A Few Little Updates

Steven is growing by leaps and bounds. We will have his 12 month check-up this coming Friday (yeah, he'll really be 13 1/2 months old, but blame it on Group Health and their fantastic rescheduling), and I can't wait to see where he is at! I'm pretty sure he hasn't gained a ton of weight, but he is sure getting taller and leaner.

Some of Steven's most recent accomplishments:

• Climbing stairs - We discovered this accidentally one day. Steven took off for the stairs and just started to climb. Every time before he'd just kind of knelt at the bottom stair and didn't venture beyond that. Nathan installed the gate at the bottom of the stairs today. Steven is just too quick to leave it wide open for him. And, while he can climb the stairs, he hasn't figured out how to safely go back down and thinks it is acceptable to lean back and sit on his feet while on the stairs - a recipe for disaster.
• Walking along furniture - He's been pulling himself up to stand for a good month now, and in the last few weeks has become quite adventurous. He walks around and around the coffee table and along the couch in the living room. He has been very careful in sitting back down on the floor, but just recently has begun letting go of whatever he's holding on to for support and standing, just barely, before plopping down on his bottom. I think it is a matter of time before he starts standing on his own and I'm hoping he is walking by Easter.
• Quite the conversationalist - Steven is starting to have little mini-conversations with us in his own babble language and it is so entertaining. He has a toy cell-phone that he got for his birthday and while for the first little while he was just fascinated with the buttons, now he will open it up and hold it to his ear and start talking. He always gives me a puzzled look though when he doesn't hear anyone on the other end. When I call Nathan on my cell phone or the home phone, he will make all sorts of babble while the phone is ringing, but as soon as Nathan starts talking he goes silent. No amount of convincing will get him to speak to Daddy over the phone. I think he just thinks it is exciting to hear Daddy when he can't see him?The last couple times after I have hung up the phone, Steven has said, "daddy, daddy" and given the phone to me again as if to tell me to call him again. While his vocabulary hasn't grown a ton, there are a few words we know he says, and a couple we think he can say. Ball, Car, Chancey, Mama, and Daddy are the for sures. Cheese, book, are the iffy ones. He also moos when we point at the cow, will roar when playing with his toy lion , and barks (or howls) with his "Doggies" book.
• Is fully weaned -I mentioned this in a previous post, but it is officially, official! Steven hasn't nursed in 3 weeks!! It has been a life-changer for him & I. Naps have gotten easier as well as bedtime. He now goes down almost fully awake with just a little rocking and lullaby. It is rare that he fusses afterwards, and if he does is about 2 minutes before he is sleeping. Such a relief!!
• Can sleep through the night!! - I think this has everything to do with the weaning. And while it hasn't been an ongoing thing past this last Tuesday, he can do it! I know it. One night last week he was in bed from 7-7, only waking at 5:30 and going right back to sleep after a tiny bit of fussing. My body was thoroughly confused by the amount of sleep and I was actually more tired the next day.
• Is cutting molars - this is a discovery from today. Bleh. This is why I said the sleeping through the night hasn't been ongoing. We got two nights, and then the drool and the clinginess started. Today while at the park laughing on the swing with a mouth open wide, Nathan saw the hints of a molar on the lower left side. Steven was so fussy when he woke up from his afternoon nap today that I checked is mouth (not knowing what Nathan had seen at the park) and felt the giant lump under his gum just waiting to cut through - poor boy...no wonder he's been fussing the last few nights! Time to keep the Tylenol handy!
• Knows where the baby is - We've been playing a game with Steven lately. I sit him on my lap facing me and I ask him, "where is the baby?". It took a few times of me helping him but now he pats my belly every time and then leans down and lays his head on my belly in a hug. Cute?? Stinkin' cute! When he is really wanting to point out the baby, he will lift up my shirt and point (and then play with my belly button...which is apparently fascinating).

Speaking of Beanlet, here are some updates on me and our little boy or girl.

At my most recent midwife appointment this last Monday, I heard a very strong heartbeat (so fun!). The midwife told me that I need to start gaining weight (something I didn't expect to hear) as I'd only gained a pound since the beginning of the pregnancy. Of course, this is to be done through healthy means, not by gorging myself on cupcakes and potato chips (although, now I don't feel one bit guilty when I want to fill that craving...).

I began feeling Beanlet's movements in my belly around 13 weeks. It started as little flutters with the occasional prominent kick every few days, but not consistently. Beanlet still had plenty of room to move around and hide at that point, so I wasn't concerned. Now I can feel the kicks everyday at different times throughout the day (usually when I'm getting a moment to rest, or have just eaten something sweet). At 16 1/2 weeks I began to feel kicks on the outside of my belly too. They are still too subtle for Nathan to notice, but I can feel them for sure.

I have officially entered the realm of maternity clothes again. A slight dilemma (and one I don't horribly mind) is that all my maternity clothes are a size too big from when I was pregnant with Steven. I started out 20 lbs lighter this pregnancy than when I started out with Steven, so that, tied in with the fact that my clothes are stretched out from the end of my pregnancy with Steven means I have very baggy maternity clothes, and hardly any pants that fit. Good thing I pretty much live in yoga pants all day when I'm home with the kids. Thankfully I've been able to get a couple of deals on some new and used maternity clothes so I feel like I can at least have something that fits for going out in public (still lacking in the jean department though...hoping to remedy this soon).



Well, that about sums up the updates for the last little bit. I hope to be more regular on the blog again going forward. Life has been busy and chaotic. We are down to one car right now as Nathan's car has stopped starting all of a sudden, which we hope to remedy soon, so I am feeling slightly stranded when it comes to running errands or just getting of the house, but we are managing and I'm surviving. I am over halfway through with my nanny gig (ends at the end of April) which means life will be back to normal soon!

Till next time!