growing by the minute: 15 months

I let the monthly updates slide after Jacob turned one. Now, to my utter disbelief, he is already one quarter through his second year.

Vital stats: At his check up last week, Jacob weighed in at 25 lbs and measured 81.5 cm, which puts him around the 75th percentile on the growth chart for his age. 

Milestones & firsts: So many. Running, full tilt, with confidence; climbing furniture; adding words by the day to his vocabulary; befriending Scarley; started going to Miss Allie's House during the week; learned to identify head, hair, nose, ears, eyes, belly, feet, as well as objects, animals and a few colours; moved into a new house and a new room and has made himself quite at home ... I didn't realize how eventful the past three months have been!

Teeth: Nine and counting. We recently went through a tough week of teething, and now he has four in the front, on top, three in the front, on bottom, and two upper molars.

(Teeth are great for eating cake pop treats!)

Speech: I can't even begin to count how many words this kid says. He never. stops. talking. Which comes to great delight to people who love to point out who he gets that from coughmecough. Some of his most-often said and best understood include: hi, ball, dog, mama, daddy, hot, don't touch, I did it, no, please, water, apple, banana, oh wow, cheese, oh no, bottle, bath, guitar and the gamut of animal sounds, such as moo, woof woof and meow.

Zzzzzzz: Dare I put it in writing? Sleep is good. Very good. Generally, Jacob sleeps 12-13 hours per night without waking, though sore teeth or head colds wake him from time to time. His usual bedtime is around 6:30 p.m. He also takes a noon-time nap at Miss Allie's house each day, which can vary from 45 minutes to 2+ hours.

Om nom nom: Jacob likes most everything, but his tastes vary depending on the day. Recently, he was on a huge pb&j kick, on everything from English muffins to tortillas. He loves all veggies, especially broccoli, and eats tons of quinoa and beans. He's certainly not a vegetarian though; he eats chicken like it's going out of style. Oh, and don't let him see a banana, or he'll pester you until he gets it.

Likes: Hide and seek, stacking towers and knocking them down, sitting in his chair, toting toys from room to room, trying to dress himself and playing outside.

Dislikes: Laying still to have his diaper changed. I seriously can't think of anything else. He's a pretty easy-going dude.

Challenges: Jacob had a bout with a fever and rash that made for a rough weekend recently. It's never fun when he's under the weather or uncomfortable.

Special moments: Here's one perfect example: one night, when J was teething and having a hard time getting to sleep, we brought him into our bed for some cuddles and he just snuggled in between us and went to sleep. He stayed there, snug as a bug, all night. Felt so good.

countdown to christmas

I blogged for The Chronicle Herald on Wednesday about wanting to start a Christmas countdown tradition in our home. The idea that I liked best, of out all of the great ones I found on Pinterest, was a holiday activity for each day of December.

Here's what we're planning:

December 1: Sing Christmas songs.

December 2: Send letter to Santa here.

December 3: Bake Christmas cookies.

December 4: Watch Elf on CBC.

December 5: Colour Christmas pictures.

December 6: Make paper ornaments.

December 7: Take festive family photos.

December 8: Shop for stocking stuffers.

December 9: Send Christmas cards officially from our new address.

December 10: Deck the halls in our new home!

December 11: Watch Home Alone on CBC.

December 12: Make DIY Christmas gifts for friends.

December 13: Read Christmas stories.

December 14: Take an evening drive to look at Christmas lights.

December 15: Make paper snowflakes.

December 16: Go on a winter walk.

December 17: Do a good deed.

December 18: Build a snowman (weather permitting) or make an indoor version.

December 19: Make snow angels, inside or out.

December 20: Play outside.

December 21: Sip hot chocolate with candy cane stir sticks.

December 22: Read Christmas more stories.

December 23: Drive home for the holidays! Listen to lots of Christmas music along the way!

December 24-29: Celebrate Christmas with family.

December 30: Make a list of family plans and resolutions for 2012.

December 31: Stay up late, enjoy treats, and ring in the new year as a family.

my little pumpkin

one

Dear Jacob,

You are the most amazing person I have ever known. The last year has been a privlidge, a challenge, an overwhelming experience, a joy, and the best of my life so far. You are clever and warm and curious and delicious. I hope that I have taught you and cared for you in the best way possible.

Happy Birthday, mister boy.

I love you with all my heart,

Muma

barely a baby anymore

If you scroll way down to the bottom of this page, you'll see that there's a little ticker keeping track of Jacob's age. Today it says 11 months, three weeks and five days. Gulp. On Sunday, he'll be one year old. Why do I get choked up when I type that? I might be losing my mind.

Anyway, as we head into the final countdown to this very exciting day, I thought I'd share some of our baby faves of the past year. Things we love, things Jacob loves and the practical things that none of us could do without.

The Miracle Blanket. Truly a miracle. Jacob was always too strong to stay in even the tightest swaddle blanket, but the miracle blanket kept him contained, preventing him from flailing his arms and waking himself up.

Playtex VentAire Bottles. These are our lifesavers because they're the only bottles Jacob would tolerate. We tried many brands before settling on these ones and it's been smooth sailing since.

The Best Nursing Pillow Ever. I'm sad to say that I don't know the brand, since it has no tags, but it was purchased at the Cape Breton Baby Company and it is awesome.

Safety First Kirby Inflatable Tub. We originally had one of those big, moulded white tubs that are sold at any baby outlet, which worked great, but once Jacob was too long for it, we had to spend the time and waste the water to fill our tub up three inches for him to bathe. Plus, his little nekked butt slipped around everywhere. This inflatable alternative is great. It keeps him from standing up, he's more comfortable and safe, plus it doubles as a kiddie pool outside in the summer. Next time, we agree that we'll use this tub from day one. Also, between babies, we can deflate it and fold it up and out of sight.

