Ryan: 12 Months

A week ago today, Ryan turned 1 year old.  I don't know that I'll continue to do "monthly" posts anymore now that we have entered the toddler phase, and God knows I won't be sad to not have to do the monthly photos anymore.  But I am sad that my baby is not so much a baby anymore.

22lbs 14oz (75%ile) and 29 inches (40%ile)

I will be the first to admit, the infant stage was really not my favorite.  Yes, I love holding newborn babies that just sleep in your arms and weigh only a few pounds, but I didn't love the sleepless nights, the every few hour feedings, the crying for no discernible reason, not feeling like I could leave the house, and basically having a baby attached to me every moment of every day.  I have a few friends who are in the middle of this stage right now and the only thing I can say is, it won't last forever.  Suddenly you'll snap your fingers and your baby will be a one year old and you'll wonder why you were so anxious for the infant stage to be over.

However, I AM loving this age.  At a year, we occasionally still have sleepless nights, there are tantrums now when she doesn't get her way, she's on the move 24/7, and she's still with me every single day all day, but she is also my best little friend.  I've gotten used to doing everything with her.  In fact, the other day I was able to go to the grocery store by myself and while I was in and out of there super fast, I missed my little buddy sitting in the cart basket making all kinds of noises and drawing a ridiculous amount of attention down every aisle.  And dare I say it, grocery shopping is kind of boring with out her.

Her biggest milestones this past month?  Well, the biggest by far is that we now have a walker!  About 2 weeks before her birthday, Ryan got brave enough to take steps without holding on to something.  And now, she toddles around the house like it's no big deal.  I still find it funny to look over and see her walking into the kitchen while I'm cooking, I mean really, it's the cutest thing!  With her new ability comes an increase in blood pressure for me, as we've already had a couple close calls after catching her feet on the rug and falling face first toward the coffee table.

What else?  We are still breastfeeding, usually once in the early AM, once around 4pm after her afternoon nap, and a 6oz bottle of pumped milk before bed.  I cut her 12pm feeding this month and that went super smoothly.  Honestly, we are so busy most days that she didn't even notice it.  And I started adding cow's milk to my breast milk for her evening bottle.  Currently, we are doing 3oz of each and she's taking it fine.  It won't be long before it's a full bottle of cow's milk and I can be done pumping for good.  Can I get an Amen!?!?  Next I plan to cut the 4pm feeding, which I don't anticipate being that hard.  The early morning one and the occasional middle of the night ones could prove to be the most difficult.  But I'm not in a huge hurry.  I'll be happy to have my body totally back to myself, but I know I'll miss it to a degree.

Ryan's been napping extremely well the past month.  I feel like we FINALLY got her on a great nap schedule and as it turns out, my child CAN take good naps.  Go figure.  It only took a year.  She now naps twice a day around 10am and 3pm.  Her morning nap is usually close to an hour while her afternoon nap has been about 1.5-2 hours.  Heavenly.  It's best if her naps are at home and in her crib.  Occasionally she has to nap on the go, especially for her morning nap and she only cat naps in the carseat or stroller.

A few of Ryan's favorite things:

• Mickey Mouse Club House show (and the "hot dog" dance)
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit pop-up book
• Raspberries
• Hot dogs with marinara
• Her "my-size" chair
• Being chased by Dad
• Splash Parks
• Pulling dvd's out of the dvd rack, laundry out of the hamper, make-up out of drawers, pots out of the cupboard....you get the idea.
• Bath time/Shower time
• Stacking blocks
• Playdates with baby friends
• Feeding herself

A few of her not so favorite things:

• Being forced to sit still longer than she wants to.  For example in the stroller.
• Being forced to lay down on the changing pad for diaper changes.
• Having "toys" taken away.
• Basically not having free reign over the entire house. :)

I hear toddlers can be quite the challenge, but bring it on.  After surviving year one, I feel like we can survive anything. :)