Yes, yes, I am supposed to do these posts every three months, but Peanut will be 11 months this week and I still haven't posted his 9-month update, so...it's a 10-month update. Sorry, buddy!
Growing more quickly again. He's got long, skinny little legs and a chubby little belly that's just begging to be tickled. He's wearing 9-12 month clothes right now, but his skinny little ankles poke out of the end of his pants. (That's fine, it's summer now- he's mostly wearing shorts anyway!)
Eating like it's his job, or something. He spent a couple of months sleeping through the night, but is back to waking up to nurse again- every 3-4 hours, like clockwork. After some initial skepticism about food, he has decided he REALLY likes this whole eating thing. I'm pretty sure if you just continuously handed him something to eat every moment of every day, he would- the kid is a bottomless pit! However, unlike his sister, who would wave her hands when she was done eating (so that we would clean them- she's always been very prim and proper) he announces that he's done with the current offerings by throwing it on the floor (or offering it to his sister- which I'm sure will continue when he's older and there's something on his plate he doesn't want to eat). With Chief, we definitely lived by the mantra, "Food before one is just for fun." I certainly haven't let up on nursing or bottles- I still expect that to be his primary source of nutrition- but feeding this guy is much more than just an experiment in learning how to eat. I have to be fully prepared to feed him probably half of what is on my plate at any given meal- and honestly, he feels like it's his plate and I'm just eating off of it, rather than the other way around. If I dare to take a bite, he gets mad! In fact, the other night, at a Mexican restaurant, Mr. Geek tried to give me a break so that I could actually eat something and started offering bites of beans and rice from his plate- literally the exact same thing that I was offering- but Peanut knocked the fork away and waited for me to offer my own. But if Mr. Geek literally handed me his fork and I held it up to Peanut's mouth, he would accept the offering. He eats enough that it's getting to the point where we'll have to start just ordering him his own meal, rather than feeding him from our plates. I'm having visions of grocery shopping for teenaged Peanut and my wallet is already hurting! One complication is that we have confirmed a dairy allergy in him (likely a milk protein intolerance, not lactose intolerance). He breaks out in hives if either of us eats dairy. We weren't sure at first, but when I tried feeding him whole milk yogurt (which he loved, by the way) his back and stomach broke out in angry, itchy welts. We've got some prescription topical medication for when it's really bad, but otherwise we use a baby version of Eucerin to keep things under control. He might also have a sensitivity to eggs and/or soy but we haven't been able to definitively prove that yet, and the doctor doesn't seem interested in running any actual tests- she says to just keep experimenting with food. Soy at least seems to be causing a lot of gas for him as we've introduced more into his diet (like a soy milk-based yogurt alternative) but then again we can't rule out the mountains of other food he's been eating as a source of that gas. The doctor thinks he'll probably outgrow this by the time he's two years old or so, and I hope she's right.
Growing more quickly again. He's got long, skinny little legs and a chubby little belly that's just begging to be tickled. He's wearing 9-12 month clothes right now, but his skinny little ankles poke out of the end of his pants. (That's fine, it's summer now- he's mostly wearing shorts anyway!)