Fisher Price My Little Lamb Cradle 'n' Swing. This swing was awesome. Jacob loved to sway side to side or back and forth. He could be in it freely or swaddled. It was great for naps in the early days, or to be able to put him down comfortable for relaxed awake time. It's one of the big things we don't mind storing because we'll know we'll use it plenty next time.

And because this really got me thinking, here are a few things we never used:

Baby towels. You can get the boy dried off much more efficiently by wrapping him up in a big, adult-sized bath towel.

Baby bathrobe. A big sorry to the wonderful person who bought it for us, but it was just something we didn't have much use for. And I think that person will agree that we'd rather see a nekked baby bum crawling around the house anyway.

Pee-Pee Teepee. While these things are super cute and pretty hilarious, they're really not useful for keeping that powerful stream under wraps. If you're going to get sprayed, you might as well grab that big bath towel for cover.

And since I'm still going, how about some things that are just so-so. We use it, but it's not awesome, and we might ditch it before the next baby comes:

Diaper Genie. Yes, it keeps the stink contained, but really, you could put them in a regular garbage can and take it out once a day. It's not a huge chore. Emptying and changing the bag system in the Diaper Genie is more of a pain, plus the inserts cost extra moolah.

An actual diaper bag. These bags are kind of a right of passage for new Mums. I get that. I had one and I loved it. Now though, I prefer to carry one of my own bags, most of which are plenty big enough for a few spare items like a couple diapers, small wipes case, a sippy cup and a baggie of snacks.

The Bumbo. We did like it, but Jacob was too big for it really early in life. Once he was semi-mobile, he had no interest in being confined in it, either. It's also awkward to transport or store. We'll hang on to it, for sure, but it's not something I'm really in love with.

OK, folks. Spill it. Baby stuff loves? Baby stuff hates? And ... go.

growing by the minute: 11 months

Better late than never. Time feels so fleeting to me right now. I just want to grab on to each hour and hold onto it for dear life. I had no idea that this would be such an emotional time — maybe the most emotional since the week Jacob was born. From being back to work to ending breastfeeding, a lot is changing around here.

And soon this little monster isn't going to be a baby. He'll be a toddler. One year old.

Vital stats: His growth is definitely slowing. He went to the doctor today with Dada to deal with a pesky ear ache and we found out that he is only 22 lbs., 3 oz. That's only a slight increase from his weight at nine months, putting him in the 50th percentile. He's lengthening though, and still in the 90th percentile for height. Oh, and that melon, 95th percentile.

Milestones & firsts: We find it so adorable that Jacob has different waves for hi and bye, though he only uses them when he wants to. He's doing things less on demand now and more when he really means it. This makes me sad because I used to be able to get kisses whenever I wanted, and now I have to earn them.

Husband has taught J so much since they've been home together this summer. Some of our boy's new tricks include waving his fist in a circular motion while we sing the first verse of the wheels on the bus.

Teeth: Four and more coming! It's been a somewhat rough month of teething, but now Jacob has his two top centre teeth and there's at least one more trying to push through beside it.

Speech: Jacob has added a couple words to his vocabulary, beyond Mama and Dada, which he now says with distinction. He can also say Dog and Duck. They sound similar, but are different when he's refering to different things. So far, ducks are always ducks, but lots of four-legged furry things are called dogs. Meh. We take what we can get.

Zzzzzzz: Husband has taken over nighttime feeding duties lately, since I'm no longer breastfeeding. Jacob's still sometimes waking once per night (night = a 12-hour period, usually from 6:30 pm to 6:30 am) to have a few ounces of formula, though sometimes he'll just settle himself back to sleep.

Om nom nom: We've been feeding Jacob based on what we're eating. He's especially loving peaches and nectarines when he can hold the whole thing himself. He likes taking big juicy bites and squints his eyes when its sour. The kid loves anything that's sour, like raspberries blended and frozen into popcicle form.

Likes & dislikes: Jacob is the opposite of a homebody. He loves to get out and do things. He and Dada take regular trips to the library for story time, or just to play and take out new books.


Challenges: Screaming. We went through this stage before and it seems to be rearing its ugly head again. Husband mentioned it to the doctor, who assures us it's just his way of exercising his voice.

Special moments: I tried to clear my mind and focus entirely on Jacod during our last breastfeeding sessions. I didn't allow myself to be distracted by my phone or eReader. I just watched him, talked to him and snuggled him close.

We're loving watching Jacob develop. He seems to change daily lately, which is exciting and scary at the same time. He's growing up so fast.

mom win

I was gone from home for four nights when I went to Chicago last week. Four. That's a long time in baby world. Long long. Lovely friend A dropped me off around 11:30 pm Monday evening and all I wanted to do was climb over the rail and crawl into J's crib and snuggle him all over. I smoothed his back while he slept soundly and I took in the baby smell in his nursery. SO happy to be home.

Husband and I stayed up for a bit, giving each other weekend re-caps, and then I heard a soft cry, and for the first time in almost a year, I was thrilled that Jacob was awake in the middle of the night. I made a beeline for his room, so excited to scoop him into my arms. As I got closer to his crib, I realized this was no ordinary wake-up we were dealing with. I flipped on the light to discover that my sweet boy was covered, head-to-toe, in vomit. The look on his face could have shatter the hardest of hearts ... he was so sleepy and upset from his admittedly rude awakening, but when he saw me, his eyes perked and a smile slowly spread across his face. Despite the layer of smelly disgusting that covered him and his bed, I picked him up and held him close. He instantly laid his head down on my chest and I felt his whole body relax. I held him and rocked him for a while before gently cleaning up my half-asleep boy. I snuggled him in and gave him part of a bottle to help soothe his upset tummy, and he fell back to sleep. I laid him back into his re-made crib and smoothed his back once more.

