Dear Jude :: 11 months

My sweet little boy,

I don't think it's possible that 11 months have passed since you were born.  Alas, here we are.

You are on the move.  Sitting and even crawling is just no fun anymore.  You want to be standing and walking.  Although you can't walk on your own yet, you are so so close.  You basically walk all around the perimeter of the house just to keep your balance.  There have been a few times when you have let go and taken a risk with standing alone.  I think that the day is near. :-)

Shortly after you turned 10 months old you started taking one nap a day.  However, shortly after that happened, you decided you didn't like it and are back on two naps a day.  Haha.  Mama doesn't complain.  You now get two bottles a day, but you get formula in a sippy at each meal.  You do pretty good with that, but you never down a sippy.  I think by the time you are 1, having milk at your meals will add up to enough.  You eat what we eat and are kind of becoming a picky eater!  You'll love something one day and refuse it the next.  Mama works hard to make sure you get plenty of nutrition in what you are eating!!

You are still such a daddy's boy.  If he is home, he is all you want.  You love throwing the ball back and forth.  You also love knocking over towers daddy builds.  You also have a growing love for books and will point at certain things if we ask.  You aren't really talking much yet.  I think you are focusing on figuring out walking. :-)  But you still, at times, say "dada" and "mama", but that's it so far!

  

You have been doing great in church nursery!  Mama is so proud.  A few weeks ago you tired yourself out so much you fell asleep in Mama's arms at the end of church.  Those moments are few and far between. :-)

We love you so much, sweet boy.  I can't believe you will be ONE so soon.  This year has been one of the most blessed we've ever experienced.  You've brought so much joy to our life!

And... just for memories sake.  This is what Mama looked like 1 year ago... counting down the days before we could meet you.

Mama at 8 months pregnant.  SOOOO excited to meet you!  And in a few months we'll be in the same place with your little brother.  So hard to believe!

We love you so much, peanut.  And we are so proud of you!

Love, Mama.

Dear Jude :: 8 months

Dear Jude,

You are growing like a weed.  You gained 2 pounds between 6 and 7 months and I'm sure you weigh at least 18.5-19lbs by now!  You are getting taller and taller too.  And let's not even mention your hair.

It is a crazy mess!  I feel like if I want a cute clean-cut boy I gotta get the scissors out NOW.  But... I kinda like the messy long-haired boy look.  We'll rock it for at least another month. :-)

You're still in 6-9 month clothes, but are basically busting out of your sleepers, you long boy you.  So we went on a shopping spree the other day to stock up on 12 month clothes.  I can't believe it!!  

I thought for sure you'd be crawling by Thanksgiving, but you've decided that rolling is easier, so you still pretty much roll everywhere you need to go.  You have started to get on your knees and do a bit of an army crawl.  I bet by Christmas you'll be all over the place.  

You are also SUCH a comedian.  You have figured out what makes people laugh and your sense of humor is developing more and more.  You are such a goof-ball and I love that about you!

Crazy hair!!

We are no longer nursing at all {a story for another post}.  This made mama sad, but you made it clear that you were DONE!  And my supply just wasn't enough for you anymore.  So, now you get about 24oz of formula a day.  This is usually between 3-4 bottles.  We use Earth's Best Organic Formula and you haven't complained once.  You also eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner of solid food.  You LOVE the green Puff's.  And you love more and more finger food.  Some of your favorites are avocado, blueberries, pears, and bananas.  But you have about 4-5 jars of babyfood also each day.

And you are SLEEPING. THROUGH. THE. NIGHT.  For you, this means 12-13 hours.  7pm until 7/8am.  This is just amazing. 

Oh... and one more thing... you're going to be a BIG BROTHER!!  You're going to be the best {and littlest} big brother there is. :-)  I can't wait to see you and your new sibling play together and just love each other!

I love you more and more every day.  Thank you for bringing so much joy to my life!

Mmmmmwa!

Love, Mama

Dear Jude :: 7 months

Guess who is 7 months old?  You'll never believe it.

 You are {still} SO much fun and on the move!!  You so badly want to crawl and climb on things, and you are close!  One of these days you're just going to take off!

You are SO goofy and love getting a laugh out of whoever is around.  You have gotten more snuggly as you get older {which mama loves!} and give kisses regularly.  You also have started to give "high fives", but sometimes you are shy about your new skills.

You are now taking a solid two naps a day.  You can stay awake 3-4 hours at a time now {although you get kinda crank when we get close to that 4 hour mark}. You eat 4 times a day, and still have one feeding at night.  After your 6 month pediatrician appointment, we realized you may not be gaining as much weight as you need to be (only gained 3 pounds between 2 and 6 months!).  So now you get at least two 8 oz. bottles a day of breastmilk mixed with formula, and nurse the rest.  You still love your solids and have started drinking from a sippy cup from time to time.  You do best with the ones with a straw.

Monkey face?

You love sitting {which you do great now!} and playing with your stacking cups or your play toolbench.  You still love going for walks and playing with Daddy and Macy.  You love standing and bouncing like crazy.  You sure are a bouncing baby boy!  

 

Mamaw and Papaw have been staying with us this month until they buy a house.  And last week Aunt Krista and Uncle Ben visited!  They were so excited to see how big you've gotten!

Love you more than anything, little mister!

