laughing when he throws them. His face contorts into the most injured expression imaginable, his bottom lip protrudes and quivers, and he wails. Often he adds to the dramatic moment by throwing himself forward onto the floor and wailing with his face buried in the carpet, with an occasional glance up to make sure that his audience is still there. For those of you who may be worrying that I enjoy his fits a little too much and may be encouraging them--fear not. What is cute in my living room is embarrassing elsewhere, and I have not once ever given in to one of his little tantrums. Alas, my consistency seems to be working and the adorable little pity parties are getting shorter and less frequent. I really hope I can get one on camera before they cease to be this cute...

A Schedule!

For almost two weeks, Caleb has been on a pretty predictable schedule. It is unbelievable how much more enjoyable everything is for me now that I have a general idea how the day is going to go. I can plan for outings, make appointments accurately, know when he's going to be hungry, etc. I LOVE THE SCHEDULE! He gets up in the morning sometime between 6:00 and 7:00. We usually play, talk and cuddle in my bed for about 30 minutes before we get up, get dressed and get the toys out. He plays on his own for about 10 minutes while I brush teeth, feed dogs, etc, and then I join him on the floor. We rarely go anywhere in the morning before his first nap, and so this time has become consistent Mommy-Caleb time that we both enjoy very much. His goes down for his first nap (yes he actually takes naps now!) at 9:00 am. He almost always falls asleep right at 9:00, and sometimes he even falls asleep in his crib on his own, without rocking first. (I usually put him in his crib around 8:45 to let him wind down, and if he's not asleep in 10 minutes, or if he cries, then I pick him up and rock him to sleep.) He naps for an hour or so. We usually go out and do something between 10:00 and 1:00, like lunch with a friend, errands, grocery shopping, etc. Caleb enjoys going out, and a change of scenery is good for both of us. I try to be home by 12:30 so he can wind down for his afternoon nap at 1:00. It's funny to me how consistent his internal clock has become with this schedule. Today I was running behind with my errands and then checking out at the grocery store took 20 minutes b/c of some mechanical error, so we ended up pulling in the drive-way right at 1:00. I rushed around to get him out of the seat so I could get him and rock him to sleep, and discovered that he had fallen asleep in the car seat!

His afternoon nap usually lasts about an hour, though he sometimes sleeps for two hours. If his afternoon nap is short, he takes another short nap from 4:30 to 5:00. Atypically, Caleb seems to be the most energetic and the happiest in the evening hours from 5:00 to 7:00. He laughs, squeals and "talks" the most, and seems to enjoy playing more too. Bedtime routine starts around 7:00 pm, and it includes some time in the swing outside, watching the dogs play, a bath (which he LOVES), pajama time, reading several books in his bedroom, and then nursing and rocking. He is almost always asleep by 8:00 pm, and sometimes a little earlier.

With as much as a planner as I am, it was really hard for me when I had no idea if he needed to eat or sleep or what was supposed to come next. I was not willing to try to force a schedule on him, but I'm so glad that he allowed himself to be eased into one. I tried scheduling him at four months and at five months, but it seems that six months was the right time for him.

What a joy!

Caleb is such a delight! He will be 4-months-old on Sunday, and he's already sitting on his own! He LOVES reading, and is using his hands more and more every day. He picks up everything he can reach and puts it in his mouth, even if it is another child's hand! LOL He is still a little charmer, flirting with and captivating every one he sees, especially females :) He's laughing out loud now, and is very ticklish in the ribs. He still loves TV, and we occasionally let him watch a Baby Einstein video while we eat dinner. Probably one of the most remarkable things about him is how much he loves letters, even at this age. The alphabet song is his favorite song, and he is much more fascinated with the words on each page of a book than he is with the pictures. I need to get him some wooden alphabet letters. I've started doing baby signing with him, though I don't expect him to begin signing back to me for several months yet. I'm teaching him the signs for Mommy, Daddy, book, please, thank you, eat, drink, all done, good, ouch, more, sleep, and milk. His temperament is sweet as ever, and he pretty much only cries when he's in his car seat for more than 15-20 minutes and when he wakes up in the night and wants to nurse. Otherwise, he's content or happy. He is just a complete joy to his daddy and I.

Random Thoughts

Caleb is such a happy little boy! He spends about half of his awake time with a huge toothless grin on his face (and he's nursing almost all the the rest of the time.) He outgrew all of his 0-3 month clothes several weeks ago, and he's even outgrown a few 3-6 month outfits. His torso is so long that he really needs 6-9 month size in one-piece outfits, though 6-9 month pants are way too long on him. I am definitely not being as self-controlled as a I should when I shop for Caleb, but at least I no longer have any desire to buy myself clothes, so the costs offset each other :) This is my last day of work, and Marcus and I and Caleb are going to Melbourne, FL for a wedding this weekend. I'm a little nervous about our first road trip, because sometimes Caleb wails in the car seat, and I couldn't bear listening to him cry for hours. We're timing the 3-hour drive during his afternoon nap, which usually lasts about two and half hours, so hopefully that will work out well. I won't be surprised at all if he even extends his nap to last the whole trip. He is generally a very accomodating little guy. I've been amazed over and over again by how he manages to fall asleep at all the appropriate times, even if its not a normal sleeping time. Every time we eat out, he manages to sleep through the part where we eating. I've taken him to prayer group several times (where babies are technically not allowed), and he's slept through the whole hour, waking up just when we finish. We even went to see XMen III in the theater and he slept through the entire movie! If only he would start sleeping through the night, I think he really would be the easiest baby ever :)