I went back to our room and peeled off my pjs, which were no longer in sleeping condition to say the least. I could've been covered in worse and I wouldn't have cared. The poor little sickie just needed his Mama. And did it ever feel good.

mom fails

A mom fail moment.

Just one, really? If you've been a mother for more than 15 seconds, you know that, while mom fails vary in severity, they are a fairly often occurrence. Such is life. We all strive to do our best, but none of us are perfect. Not even you, and definitely not me. But when it comes to the special privilege of executing mom fails, I think the first one is probably the worst one. The first time you think you've done something wrong feels terrible.

For me, it was during the first week that Jacob was at home with us. I was buckling my sleeping baby into his car seat, as carefully as I could, gently tucking in his teeny tiny baby limbs. Then, like a bolt of lightening, he was awake. And wailing. Loudly. What the ...? I looked down and realized I had pinched his itty bitty finger in one of the clasps on his car seat. It didn't break the skin, but it certainly startled him awake, and it nearly broke my heart. Knowing that he was crying because of something I'd done. Awful.

The next time was several weeks later, when I was trimming his finger nails. And he was again, sleeping. In my haste to get it done before he woke. I snipped a bit too far, and broke the tiniest bit of skin, which didn't even really bleed, but he wailed once more, and I scooped him up and smothered him with apology kisses.

Hey, it happens. I don't think I've inflicted too many more fails on him since those initial two, but I'm always on the look out for potential gaffes. But the moral of the story? You're still the Mama, and, thankfully, those sweet little faces love you anyway.

Thanks, as always, to Mama Kat for the writer's prompt.

a journey.

46 weeks.
323 days.
And now, we're finished.

This weekend, I stopped breastfeeding.

I'm overwhelmed. I'm sad that it's over. I'm proud that I wanted to do it, and grateful that I was able to for almost a year.

I marvel at my fortune — breastfeeding came relatively easy for both myself and Jacob, and (after those first few initially, challenging days) it quickly became one of my favourite aspects of new motherhood. Most nights I didn't even mind getting out of bed to feed him. I looked forward to that quiet time, just him and me.

When I went back to work in mid-June, I decided to continue breastfeeding for as long as I could. I quickly realized, though, that not pumping meant that I had a self-imposed deadline -- a trip to Chicago for four nights, for which I'm leaving on August 18. So, we started introducing more formula, but gradually. Jacob wasn't too interested at first, but over the past four weeks, he's gotten quite comfortable snuggling in with Dada for pre-nap and bedtime bottle sessions. By the end of last week, he was even willing to take a bottle from me, so I knew he was ready for a full transition.

Having the experience to nurse Jacob for almost a year changed me. It forced me to put modesty and self consciousness on the back burner and helped me focus on selflessness.

Having had this experience, there are a few things I'll do differently next time ...

[+] I won't chart every moment of feeding for a month. Yes, I did it for a month. I wrote down when he nursed, for how long, which side, everything. I think I used it as a bit of a crutch, to keep us on a schedule, to remind myself that I was doing this motherhood thing right. Next time I'll trust my instincts, and my baby's signals.

[+] I won't waste money on nursing tops. Regular clothes work fine, for the most part.

[+] I will invest in great nursing bras. I bought a couple cheapies when I was still pregnant and they did not do the job. Support is key.

[+] I will drink more water. Nursing makes you crazy thirsty, and I know I didn't always hydrate properly while breastfeeding Jacob.

I know I'm going to miss that time that only I could provide for Jacob, I'm willing to admit that I'm happy to share the bedtime feedings with Husband and I'm glad to have more of my independence back.

What did you love/not love about breastfeeding? Do you have any nursing stories or advice to share?

all growed up

A moment you realized your child is growing up.

Look at those bangs ...

Four days shy of being 10 months old, I finally caved to Husband's suggestions and we decided to take Jacob to get his hair trimmed.

Not without giving him a full-fledged mohawk first ...

Much better! So handsome!

Somehow my baby is turning into a little boy. When did that happen?

***

Thanks, as always, to Mama Kat for the writer's prompt.

a day in the life

I'm not sure why I haven't done one of these posts already. Most of my fave mommy bloggers have shared insights into their routines. Since I'm back to work now, I'm going to share a pretty typical Saturday. This is longgg, but, hey, it's real life.

6:15 am: Jacob is awake and saying so, loudly, from his crib. He's not crying exactly, but he definitely isn't impressed. This is one of my favourite moments of the day, because when I walk through his bedroom door, his sour face turns into a huge grin. It's pretty awesome to be loved like that. He's standing and starts to wildly slap the side of his crib as I approach, laughing. I scoop him up and nurse him briefly. During the week, I usually don't nurse him in the morning. It depends if he woke up to nurse during the night or not. We're slowly starting the weaning process, but that's a topic for another time. Today, he's distracted from his first snack of the morning by his infectious happiness. He keeps smiling up at me and I urge him to continue for a few more minutes. When he's had enough, I ask "Where's Dada?" and he whips his head toward the door. I say, "Let's go find him!" and we sneak into our bedroom where he pounces on Husband. "Good morning, mister boy!" is his daily greeting to Jacob. We spend some quiet time in bed. Jacob scales the headboard to look out the window as he does every day lately. He squeels at the sounds of birds chirping and dogs barking outside.

