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Baby’s Been…

DenaJanuary 27, 2014

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All kinds of wild & crazy stuff has been going on around here! I hardly know where to begin. I’m going to break Roman’s development up into categories this time around because there’s just so much to talk about.

Appearance

  • This kid is growing like a weed. Since 8-months, he’s been wearing size 18-month clothing. We have to roll the pant legs up sometimes, but the only waists that fit him are 18-months.
  • He has five teeth. Three came in at once on the bottom, followed by a break, and now we’ve got two coming in on the top.
  • His hair is starting to thicken and grow. I don’t think I’ve written about it, but we’ve had a lot of “hair” issues over here. For awhile, Roman had a bald ring around the bottom of his head. It seemed that his hair was getting rubbed by my arms while he was nursing and then it would fall out from the friction. Then, Roman started pulling his hair out! Yes, I would find tufts of hair in his crib and we witnessed him doing it, too. He would always do it as he was falling asleep. He would get into a trace-like state and just start pulling. It was so disturbing! It seems to have stopped or at least we haven’t caught him doing it for awhile. His hair is getting full(er) and he got his 1st Mohawk last week.

Nursing
We’re still exclusively nursing. We’ve given Roman formula a handful of times when I’ve had to be away from him for several hours. He takes it if he’s super thirsty when I’m not here; but when I am home he won’t even look at the bottle. My goal had always been to nurse him until 6-months and then see what happened. It looks like Roman has no intention of stopping anytime soon. However, it’s starting to be a challenge for me for several reasons.

It is difficult to get him to focus. He is the nosiest thing and has to look at everything that’s going on around him. He is constantly unlatching and re-latching while nursing. Ouch! I’ve tried all of the obvious things, (i.e. nursing in a quiet room, no television, etc.) but he still does it.

The other issue is that he occasionally bites me. This has been going on for about a month now. Since starting to eat solid foods, he’s learned to use that jaw. He doesn’t bite when he’s actively nursing but he does it when full or distracted. Now that he has teeth on the top and bottom, I am more concerned. I’ve done all of the obvious things to deter it, but it still happens occasionally.

All of this is to say that I am not certain about the future of nursing over here. (Pumping is not an option for us.) I am okay with transitioning Roman to formula for a few months until he turns one. However, I’m nervous about the implications of weaning for both of us. I’m not ready to make a decision just yet. I welcome thoughts/suggestions if you’ve got any.

Food
He eats everything that we give him. He prefers smooth substances to more solid ones. I’ve given him every kind of food now and he likes them all. I’m not sure how many ounces a day we’re up to now, but it’s a lot. He eats four meals a day. Our biggest challenge when it comes to food is his digestion. There are only a few foods that keep him regular (sweet peas, pears, avocado, and sweet potato). Most other foods back him up. I try to balance easily digestible food with other foods to give him a well-rounded diet. It can be difficult, though, because he wants everything — especially what we are eating. Still, I’m not complaining. I know what a blessing it is to have a good eater and I don’t take it for granted.

He eats “3rd step” baby food from the jars. We feed him those with a spoon. He also eats chopped up banana and puffs/cookies. He feeds those to himself with his little hands. It’s adorable.

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Physical Development

  • Buddy crawls like it’s nobody’s business. He gets from place to place at lightning speed. I seriously can’t believe how quickly he can crawl. It’s alarming and we’ve had to start baby-proofing the living areas.
  • He has just started pulling himself into standing position these last few weeks. M. and I watched him the first time he did it and it was such a spectacle. We cheered and clapped. Then I quickly ran over to him once we all realized that he had no idea what to do next.
  • His coordination is outstanding. He picks up even the tiniest little things and examines them/puts them in his mouth. He’s also just learned to throw and enjoys having a game of “catch” with his Papa. (Of course he can’t catch yet, but he gives it a good go!)

Language
He very clearly started saying “Mama” at six-months. Then he started saying “Papa” at seven-months. Now, at 8.5-months, he says “Nene” when he wants something and he also says “Bella” when Bella walks near him. He’s also started to imitate certain sounds and words. He says “Yay” when I say it. When Matthew whistles, he makes a high pitched squeal exactly in the same way that Matthew is whistling. We tried baby sign language earlier this month, but he didn’t pick up on it. I plan to re-visit it in awhile.

Favorites

  • Another thing that I haven’t written about is television. We don’t have cable in our house, but we do have a television with Netflix and Amazon streaming. Since he was able to sit up on his own, I’ve allowed Roman to watch one program each day — typically in the morning after nursing. For a long time, it was always Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Then I introduced my personal favourite, Blue’s Clues. Last month, we added Yo Gabba Gabba! And this week, we added Dora the Explorer. In the past, we also tried Sesame Street and Bubble Guppies, but he didn’t like either of those. It really cracks me up that he has such preferences. I’ve said it before — this kid is particular like his Mama!
  • And finally — speaking of preferences — Roman still likes to be read to, but… he only sits still for the Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? book. Honestly, I can read it to him twenty times and he’ll sit still for it, but he’s not interested in anything else at the moment! It’s berserk! Somebody please tell me that this is just a phase that he will grow out of?

