Welp. We made it a whole year! Everyone keeps asking me if time just flew by, or “can you believe you have a one year old?” And honestly, time felt exactly as long as it should have. I don’t know if that was because I was able to be home with her for this past year, or not. Don’t get me wrong, there were moments that felt like time stood still and moments where it felt like it was zipping by (especially her early months), but in the end this year felt full, and I am so grateful to have such an incredible baby girl who feels like a whole new person every single day.
| STATS |
Olivia had her official 12 month check up, and she still doesn’t like her pediatrician’s booming voice. But I was able to bribe her with puffs. He was very concerned about her weight loss (even though she looks like she’s gaining weight) as she currently weighs in at 16lb 8oz (4th percentile) which is down 5oz since her 9 month visit. At the year mark babies are supposed to have tripled their birth weight which would be closer to 22lb (more on that below), she is 28" long (14th), and her head is 17.75” (50th).
| EATING |
As I mentioned in last month’s update, I had been feeding Olivia 3 meals a day with an occasional snack in the afternoon if she seemed to still be hungry. I also nursed when she woke up, before every nap, and before bed. However, she has lost 5oz since her 9 month check up and isn’t walking yet (to burn those calories) so her pediatrician was very concerned. He asked if she was a picky eater (nope) or if she was super active (I mean not really, she crawls all over the place). So he has us on a strict “diet” of 3 meals + 2 snacks a day (no exceptions). He has us supplementing her meals with high calorie weight gaining formula, in addition to breastmilk AND whole milk. He gave us some samples of the supplement drinks (Pediasure), but after reading the zillions of ingredients in “strawberry banana” and not one of them being strawberries or bananas, I did my own research to find the most natural and nutrient rich alternative. This is a very niche market incase you were wondering. But I settled on PediaSmart (Dairy) and so far she really likes it, and it doesn’t smell like chemicals. A serving is 8oz, and he wants her to have one serving a day, so I split it between her two snacks in 4oz increments. I have also increased the amount of food I’ve been giving her in general filling all three sections on her plate with everything on the food pyramid. When before she would just have a small bowl of peas, now she’s having broccoli mac and cheese with a side of baked apples or zucchini with rice and a side of mixed berries. He has us coming back in 8 weeks for a weight check so fingers crossed that she improves and I can take her off the supplements and just focus on nutritious foods. Also, she went from one dirty diaper every couple of days to 4-5 a day sooo that means something right? She also just seems to be more satisfied in general and is a lot less fussy. So once again I was underfeeding my child, yay. Breastfeeding is hard people. I still need to do a whole post on our journey (saga).
| SLEEPING |
Olivia is still our good little sleeper. She has officially dropped her morning nap and now naps around 10am and then again around 2pm. She is kind of like clockwork now, when before I would just let her tell me when she was tired, now I could set my watch to it. If we’re out and about she will gladly nap in her carseat or stroller for HOURS. To the point where we are like is she okay? haha Lately our only sleep issue is that her diaper is waking her up now that she is eating so much more, so we’re having to change it multiple times per night when she used to go 12-13 hours straight. She is even leaking through to her pajamas and sheets with pee, which she never did before. I was thinking maybe we should move to size 4 diapers, but she is still way under the weight range. Any thoughts?
| DOING |
For the longest time Olivia had no interest in pulling up on furniture, standing against it, or taking steps while we spotted her. She only wanted to crawl. I enrolled her in The Little Gym down the street from us and she is by far the smallest (not youngest) in her class. She is the only non-walker, and I think this got in her head. Ever since she started she is obsessed with cruising along the furniture at home back and forth all day long. I used to have to lure here from one end to the other with toys but now she just does it on her own. At first she could only pull up on our laps, but then she started pulling up on the coffee table, and now the sofa (which is about shoulder height). At her first day of Little Gym I had her on the parallel bars and she just stood there on her tippy toes clinging on for dear life. Now she walks flat footed all along them and loves to push and walk with the foam barrel across the room back and forth. She still has a ways to go before she’ll be taking those solo first steps, but she has come such a long way! We also enrolled her in music class which she absolutely loves. She immediately starts dancing and singing and quickly learns any instrument she’s given. Her teacher and the other parents/nannies are always blown away at how musical she already is and I’m just so so proud. I mean we have been playing music for her or singing to her non stop since the day she was born. I am the queen of improv songs about random things we’re doing. Derek is always very impressed. During her first music class she picked up two maracas (one in each hand) and started shaking them and hula dancing like a little Chiquita Banana haha. I also taught her to give me a kiss, where I’ll say “can I have a kiss?” and she will move her face to mine and kiss my mouth. Sometimes with an open mouth and tongue first haha. Lately when we’re out and about and I have her in my Solly wrap, she wants to cuddle up and go to sleep. Even if she just woke up from a nap. It’s like she’s nostalgic for the womb again. She will fuss until you tuck her head under the strap so that she doesn’t have to hold it up anymore. It melts my heart. She also no longer yells for food, and I think this is because we’re finally feeding her enough so she doesn’t feel as desperate for her next meal. Ugh.
| MILESTONES |
She has two top teeth now! And is working on her lateral incisors which has meant lots of runny noses these days. She celebrated her first birthday! We had a fun rainbow themed birthday party with our closest friends and family, and she had a blast. She got a drum from her Uncle Ari and immediately started showing off her drumming skills from music class. It is by far her favorite toy. She did he first forward roll at Little Gym and absolutely hated it lol. I don’t know if this counts as a milestone but Olivia’s hair has gotten so long and she has the sweetest little curls around her neck and ears. I felt like she has had the same hair length from day one and then all of a sudden she’s like a chia pet! She is still wearing size 3 diapers and has moved up to 9-12m clothing, but can still fit into most of her 6-9m clothing. Our little peanut. So many times at Little Gym or when we’re running errands other moms will say “watch out for the baby” to their 10m old haha and then are shocked to find out how old she actually is.
| FAVORITE MOMENTS |
Her birthday party was definitely my favorite moment of this month, and just celebrating how special she is to us and encouraging her with everything she does. Lately when I pat her back to burp her before her naps she pats my back too, and I try so hard not to laugh but its just the best. I also love her little slobbery kisses. She is just so sweet. Our little one year old.