6:30 am: We all journey into our open-concept kitchen-living room area. Husband puts Jacob down on the floor and the baby starts to consider what kinds of mischief he can get into, crawling around the furniture, picking up and disgarding toys in his wake. Husband makes the coffee while I start to organize breakfast and Jacob scoots around underfoot. Jacob's having leftover French toast, diced pairs and lots of water. Husband and I are just having bagels today.

7 am to 8 am: Husband and I trade off between feeding Jacob and feeding ourselves. It's become so easy, this part of our day. It just flows. He does one thing, I do another, and it's all unspoken, yet somehow it all gets done. Husband goes to grab a quick shower, so I wipe Jacob's messy hands and face and we head to the play area in the living room. Jacob stands at his activity table, making music and bobbing his head and hips to the sounds. I sing a few songs -- we're stuck on Baby Beluga and Down by the Bay at the moment. Husband returns and I take my chance to get ready for the day. As I leave them, they're playing catch with a big beach ball and Jacob is laughing hysterically each time the ball slaps the floor and Husband shouts, "Ouchie!" They have the same sense of humour. God, help me.

8:15 am: Jacob's ready for his morning nap. This is his most predictable time of day; he almost always wants to nap exactly two hours after he woke up for the day. Since I can't feed him during the day on weekdays, I try not to do it on the weekends either because that would be confusing for his, albiet flexible, routine. Husband takes him to his room with a couple ounces of formula. They reada couple books and Jacob goes into his crib awake, but drowsy. He's asleep within five minutes.

Now, Husband and I clean up the breakfast mess, do a load of laundry, and tidy Jacob's toys. It's a cool, cloudy morning, so we veg on the couch and watch a couple reruns of The Big Bang Theory on the PVR. He catches up on sports online and I draft a couple blog posts. We both have another cup of coffee.

9:30 am: Jacob's awake. Not a great nap, but long enough that he's in a great mood when he wakes up. We change his diaper and dress him for the day. I grab our pre-packed diaper bag and we all head out for some errands. We'd usually put him back in his highchair for a snack at this point, but instead we bring a few snacks for the road, including mum mums and a sippy cup of water.

10 am: We're at Costco just as it opens in hopes to avoid the weekend infestation of people. Jacob loves Costco. LOVES. I don't know if it's the super huge cart that he rides in, or the millions of people who stop and say hello to him or give him a smile and a wave, but the kid is on cloud nine. Fine by us, makes shopping a breeze. We are efficient, get what we need and get out.

10:45 am: We still managed to spend nearly an hour from start to finish in Costco, so it's on to Walmart for a few more things, including diapers, which are on sale, plus I have a coupon, of course (if you are a new or soon-to-be mum, take my advice: never buy diapers at full price). We also find an adjustable pair of sandals to fit our boy who was blessed with what we like to call "meatball feet" ... you know, pretty much as thick as they are long. On clearence for $9. Deal. We throw a few more odds and ends into our cart and beeline for the checkout as Jacob's deciding he's had enough retail therapy for the day. I finish our transaction as the boys take a walk outside.

11:30 am: Home again from a successful outing. Jacob is glad to be home and shows us so by crawling like a marathoner into his room. We call his name and he peeks out and laughs. What a joker. "What are you doing?!" I call and he squeels and takes off into the bathroom. We recently caught him attempting to crawl in for a toilet swimming lesson, so we invested in an $8 lid lock. Works like a charm. Now he just uses the firmly closed cover as a big drum. Within seconds he's pulled himself up and I hear the familiar bang, bang, bang on the plastic lid. I retrieve him from his impromptu concert and deposit him into his highchair for lunch. On his menu: chic peas, green peas, bits of cheese, more diced pears and some yogurt. He's not so interested in the green peas today and most of them end up on the floor. Once he seems satisfied (read: refusing to eat another bite), he is released from the clutches of his chair. He's less interested in being solo on the floor and demands my company, so Husband takes care of clearing the mess and Jacob and I retire to the living room again for some Wiggles.

12:30 pm: Time for nap No. 2. This nap usually occurs about three hours after the wake up from the first nap, but it isn't as dependable as nap No. 1. Today, though, Jacob is exhibiting his classic eye-rubbing, long-yawning signs. After a bit more formula, he's put in his crib awake. He sleeps during naps and at night with either music playing or white noise provided by a static station on the radio. He's not as interested in sleep as he was this morning and cries in protest. We can see in the video monitor that he's sitting up. Wait, no, he's standing. He protests for a couple minutes and just when I'm thinking of going in to soothe him a bit, the cries start to stagger, mixed with periods of quiet or soft babbling. We hold off going into his room, and he transitions quickly from standing to sprawled out on his belly. In less than five minutes total, he's snoozing. It doesn't sound like long, but if you've been witness to a crying baby, every minute can feel like an hour. Lately, since I miss out on naptime through the week, I find I want to go in sooner than I should. When I resist the urge, I'm almost always glad that I did. He's doing very well at getting to sleep on his own, and we're very thankful.

12:30 to 2:30 pm: Husband heads out for a round of golf with a neighbour. Lovely friend A comes over to visit. She and I chat in the kitchen while I make a batch of muffins and then catch up on a few TV shows that were saved during the week (titles of which shall remain nameless, to protect our dignity coughPrettyLittleLiarsandTheBachelorettecough).

2:30 pm: Jacob is awake from a great nap. He's happy to see Auntie A and she's equally delighted to see him as she fetches him from his crib. They play and I take some photos. I used to take so many pictures of Jacob when I was on maternity leave, but there are a lot fewer now that I'm not staging photoshoots during the day. I try to make up for it on the weekends. The three of us decide to take a walk so we load Jake into his stroller and head out. We take our picnic blanket along and spread out at a nearby playground. Jacob swings and I take some more photos. We all enjoy some watermelon. Jacob explores the grass and watches other kids playing. On our walk back home, Jacob is lulled to sleep from the vibration of the stroller on the sidewalk.

