Month 11 (and 12?) Roundup
When I started this publication, I didn’t have a clear idea about the stuff that would be worth sharing with others, but I knew I wanted some kind of journal to document as much of our quickly-changing lives as I could. So I wrote a handful of posts about what was going on in that current the previous month of Toby’s life (Month 10). I thought I could keep up that cadence, with like four or five posts every month.
That was ambitious. Now I don’t even know which month the things I’m writing about happened in. My new goal is to record one “roundup” journal every month, and then share some thoughts on other topics each other week. And now I’m already late for the roundup!
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The Headlines
In the last months, Toby has started communicating with us much more clearly. She has always been vocal and expressive, but it wasn’t until recently that we could make sense of what she wanted us to understand. Now, she’s not talking, but there are some consistent syllables that we can match up to an idea. (Szuyin and I agreed that “hi” was Toby’s first word - she’s very friendly.) And when she wants our help with something, she knows she can grab and point and call for us until we get the message. One time, she grabbed onto a strap from her carrier and didn’t settle down until I had her buckled in and we were out on a walk.
Going along with that communication, Toby has started to show us that she has favorites, especially with books. Look at You! is a daily (sometimes hourly) read for her, and I have had to take More More More, Said the Baby out of circulation, to keep it fresh for my own sake.
This month, Toby and her mom have casually weaned, so now it’s just formula backing up an expanding diet of solid foods. I’m proud of their dyad for getting through that first year, but also for managing this transition without much drama. I’m not sure exactly how it happened, but it seemed demand and supply tapered off together.
And finally, Toby is still crawling, but showing more and more interest in taking her own steps around the house. Our living room has lots of handholds for her to cruise around with and I think she’s seen the opportunity to cross the gaps on foot. It just seems like she hasn’t decided that walking would be more efficient than crawling, yet. We’re trying to keep our anticipation of this milestone in check with a healthy appreciation for this manageable level of mobility. For the time being, her palms slapping on the floor remain part of our soundtrack
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The Rest
Sleep: Toby remains on a two-nap schedule: one at 9:15am and one at 2:00pm. She makes it to those times pretty reliably - I haven’t needed to watch her for sleepy signals or spend extra time lulling her to sleep. It seems like sticking to a rigid schedule has been reinforcing for Toby: the more we hit these timelines, the more her natural schedule conforms to them.
For posterity, here are her wake windows for the last couple months:
Morning: 6:30 to 9:15am
Midday: 10:30 to 2:00pm
Evening: 3:30 to 6:30pm
Bedtime: 6:30 to 7:00pm
Food: Toby is a very good eater. We’re still giving her finger foods in the high chair, but this month she has gotten a grasp on eating purees from a pouch. One of our neighbors gave us a kit to fill pouches at home, and I’ve enjoyed cooking up new recipes for her. We’ve pretty much always got a homemade puree in the fridge nowadays.
It has become harder to predict how much formula she needs for any given bottle. I suppose that’s to be expected as she weans and starts to get more nutrition from solids. Still doesn’t feel good to be stuck holding the bag bottle and dumping stuff out, though. I would love a more reliable way to serve the right amount without waste, but I haven’t found it yet.
Play: Toby has some new tricks for playtime. She can nest the stacking cups back together, she can put rings on a post, and she can get the animal blocks back in the barn. Most things still end up in her mouth, but not everything. She loves it when we bring her stuffed animals to life. And she’s almost patient enough to keep her hands off the ukulele when I play for her. She also loves playing in water: swimming in the pool, bobbing in the waves, and splashing in the shower are all fun for her.
Baths: Mom handles bath time with Toby, but they’ve moved on to showers. We don’t have a built-in tub in our house, and the little one we have was only rated for 10 months. So now Toby just stands or sits in in the shower while Mom uses the handheld thingy to hose her down.
Outings: Since Toby is becoming more mobile on her own, I have tried to spend less of her time strapped into a car seat or stroller or carrier. There was actually a brief period where she didn’t like being in the stroller at all and would stretch out and kick and fuss, but she’s over that. Our stroller walks are now just a nice chance for both of us to relax a bit. When Mom is free, we have a good rhythm for beach trips.
Nighttime: We’ve gotten more uninterrupted nights of sleep lately, but there’s still not guarantee that we won’t see her until morning. For the most part, though, she doesn’t needed to feed in the night. As for naps, there’s basically no drama anymore: get it dark, tuck into a sleepsack, put on some white noise, and she’s out.
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