It's amazing to me how we got here so quickly. It seems like just yesterday that we were attending our 40 week appointment, that I was in denial that I was in labor, and arriving at the hospital 9 cm dilated. This past year has been one of the most memorable years of my life, no joke. They have been some of the most wonderful moments as well as some of the patience-invoking moments. This girl is teaching me so much about life and the person that I strive to be. I want her to be the best Finorah that she can be and in order to teach her that, I have to be the best Jamie that I can be. The stars were perfectly aligned when she was chosen for me. As she is completely and utterly perfect.
- Unscientifically, Finorah is weighing in at 21.6 pounds. And she is 30 inches long. That means that she has gained 13.35 pounds this year and grown 9.75 inches.
- At one year old, she is currently in size three diapers and wearing size 12-18 month clothes. She is a very healthy lookin' little girl!
- Our breastfeeding journey is coming to an end. I stopped pumping at work two weeks ago and last weekend, I fed her bottles for the first time during the day. She is getting a 50/50 mixture of breast milk and whole milk in her bottles for daycare. She is still taking only 8 oz during the day (5 oz in the AM and 3 oz in the PM, with a bigger emphasis put on her food intake there). This week, we cut out her 5pm feeding -- replaced with a bottle (if she wanted). And she drinks whole milk as a snack with with dinner in a sippy cup. She doesn't need the middle of the night feeding and doesn't take it all the time. My doctor said that with her four teeth coming in, she may be wanting to nurse in the middle of the night for comfort. She suggested that I continue until her top teeth popped out and than whenever I was ready to quit to just stop that feeding. That means that we are going to be down to only the bedtime feeding. It's actually been a lot easier than I imagined, but I know the hardest one to get rid of is going to be the bedtime feeding. It's a part of our bedtime routine and our favorite time of the day, snuggling close in my bed at the end of the day.
- She is a great eater when she wants to be. There are some days that she doesn't eat as much as I would like her to. But I've tried really hard to make sure that she is eating what we are eating (even when out at restaurants). She has developed favorites and aversions and we'll keep trying new foods. Her current favorites would be mac & cheese (according to the daycare), pizza, gnocchi, pork chops, and blueberry pancakes. She still loves her bananas and will eat almost an entire banana for breakfast for daddy. My goal is have a protein, vegetable, and fruit available for each meal.
- Crawling is still her best mode of transportation (other than me carrying her). She has some mad skills and will quickly scoot out of sight and into trouble if allowed. In her exploration, we "found" the pets' water bowl in the kitchen this week.
- She is a master of pulling herself up on all things. From furniture, to her crib, to my pant legs. She has also learned to cruise on furniture. She is quick fast at getting from one end of something to the other when she really wants to. And she is also walking behind walking-assisted toys. She can now use them on the hardwood or tile (before she could only walk with them on carpet as they would slide out quickly in front of her) as her core is developing and she doesn't have to lean into the toy for support. She doesn't stand on her own yet or walk. But she is able to walk assisted by only one hand -- we are still a little clumsy with one hand, but getting better every day.
- We have three teeth. All three are on the bottom. She got her lower central incisors in November. Last week, her right lower lateral incisor came out. No top central incisors yet -- she's a total rule breaker already. So when she opens her mouth, her teeth look crooked because more have come out on the right. Also, the top teeth are on their way and will make their appearance shortly. When she gives you a big grin, you can see a big lump on her upper left gum which is just waiting to pop out. An amazing fact?? I bought a baby toothbrush and toothpaste which I thought I was going to have to move mountains to get my finger in there to brush her teeth due to her past history of when I tried to feel her gums for teeth. That little stinker willingly opens her mouth and lets me massage her gums -- all the way to the back on each side! I guess all I had to do was put some fruit flavored gel on my finger!
- Holy crap do we have a Chatty Cathy on our hands. The girl is CONSTANT in her babble. Telling stories about books on the car ride home, talking to her toys, or squealing at the dogs & cats. She can now say "uh-oh", "ow, ow" (for meow, meow), "tit tat" (for kit cat), and "yell-oo" (for hello). Of course still says mama and dada, but I haven't heard her use them on context yet.
- She can now point at things that she wants or something that she sees that entertains her (like the cats). She will point for her milk cup during dinner to let us know that she wants a drink. She will point to food on the counter. It's really coming in handy.
- She has begun to actually dance. She will stand up on something that bounce her little knees up and down or sway like crazy back and forth. It's the cutest.
- She also loves to put things into things. Like food into bowls or her toys into little cups that she has for the bath. She is always trying to fit something into something else. Those gears in her little noggin' are always working.
- As I mentioned earlier, she still gets up in the middle of the night. The past two nights, she has woke up at 3:00am and 3:45am. We still move her into our bed and she finishes the night out with us. But once she is in our bed, she falls back to sleep rather quickly and will stay asleep until around 8:00am. Before that, she would get up around midnight. So I'm hopeful that her teeth are starting to settle down and that we are edging towards 4:00-5:00am. But my sleep in the last two nights has been ah-mazing. I actually feel rested when I wake up in the morning for work because I only get up once in the middle of the night. Instead of getting up at midnight, moving her over to our bed and then waking up by her whining/crying at least 2-4 more times before my alarm went off at 5:30am. Progress is being made!
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