4:30 pm: We're back home and A is happy to play with Jakey while I get supper organized. I'm not ashamed to say that I love having someone else around to take over with Jacob while I cook dinner. It's one of those little Muma's time-out things I really enjoy. Life is much easier now that I don't bother with purees and Jacob eats mostly the same things we eat. I make simple pasta with tomato sauce and cottage cheese mixed in for Jacob; I jazz up the adult sauce with veggies and chicken for the meat eaters. Husband returns home and we all eat dinner. Jacob makes a huge mess with this meal so he is just dressed in a diaper, which leads to yet another photo op — orange tinted sauce spread over his hands and face.

5:30 pm: Into the tub with you, dirty kid. We soap him up from head to toe, give a quick rinse and out he comes. I like to let him crawl around naked for a bit after his bath. I think it's adorable; he thinks it's hilarious. Win-win. In the hot weather, he sleeps in a T-shirt onesie or just in his diaper. I'm looking forward to the fall, though, because miss his snuggly footie pjs.

6 pm to 7 pm: The boy gets to play a bit more before bed. Sometimes we dance around the house to some mellow songs or read some books. Once he's completely tired out, I take him for some Mama time. I nurse him and talk to him. He usually ends up falling asleep on me while he has his bedtime snack. I hoist him up on me, snuggle him up and pat his back. He usually wakes as I lay him in his crib, but he wraps his arm around his buddy, Hooey (from Oh Say Can You Say?) and settles. I tiptoe out of the room and close the door. I click the monitor on occasionally to check, but generally he's asleep within five minutes.

7 pm to 10 pm: Our Saturday nights aren't exactly wild and crazy lately, but that's fine by us. We recently got a Netflix subscription and we've been enjoying watching some oldie-but-goodie movies. Even on Jacob's crankiest days, we usually end our evening by talking about him and how lucky we are. We just can't help it. We marvel at how our lives have changed, mainly for the better. We turn on the monitor to see what kind of crazy position he's sleeping in — he's flat on his back with his arms and legs flung out. Makes us laugh. What a nice boy.

growing by the minute: 10 months

For some reason, 10 months seems so much older to me. In two short months, my baby will become a toddler. Unbelievable.

Vital stats: Jacob was 22 lbs. (75th percentile) and 29.5 inches long (75th percentile) at his nine-month check up. So he's presumably a little heavier and a little longer. But his growth is definitely slowing down because he's not busting through clothes quite as fast, plus he's crawling and climbing everywhere, so he's burning calories like a marathon runner.

Milestones & firsts: Jacob has learned so much this month. I think this has been his most developmental month in terms of things he can now do.

He gives high fives! You don't have to put your hand up in his face or anything, just say, "Hey Jake, high five!" and he puts his hand up with a huge grin. Love it.

Also with high fives came waving. He doesn't do this as readily, but he's learning.

Over the past few days, Jacob has been trying to stand up without pulling himself up. He tucks his legs into a crouching position and tries to push up, but can't quite get there. He's also been standing next to the couch or coffee table and letting go for five or 10 seconds at a time, balancing on his own. He's also quick to grab anything that moves and truck across the floor at warp speed. If I had to predict, I'd say we'll have a walker on our hands before the one-year mark.

And my absolute favourite -- kisses and hugs. He is so lovey these days and happily lays a big, drooly, open mouth kiss on you whenever you ask for it.

Last weekend, Jacob experienced the ocean for the first time. It was adorable to watch him crawl through the ebbing surf. He only munched on the sand once and quickly realized that is wasn't as tasty as he thought it might be.

See what I mean? It was a big month!

Teeth: Still two. It's so weird how much it varies from baby to baby. His girl bestie, who is a wise and mature four days older, has at least six teeth, maybe more. Another one of his girl friends, who is two weeks younger, has no teeth yet. A boy buddy who is six weeks younger has four teeth already. Ah, the joys of teething.

Speech: Jacob seems to be saying Mama more and Dada less, which is weird since Husband is the one who is home with him during the day now. I sort of think he's using the word Mama to refer to both of us. We've started to notice him saying om nom nom nom when he's hungry. Coincidence?

Zzzzzzz: Usually one wake up per night still, to nurse as I mentioned last month.

Om nom nom: Among his new faves are whole chic peas, mashed potatoes, turkey and blueberries. Husband has been giving him a combo of bran and yogurt in the mornings, which he loves. They also sometimes make smoothies as a treat.

Likes & dislikes: Loves dancing!

Lately he dislikes naps. He's reluctant to take them and only sleeps for 45 minutes or so, which barely counts.

Challenges: What a little stinker. I swear he knows everything that he's not allowed to have or shouldn't play with and makes a beeline for it every time. Shoes, the plugged-in computer charger, the grassy rug in front of the door. What is it about these things that looks so tasty? Over the weekend though, I was quick to say "Nooo" as he was about to put something like that up to his mouth and he'd stop, grin a little, and then hold his hand out to pass me the offending item. Could he really be learning that this early?

Standing up in the bathtub. For a couple weeks, his baths were about a minute and a half long. Water, soap, rinse, done. No playing or splashing, because the first thing he'd do is grab the side and try to stand, ultimately slipping all over the place. Then Husband bought an inflatable tub insert, which has worked quite well. Eventually he still tries to stand up, but he's usually happy to sit there for at least five minutes first to wash and play.