Eating like it's his job, or something. He spent a couple of months sleeping through the night, but is back to waking up to nurse again- every 3-4 hours, like clockwork. After some initial skepticism about food, he has decided he REALLY likes this whole eating thing. I'm pretty sure if you just continuously handed him something to eat every moment of every day, he would- the kid is a bottomless pit! However, unlike his sister, who would wave her hands when she was done eating (so that we would clean them- she's always been very prim and proper) he announces that he's done with the current offerings by throwing it on the floor (or offering it to his sister- which I'm sure will continue when he's older and there's something on his plate he doesn't want to eat). With Chief, we definitely lived by the mantra, "Food before one is just for fun." I certainly haven't let up on nursing or bottles- I still expect that to be his primary source of nutrition- but feeding this guy is much more than just an experiment in learning how to eat. I have to be fully prepared to feed him probably half of what is on my plate at any given meal- and honestly, he feels like it's his plate and I'm just eating off of it, rather than the other way around. If I dare to take a bite, he gets mad! In fact, the other night, at a Mexican restaurant, Mr. Geek tried to give me a break so that I could actually eat something and started offering bites of beans and rice from his plate- literally the exact same thing that I was offering- but Peanut knocked the fork away and waited for me to offer my own. But if Mr. Geek literally handed me his fork and I held it up to Peanut's mouth, he would accept the offering. He eats enough that it's getting to the point where we'll have to start just ordering him his own meal, rather than feeding him from our plates. I'm having visions of grocery shopping for teenaged Peanut and my wallet is already hurting! One complication is that we have confirmed a dairy allergy in him (likely a milk protein intolerance, not lactose intolerance). He breaks out in hives if either of us eats dairy. We weren't sure at first, but when I tried feeding him whole milk yogurt (which he loved, by the way) his back and stomach broke out in angry, itchy welts. We've got some prescription topical medication for when it's really bad, but otherwise we use a baby version of Eucerin to keep things under control. He might also have a sensitivity to eggs and/or soy but we haven't been able to definitively prove that yet, and the doctor doesn't seem interested in running any actual tests- she says to just keep experimenting with food. Soy at least seems to be causing a lot of gas for him as we've introduced more into his diet (like a soy milk-based yogurt alternative) but then again we can't rule out the mountains of other food he's been eating as a source of that gas. The doctor thinks he'll probably outgrow this by the time he's two years old or so, and I hope she's right.
Talking basically in complete sentences now. I wish I could understand what he's saying! His sister seems to be a pretty good translator for us- sometimes it's like listening to Han and Chewy carry on a conversation! He'll make all sorts of noises with his pacifier in his mouth and if you pop it out, it's like he doesn't even notice- he'll just continue the train of thought. (But once he's done with his little monologue, he'll search for that pacifier.) He particularly likes to pick up a toy, hold it up for you to see, and then say something about it. At first I thought he was asking me to play with him- offering me a ball or a stuffed animal- but when I tried to take it, he pulled it away from me and set it back down next to him. So he's definitely just showing me his toys, not giving me permission to use them ;)
Making facial expressions meant to elicit a response. We joke that he's a big flirt, but honestly, he is. He prefers female company, and he'll look at you out of the corner of his eye, dip his chin a little bit, and then let a grin slowly spread across his face. (I think he's been studying Flynn Rider's playbook, if we're being honest here.)
Listening to his sister, intently. He loves when she sings to him- real songs, made-up songs, unintelligible noises. He loves when she talks to him- real words, made-up words, gleeful shrieks. She has made it her role in life to get him to giggle; he's discovered that he can make her laugh, too, and tries to do so at every possible occasion.
Sleeping if it's convenient for him, or if you're holding him, or if he's in a moving vehicle and just can't take it anymore. Like I said, right now he's sleeping in 3-4 hour spurts during the night, and during the day we'll get maybe 2 full hours of naptime (but not all at once- in 1/2 hour or 1 hour increments).
Loving his Mommy (and I gotta admit, this whole Momma's Boy thing is pretty awesome); playing with his sister; eating everything edible in sight (and perhaps even things that are not edible, so we have to be vigilant); tickles; pulling people's hair; listening to his sister read him a story; throwing things on the floor or across the room; crawling to places he's not supposed to be; ignoring a room full of toys to mess with the one thing in the room that's not for him.
Hating when Mommy tries to eat from her own plate at meal time; having to wait even one second for the next bite of food; the concept of sleep; having a stuffy nose; remedies for stuffy noses; "baby jail" (aka the play pen, where he does not have access to forbidden objects).
We're quickly approaching the one year mark! Where did my baby go?
Much love,
The Geeks
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