Okay, that’s all for this update. Happy Monday, friends! xo

Comments (12)

  • Megan Geier

    January 27, 2014 at 9:25 am

    Both of my kids LOVED the “Where is Baby’s Belly Button” book! Did you know there’s a whole line of “Where is Baby’s…” books? There’s a ton of them… “Where is baby’s mommy”, “where is baby’s valentine”, etc. He might like them!

    1. Dena

      January 27, 2014 at 9:38 am

      I just learned that there are other books in the series. I told Matt that I want to get them ALL since Roman loves it so much. He said, let’s start with one more for now. LOL. Dads are so practical. Hahaha..

      xo

  • Christina

    January 27, 2014 at 9:36 am

    Love your blog! My only input regarding breastfeeding is a tip from Ina May Gaskin I found in her book. Basically her advice it that when baby bites to yelp, or scream (not at the baby of course), but do whatever comes natural, pull him off immediately and place him softly and safely on the floor next to you to really get the point across – i.e no no bitey or no milky. I know this is easier said than done and you may have already tried it. Also, I haven’t gone through the teeth thing yet, but this did work pretty well with just the gummy bite, which I still don’t think is cool. Anyways, thought I’d share. Also, I totally support you making the choice to move on to formula when you’re ready! Mama know best and don’t let anyone tell you differently 😉

    1. Dena

      January 27, 2014 at 9:40 am

      Thanks so much, Christina. It always helps to hear how other mamas are approaching it! I’ve definitely tried that approach and it works. He has stopped biting so much. When he first started eating solids, he was biting a lot. The approach that you described has really worked to curb it, it doesn’t happen often at now. So, hopefully he will just stop altogether… before it’s too late. LOL

      xo

    2. Dena

      January 27, 2014 at 9:41 am

      P.S. I love your blog, too!

  • Suzy

    January 27, 2014 at 10:47 am

    Woah there! I can’t believe how much he’s taken off! I noticed around this age, that’s when babies really start to differ in their developments. Roman’s definitely passed Sam in a lot of stuff! 18 month old clothes….wow! hee hee

    I didn’t thinking signing was really working, but Sam is picking up on it. I can do the sign for milk (and not say a word) and Sam will start getting excited because he knows he’ll be getting his bottle.

    1. Dena

      January 27, 2014 at 11:10 am

      It’s amazing how different every baby is! It’s something that I’ve had to come to terms with. My sister’s baby (Aden, who is just 9 weeks older than Roman) is light years ahead of him when it comes to physical development. Aden is already walking on his own. He’s been standing on his own for awhile. Meanwhile, Roman can only stand up on his own by pulling himself up onto something and holding on for dear life. LOL. In the beginning these things concerned me, but as time goes on I realize that eventually, Roman does everything that other baby’s do. He’s on his own time and that’s just fine.

      That’s awesome that Sam is picking up on the baby sign language! I’m not ready to give up just yet!

  • mandie

    January 27, 2014 at 11:01 am

    look at him, growing so fast.. *sigh*

  • Heather Gendron

    January 27, 2014 at 11:20 am

    Awe, he has grown up so much! Too adorable. I remember all of these milestones whenever my son was going through them. It was so exciting. Soon he will be able to walk and you won’t know what to do with yourself haha. He is a big boy! He is just too cute though!

  • Misty

    January 27, 2014 at 1:10 pm

    18 month old clothing!? That’s what Mia’s wearing now at 21 months! Big, growing, healthy boy! He’s such a doll and so much is changing for ya’ll. Love it. In regards to signing, keep doing it, all the time. I don’t mean to try and get him to do it, but every time he’s done eating, do the sign for it and say “all done.” When he’s hungry, ask if he wants to “eat” and do the sign along with it. Same with wanting “more” and whatever else you choose to sign. He’s watching, and he’s picking it up whether or not he’s showing it. We should have done more signing with Mia, but only stressed the few that I mentioned. It took her A WHILE to start doing them herself, but one day out of the blue, she just did. It’s soooo helpful to be able to communicate with her (before she was speaking)…definitely avoided some fits and frustration because we totally understood what she wanted/needed 🙂

  • Kay

    January 29, 2014 at 10:10 am

    He’s growing so fast!

    You should look into having him watch Kai-Lan! She’s like Dora, except she’s Mandarin chinese and 10x better. My daughter loved her! And Baby Einsteins!

  • Julie Arnhold

    January 31, 2014 at 5:47 pm

    Aw, Dena I love your blog! I can’t believe he’s in 18 month old clothes! Aubrey is still in 9 months, but she’s tall so the pants are often too short lol. I only breastfed for 4 months, then stopped because I had to start some stomach medicine. So, the only advice I have is to stop only when you’re truly ready. I was forced with a decision to either take care of myself and take medication or continue nursing and the choice killed me. I cried so many nights thinking I was doing something wrong by actually wanting to take this medicine (which the doctors say I *could* have taken while nursing but I was adamant on not passing any meds to her through my milk). I cried because I had a wonderful supply and just allowing it to dry up seemed horrible. But, I ultimately weaned and like everyone said once the emotions passed it was the best choice. Aubrey is on Earths Best Organic formula and loves it and life became so much easier for me. I was no longer pumping at work or leaking all day at my desk. Anyways, do what’s best for you. Remember, a happy mommy equals a happy baby 🙂

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