The added bonus is that the tub doubles as a swimming pool:

Special moments: Receiving voluntary hugs and kisses is the best. He's such a sweet boy.

With our new routine of me getting ready for work and Husband staying home, it's been fun to go into Jacob's room together in the morning. He's so happy when he wakes up. We usually spend a half hour just playing and snuggling in bed as a family. It's the perfect way to start the day.

inside out

41 weeks and three days.

As of today, Jacob has officially been on the outside as long as he was on the inside.

How did we get so lucky?

my heart

True love is when it's 11:30 pm, you've been up since 5 am, and instead of slamming into bed like your body is screaming at you to, you're looking at the screen on the baby monitor and kinda, sorta wishing your boy would wake up for a snuggle with his Mama.

what i'm really thinking

List 10 things you wish you could say to strangers who share unsolicited advice about your parenting skills.

1) No, my son is not cold because he's not wearing a hat/sweater/socks. If you saw the heat rash he had in the first few months of his life when he was constantly bundled up, then you'd be taking him out dressed like this, too.

2) Yes, he is fully capable of eating the food in the sizes I cut for him. I have fed him three meals a day for nearly an entire year and I am pretty confident in my ability to nourish him appropriately.

3) I appreciate that you waited the perfect amount of time between having your kids, but no, I do not know when I plan to give my son a sibling. I would also need a crystal ball to tell you the exact number of kids we are going to have.

4) Sometimes my son wears shoes, sometimes he doesn't. I know you think it's better for him to learn to walk with/without shoes. I'm not worried that he will remain sitting for the rest of his life based on my choice of footwear for him.

5) My son does not like soothers. I can put it in his mouth and he can prove it to you by spitting it across the room if you'd like. I can tell by the look on your face that you think I should plug his noisy mouth because we're in public, but it's just not going to happen.

6) If you're asking about my son's milestones because you're genuinely interested or want to swap mommy stories, I am happy to share. If you are only inquiring because you want to compare your kid to mine in a purely competitive fashion, it's none of your beeswax.

7) We will teach our son to sleep in a way that is comfortable for our family. We aren't going to let him cry his little heart out for an excrutiating amount of time because eventually he'll fall asleep from sheer exhaustion. We will tend to him and love him in a way that feels good for us and in the best way we know how, while also helping him to learn and maintain positive sleep habits.

8) I understand that you think it would be "easier" to just give my son formula now that I'm back to work, but I am choosing to continue to breastfeed. Not only is it a healthy choice for him since he is only nine months old, but I also cherish the time we spend together while he nurses.

9) If I'm standing right there, please do not put food in my baby's mouth without asking me first. It's nice of you to share, but preservatives/high-fructose corn syrup/sodium-enriched goodies are not on his menu for the time being.

10) Thanks for pointing out that because Jacob is such a good baby, our next one is probably going to be a holy terror. If you want a positive answer to the question you asked in #3, you probably shouldn't preface it with this warning.

Thanks to Mama Kat for the writer's workshop prompt.

growing by the minute: 9 months

Vital stats: Jacob had his nine-month check up this week and got a big gold star from our doctor. He weighs 22 lbs. (75th percentile) and measures 29.5 inches (75th percentile). This month, I think it's worth mentioning his melon, which, at 47.5 cm, puts him in the 95th percentile for head size. All the better to house that growing brain!

Milestones & firsts: Crawling! He started crawling after things he was curious about, like the vacuum or the cats, but now he crawls all over the place and we love watching him. With his added mobility, he's also learned to pull himself up on anything he can reach. He generally prefers standing to sitting, and will hold his hands up in our directions for assistance. Cue melting heart.

Jacob started riding in his big boy car seat a couple weeks ago and he loves it. We're still using the infant carrier in our secondary car, because it carries up to 32 lbs. It's super convenient to switch between cars now without having to move a seat.

Buckets. He loves them. He puts toys in, takes toys out, tips them up to his mouth like a cup and puts them on his head. Silly baby.

Teeth: Still two, but totally popped out and adorably visable when he smiles now. No real signs of the upper pair yet.

Speech: Other than his regular string of gaa gaa and blahh blahh, he really only says Mama and Dada. We're working on helping him learn ball, up and water, but he's not quite there yet.

Zzzzzzz: We had a few long nights recently, mostly due to a cold and congestion. For the most part, Jacob still wakes once in the night to nurse. I had considered weaning him from the night feeding, but now that I'm back to work, I discussed it with our doctor and have decided to keep the night feeding for now, so he can get a bit more milk in each 24-hour period, plus the extra snuggle time with him honestly trumps that little bit of lost sleep.

Om nom nom: As I'm sure you can imagine, there's not a whole lot out there that Jacob doesn't like. This month, he's enjoyed homemade mac and cheese, pasta with tomato sauce, watermelon, whole wheat english muffins, cheese, different flavours of yogurt, corn niblets, turkey and tofu. The one thing he hated was cottage cheese, which I assume was a texture issue. My friend K gave me a great tip though -- mix the cottage cheese with the pasta and tomato sauce. Worked like a charm, Jakey gobbles it up and gets that extra hit of protein.



Likes & dislikes: He loves the view from his new car seat. It sits more upright, allowing him to scope out everything outside the window. It's also more comfortable for sleeping because the head rest keeps his neck straighter.

He loves to play with anything he thinks he's not allowed to play with. This includes, but is not limited to, my cellphone, the camera and video camera, the bookmark that is holding my place in my novel, and my car keys. He very much dislikes when he gets his mitts on one of these items and I take it away from him.