Love, Mama

Dear Jude :: 6 months old

Dear Jude-bug,

You are SIX MONTHS OLD!!  You have been in this world one half of a year, and I can hardly believe it!  Not to sound like an old record... but it has FLOWN.

You are getting increasingly interested in the world around you.  You are getting more and more interactive with your daddy and me.  It is so fun to see you start to show more affection, because you love us.  You give big slobbery kisses and grab us to bury your face in us, which I consider a form of hugging. :-)

You are sitting up pretty good on your own, but are still a little bit wobbly.  You still LOVE standing and your jumperoo.  You aren't crawling, but roll all over the place to get to what you want.  You also have started pushing yourself on your belly with your feet a little bit.  On your video monitor, most of the time you have scooted yourself off the camera.

You are now mostly a side and belly sleeper!  You have started to eliminate your 3rd nap, which makes for some long awake times and interesting evenings.  You now go to bed closer to 7pm most nights and will wake up around 3-5am and wake up for good between 7:30-8am.  We are starting to do a bottle at night before bed to make sure you get a good feeding, because at night you tend to get impatient nursing. :-)  It has been a struggle for the past couple of months at night, but we hope that a bottle will fill you up and keep you from waking because you are hungry. 

According to my inaccurate scale, you weigh approximately 16lbs and are somewhere around 28-29 inches long.  You have a doctors appointment in a couple of weeks where we will get a more accurate reading.  (You were 15lbs 6.5oz and 27"... dropped to the 11th percentile for weight and the 70th for height, but still very healthy!)  But you have consistently been in the 50th percentile for weight and about the 95th for height.  You also just moved into 9 month clothes.  Yes, I just said 9 MONTH clothes!

You don't have any real words yet, but you do a very distinctive "mummummum" especially when you are being whiny. :-)  I wonder what your first word will be?  You have also started to do fake laughs and coughs.  It is hard to tell which you intend it to be.  Haha.  But you think you are quite funny.  And so does mommy. :-)

Your 6th month also marks Mama starting to be a stay-at-home-mom!!  So we get to hang out EVERY DAY! :-)  I can't wait to see you grow and discover the world.  It is such a joy to be your mama.

Love love love,

Mama

Dear Jude :: 2 months old

My sweetest Jude,

You are TWO months old!  TWO!  Where did that time go? {I think you should get used to me saying that}.  What a wonderful two months it has been.  It is so much fun to get to know you as you grow.

You are still an AWESOME night sleeper.  In fact, you have been sleeping 6.5-7.5 hours straight at night - followed by a few shorter stretches, but only getting up once or twice at night is amazing.  I love this about you. :-)  A couple of weeks ago we moved you to your crib and I think we all sleep better this way.  You LOVE your crib.  You will fuss and fuss {even in mama's arms} when you are sleeping but are out like a light as soon as I put you down.  You still don't have predictable naps.  I'm hoping this develops soon.  Sometimes you take awesome 2-3 hour naps, but usually they are around 45 min-1hour, so you take anywhere from 3-5 naps a day. 

 

You are still wearing 0-3 clothes, but you are so super long that I've started getting your 3-6 month clothes ready.  You haven't had your 2 month check-up yet, but I know you are at LEAST 12lbs and 24 inches long.  You now eat about every 2.5-3 hours and are stretching it to 3 hours more frequently.  You spit up a TON.  And now I am starting to suspect a dairy intolerance... so next month we will have to see if me going dairy-free solves your problems. :-)

 

I love seeing more and more of your personality come out.  You smile all the time and love copying your Daddy by sticking your tongue out.  You have also recently discovered your THUMB and have become quite the thumb-sucker {a habit mommy is trying to prevent!}.  You love looking in the mirror and are starting to show some interest in the hanging toys on your play mat.  Your favorite to look at are lights and fans though.  You still HATE tummy time.  I've only gotten you to tolerate it a couple of times. 

We love you, bubba!!  It is such a joy to watch you grow!

Love you forever,

Mama

Dear Jude :: 1 month old

Dear Jude,

You are one month old today!!  I can't believe how fast time has flown.  This past month has been the most challenging and joyful months of my life.  This new "mom" role is different, but I love having my world revolve around you.  You are so sweet and precious to your dad and I and we love you so so so much!!

You are currently sleeping 4.5 hours straight at night, with a couple of other 3 or 3.5 hour stretches in there.  I only get up with you twice, so I can't really complain at all.  You sure are a grunter!!  You are a very noisy sleeper and grunt in your sleep.  You are still in our room, but we're thinking about moving you to your crib to see if we all sleep better. :-)

You are growing fast and I recently had to pack up your newborn clothes!  You fit perfectly in your 0-3 sleepers that we wear most of the time. :-)  You weighed 8lbs 10oz at your two week checkup, so I can only imagine that you are closer to 10.5 or 11lbs now!

You really are a great baby.  You have many happy and awake moments and are easily soothed when you are fussy.  I don't know how I got such an easy baby.  You are starting to show signs of smiling and every once in awhile will show us your huge grin.  You have started showing more of an interest in everything around you.  You especially like your hanging animals over your changing pad.  You also love your bath!!  Even if you are a little bit fussy, you are always so interested in the water and so happy for it to be bath time.  Getting out of the bath is another story.  :-)

You are so very precious to your dad and I and we love you and pray for you daily!!


Love you always,

Mama