Well, Henry is ONE today! (promise, I wrote this on his birthday!) That is, if I actually get this posted today.
Today he is one and happy as ever. I CANNOT believe it's already been a year, and yet, at the same time, thinking back to a year ago being in the hospital, still living at our old house, Blakely not being potty trained or being able to talk all that great, etc, I can hardly believe it's ONLY been a year.
Henry has been such a dream baby compared to the first year of Blakely's life. I don't say that to complain about her, or to sound ungrateful to have her, but it's just true. He is WORLDS easier. I know I missed the last couple of monthly posts- oops, and TONS has happened of course. I might repeat myself from previous posts, but here's what has happened in the last few months:
The whole fam got sick and Henry QUIT nursing. Literally, was just done. So we went to formula and I didn't complain. He has had LOTS of eating issues- not eating at all, fussing EVERY meal time, throwing up at least once a day, etc. We saw a feeding specialist- who knows if it helped. He didn't gain ANY weight from 9-11 months. Kinda scary. Sleeping was an issue- he decided he was done sleeping with me, but was also not so interested in sleeping alone. We were spoiled when Henry was a newborn- we literally did not have any sleepless nights. He saved them for the last few months cause we have had a lot!
About two weeks ago everyone in the family got strep but me. Henry gave up the pacifier for a few days (no worries, hes back at it!) and we were all miserable. We headed to Memphis for the halfway marker for Kaleo. The kids didn't do great in the car- it took way longer than we'd hoped. Kids then got a cold and were sick the whole time we were there, BUT on Sunday, Henry took his first REAL steps! We had a blast hanging out with Anna and Justin and Lucy, and of course BB and D-dad.
He is still not walking a ton, but he is building his courage and trying. We left on Monday to head to Florida and the kids did way better on that trip. Both kids get terribly carsick- but Blakely takes dramamine. It will be nice when Henry can too! We arrived at our condo- two bedrooms ON the bay. Two kids in one bedroom was NOT working, so Blakely has her own room, and Henry is in our bathroom. There are no walk in closets, so it was our only option. There is about a two hour period each night where we can't use the bathroom until Blakely is good and asleep- since there is a bathroom connected to her room.
Henry did a 180 when it came to food and he is eating LIKE CRAZY. We are not sure what happened, but it's like he just got it. He eats lots of what we eat, and he eats several squeezie baby food pouches a day. We are weaning him off formula slowly, and he seems to be liking milk just fine.
He has been waking up a little early (between 5-6) which is a bummer, but it seems to be getting 15 minutes later each day. So hopefully it will keep moving in that direction. He takes a nap around 8- I try to keep him up until then even when he gets up super early to encourage him to sleep later. He usually naps for about an hour, occasionally a little longer. Then another nap around 1. He goes to bed around 7, but lately has been having trouble falling asleep. He goes down fairly easy for naps- lays down awake but drowsy and puts himself to sleep, but bedtime is a different story. Lots of laying him down, leaving, coming back, holding him, repeat. We are really trying to lay him down sleepy so he'll get better. He wakes up several times at night and we go in a hold him for a few minutes and he USUALLY goes back to sleep. We feed him a bottle at some point cause it helps him go back to sleep, but we are trying to move away from that. The last few nights he has around an hour that he is awake and crying, but we are starting to lay down the law and let him cry for longer. So hard for me, but necessary.
He drinks about 4 bottles a day, anywhere from 5-8oz of formula/milk mix. He usually eats one or two squeezies in between each bottle, puffs and eggo and cheerios for breakfast- hes allergic to eggs, turkey cheese and bread for lunch, and chicken (or whatever we are having) for supper. He has four teeth- top right is just finally poking through. He's getting much better at chewing, but still has a strong gag reflex and throws up pretty regularly. He is heavily into putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. Drive. Me. Crazy.
He is not saying any words. He MIGHT say 'dada' but I kinda don't think so. He rarely even makes the 'mmm' sound. He is a little behind verbally, but he makes up for it in masculinity. This boy is a BOY.
He is rough, loud, makes boy noises- growls, has a deep voice, loves to head but, loves to wrestle, loves to fall- accidentally and on purpose, loves to climb, loves to knock things over, is the fastest grabber in the west (and east...) and pulls hair. He is a maniac when he's in a good mood, and the only way to describe it is that he is destructive. He runs into everything, falls over, pulls everything he can reach, is loud, rams his head into you, grabs you, and is laughing or grunting the whole time. He's hilarious. He is relentless when he wants something- ie. sunglasses, cup of water, food on your plate, anything in Blakely's hand, remote, computer, cords of any kid, etc. He gets his feelings hurt when you sternly tell him no, but smiles at the drop of a hat. I have never seen a smilier baby than him. He is a momma's boy, and misses me terribly when I leave him. He is usually in tears when I pick him up from the nursery or sitters- we are working on it.
He is still OBSESSED with his sister, but they have definitely already started fighting. Physical for him, verbal for her. But they are buds too.
He is wearing 12-18mo bottoms and 12-2t shirts. He is not wearing shoes- I don't plan on putting him in any until he is REALLY walking. Size 3 or 4 diapers.
He is great at self entertaining. He plays with his toys well, and just roams around getting into stuff. He doesn't need entertained except from about 4pm to bedtime- he is a little fussy.
He LOOOOVES his dad, and other than when he is sleepy or doesn't feel good, he wants him over me any day. He whines when Stephen comes in the room and doesn't come pick him up. He is ticklish and SOOO easy to get him to laugh.