Challenges: Baby proofing. Now that Jacob has mastered crawling, he's more and more interested in climbing. We moved the coffee table against the wall, limiting the number of sides he has to scale. We've plugged our electrical outlets, too, but we're having a tough time finding cabinet and drawer latches to fit our unique buffet and hutch cabinet as well as Jacob's dresser.

Separation anxiety. Not sure who this is worse on, me or him. Jacob has yet to cry when I leave him in the morning (thank God; I don't know if I could handle it). I, on the other hand, can't help but think about him all day and countdown the minutes until I can smother him with kisses.

Special moments: The look on his face when he sees me come through the door at the end of the work day is unlike anything I could describe -- it makes my heart skip a beat just thinking about it.

I'm trying to savour all of our nursing time, because the countdown really feels on to the end of breastfeeding.

Lately Jacob leans away from me and puts his arms out toward Dada. I'm not offended -- I love when he reaches out to Husband and a huge grin spreads across both their faces when I pass him over.

lagging behind

Now that I'm back to work, my free time seems to be devoted to the sheer upkeep of the rest of my life -- housework, keeping (somewhat) up with correspondence/social commitments, grocery shopping/cooking/packing lunches, and maximizing snuggle time with my boys.

Among the things gnawing at the back of my mind, besides having more time to read, opportunites for date nights with Husband, and keeping up el bloggo, is Jacob's scrapbook.



I have one scrapbook filled (a couple dozen completed pages) -- but I'm pretty sure he was wearing still wearing size 1 diapers in the last photos I included. He's now in size 4s.

There are many uncharted months, and literally hundreds of photos, taunting me every time I open the door to our spare room and lay my eyes on the huge pile of paper craftings supplies that is gathering dust.

My friend H recently made an adorable photobook online for her son's first birthday. It turned out so nicely, and she was able to do it all without getting scraps of paper all over the floor. I must also point out though, this is the same friend who has about 10 completely filled and beautiful scrapbooks of her son's first year already completed.

Then I consider traditional photo albums ... slide the photos in and bam, you're done. I keep a log of milestones in a Google docs with dates, times, weights, lengths, etc. I could easily format little blurbs, print them, and include them in the slots among the photos. Not really as artisitic, I know, but much more time efficient, right?

Am I letting laziness take over? How do you or how do you plan to record your childs' first year and beyond?

the little things

I've been thinking about motherhood a lot lately. I know that might sound obvious since I'm on mat leave with an eight-and-a-half-month-old. But in a broader sense.

Pregnant women are nothing if not completely bombarded with unsolicited advice. This isn't new; it's just the way it is. Some bits of wisdom that are passed on to you are absolute, others might leave you rolling your eyes.

I'm a first timer, so I'm not even going to pretend to be an expert. Becoming a mother has been the most educational time of my life — I not only learn something new every day, but pretty much every minute. Here are some things that I was told beforehand or just picked up along the way.

My 10 oh-so-wise-after-eight-months-of-motherhood tips:

Pre-baby:

* Get a good camera and learn how to use it. I did Part A, but have still failed to do Part B. Technically, our Nikon D60 was a wedding gift, so I'm embarrassed to admit that I've been shooting on "auto" for two and a half years already. In the most basic setting, it still takes great photos of Jacob, but if I put it a little bit of effort, I'm sure they'd be even better.

* Buy teethers, baby Advil and natural remedies in advance. It's just easier. Sure, you won't need these things for months, but when you do, you won't want to run out to the store or try to decide what you need. We like the baby Advil more than the baby Tylenol, and we've also used Camilia and Nuby Nibblers stuffed with frozen fruit to help with sore gummers.

* Try not to drive yourself crazy when your baby is inevitably overdue. Oh, to have one of those blissfully quiet days back to sleep in, read books, watch trash TV and eat anything I want. I absolutely did not appreciate those extra 10 days to their fullest; I was too busy walking back and forth through Sunnyside Mall, willing my water to break or contractions to start. Fool.

* Do tons of fun stuff with your husband. Once the baby is born and you become a family of three, it'll be harder to find the time and energy to have date nights, or hell ... even the desire to stay up an extra half hour to watch TV together. Go out, do stuff, make the most of your couple time because it'll likely be a couple decades before you get to spend day-in and day-out as a twosome (not that that's a bad thing).

* Don't buy miscellaneous baby stuff. Sure, you think you need it or want it, but you don't really know until you've got a pile of crap in the closet that you wish you'd saved your money on. Yes, it's fun to buy a few outfits for your little one, especially if you know the sex, but you are getting and will continue to get presents and hand-me-downs. And I'm not just talking clothes. You don't know if your baby will be interested in soothers or bottles (ours wasn't), so you really only need one of each to try at first. Oh, and the toys. You might as well start mentally preparing yourself now for the hoards of stuff that will be coming into your home after your baby's first Christmas/Hanukkah/Ayyam-i-ha/etc.

Post-baby:

* Expect to encounter competitive moms (and to maybe-sorta-kinda become one, too). No one wants to admit it, but we all secretly — or not-so-secretly in some cases — want to know about other babies and how they compare to our own. Is he bigger/taller? Does he sit/stand as well? How old was he when he reached this/that milestone? It's only natural to want to make sure your baby is thriving with the best of them.

* Get out. Seriously. Don't sit at home. When my Mum came for the week after Jacob was born, we went shopping and out to lunch on an almost-daily basis and it was great. I quickly became a pro at maneuvering the car seat and organizing the diaper bag, so when she was gone, I was totally comfortable going out and about on my own with the baby. Even now, eight months later, the dude and I like to get out of the house several times a week, if not daily.

* Never wake a sleeping baby. For Jacob, it wasn't because he'd be cranky or cry if we woke him, it was the fact that he'd then be awake. If this sounds insensitive to you, then you don't have children. Cherish the time they are asleep to do whatever you want — sleep, eat, tidy the house, oh and don't forget to shower.

* Turn off the monitor. This tip comes to you from lovely friend K who kicked my butt and told me to turn the monitor the-eff off when we were sleep training our boy. We customized the whole cry-it-out method so we were comfortable with it, but that didn't change the fact that seeing him cry or fuss on the screen of our video monitor was torture. Foolish, foolish parents.

* Write things down. I have a Google Doc on which I write the details of Jacob's life — later to be properly scrapbooked, of course. Well, that doc is horribly out of date. Every day something happens and I think, I should write that down. But every day life inevitably gets in the way and I forget. Next time, I think I'll try to take a consistent photo on each month "birthday" to show the baby's growth, like this. I know I have those monthly photos of J, but they are so disorganized I don't even want to think about sorting them out of the thousands of photos just yet.

Can somebody remind me to return to this post when I get pregnant for bebe no. 2?

timing is everything

I've been asked a few times recently, "So, will you have more kids?" and my answer is an unwavering yes. Jacob has only solidified my desire for a big family. Then comes the inevitable follow up, "When will you have the next one?" ... and the answer to that isn't so certain.

My brother and I are 18 months apart. Pro: We were each other's playmate, having lots in common over the years as we grew up together. Con: We were always in the same schools and sometimes shared social circles, which caused rivalries over the years, naturally.

Husband has four siblings, his oldest brother is 17 years his senior. The next brother nine years older, his sister is four years ahead and he also has a twin. Pro of older siblings: He had role models to look up to. Con: The oldest brothers were moved out before he was out of elementary school, so there was a lot less time spent bonding under one roof together.

We've always imagined having our kids close together — so when we decide that we're finished having kids, we'll also be finished with diapers and strollers and bottles all at the same time, rather than spreading it over many years.

That still doesn't really help us decide how far apart our kids should be. When I respond to these questions, I usually say "it depends" ... on where Husband will be teaching next year, on where I will be working after maternity leave, on if we're going to stay put in our current home for a while.

When we decided to try to get pregnant the first time, it just felt right. We'd been married more than a year and we had talked about starting our family off and on. Then, one day, the subject came up and we just knew. It was time.

I've been thinking about the next little one a lot lately. It's not that I'm in a rush to conceive again — frankly, I'm just getting used to having my body back. It's just that motherhood is exactly what I hoped it would be and more, which makes me all the more excited to experience the process again.

So, how does it work the second time around? Do you get that feeling that the time is right, or when there's already one child involved does decision for the second becomes more about practicality?

growing by the minute: 8 months

Vital stats: When we visited the doctor a little over a month ago, Jacob was 20.5 lbs. and 28.5 inches. Now, he's presumably a little big bigger and a little bit longer. We'll be visiting the doctor for a nine-month check up, so we'll have a more scientific answer to this question next month.

Milestones & firsts: While he's not completely crawling yet, Jacob is doing so well at moving around. I set him down on his play mats in the middle of the living room, turn my back for a minute, and all of a sudden he's half-way across the room. His newest trick is going from laying down to sitting up all on his own. A couple nights ago, I heard him stirring through the video monitor, and when I looked at the screen, he was sitting up in his crib. Just chillin'.

Jacob and I spent an entire day apart this month, and he spent nearly 14 consecutive hours just with his Dada. They had a ball together. I missed my little booger like crazy, but it was so great to see how well my boys got along without me.

We celebrated my first mother's day with a trip to a nearby playground where Jacob got to swing and slide for the first time!

Teeth: Two! The first little tooth officially emerged on the day he turned seven months, and the second one followed a couple weeks later.

Speech: He finally learned to say Mama! Hooray! While the Ma Ma Mas that he babbles are exciting for me, I don't think he's really saying it to me yet. Da da on the other hand ... he definitely knows who that guy is.

Zzzzzzz: Aside from a few long nights here and there while cutting those adorable little teeth, our sleep schedule is right on track. Jacob usually goes to bed for the night between 7:00 and 7:30, and wakes for the day about 12 hours later. This usually includes one night feeding, but occasionally he skips it. It was tough for Husband and I, but sticking to a routine with our own customized sleep training method was well worth it. In the end, we were able to gently teach him to go to bed awake and fall asleep on his own for naps and at night.

Om nom nom: Meal times are pretty entertaining around here. We love giving Jacob new things to try. Among his newest faves are yogurt, cooked carrots (not pureed), Cheerios, whole grain pancakes, hard boiled egg yolks, watermelon and ham. Among his dislikes are cauliflower pureed with garlic and pureed cantaloupe.

Likes & dislikes: Jacob loves our new jogger stroller, which allows him to sit up and be a "nosy Ned" (as his Grammie likes to call him).

He doesn't like to lay down in the bath anymore; he wants to sit up so he can splash and play. We got some blue tropical fish grippies for the bottom of the tub to help his little nekked butt from sliding all over the place.

Challenges: Screaming. Screeching. Shrieking. Whatever you want to call it, it shakes you to your very core. I'm not kidding. Jacob has learned to assert his voice in the worst-sounding-way possible. We're trying to say "No" and "Shh" every time he belts it out, and give him encouragement when he uses his indoor voice, but he hasn't quite mastered the volume situation yet.

Special moments: Each morning, Jacob and I start the day with quiet time in his room. He babbles and talks, we snuggle in his chair and we play little games that feel like little inside jokes between us.

I love the way Jacob's face lights up with Dada comes in the door after work. The look on Husband's face is priceless, too. They are so happy to see each other; it melts my heart.