Some Growth Chart Moments

I haven’t stopped to mention all the new things Jack has been up to in a while.  He’s growing SO FAST!  It seems that he’s getting smarter by the day. 

Some of the words he has now include (but are not limited to):

Hi!: Which started out as “Hi-ya!” and has now become just “Hi!”

Bye: He will say “Bu-Bye!” constantly around the house or in the van. I think he likes how it sounds

Bus: This was one of his first words. But until this weekend, it was just “buu”. Now he has added the s at the end.

Shoe: It sounds like “tschoo” And he can also match up his shoes.  I ask him to go get his shoes, he’ll bring me one shoe.  When I ask him to get the other one, he picks out the matching shoe every time.  This is only impressive because all of his shoes are just thrown in a pile, so he really has to dig to find the other one.

Woof: this was another first word, but it still sounds like “fuff Fuff!”

Free: Just yesterday I pulled him out of his high chair and said “You’re Free!” Now he’s saying “Fee!” all over the place.

Amen:  At dinner time each night, we hold each other’s hands and say grace.  Jack will grab my hand and sit patiently until Daddy’s done saying his prayer.  Rick always ends the same way, so Jack figured out when to shout “AY-MEEEE!”  It’s so adorable.

Choo-Choo: he loves everything that has to do with Choo-Choo trains.  He says “Choo Choooooo” and something like “chgga chgga”

Animal noises: Baaaa, Meeeeee (which is really Moooo), Cuck cuck for Cluck cluck, and a weird oink sound that I can’t type into words. It sounds like he’s clearing his throat.

He LOVES books.  I mean LOOOOOVES books!  I think he’d let me read to him every minute of every day.  He has definite favorites, and he’s learned how to ask for them.  Two books that I love the way he asks for are Goodnight Moon and Clickety Clack.  He’ll say “Hushhhh” for Goodnight Moon or a sound like he’s clearing his throat for Clickety Clack.  (he must not get the K sound yet)

He has become a very stubborn boy.  (Though, I guess I saw that back when he was stubborn about not going to sleep all those times!)  He is mostly obedient, but he does like to test the limits with most things.  When I say “Don’t do that,” it’s must sound like an invitation to “see how far you can go before Mom says NO again". 

(Like here, where I told him NOT to get into the bag of charcoal. You can see that he just heard the invitation)

And he is a MY-BYSELF kind of kid.  When my sister was little, she would say, “No! I do my-byself!”  That has stuck with our family to this day.  Jack definitely doesn’t want anyone’s help when he’s determined to do something on his own. 

I can’t believe he’s already 16 months old.  Even though this second year isn’t nearly as fast as the first year, it’s still going by so quickly.  He seems to know more or do something new every day.  He is  a total blessing to our family, and I can’t wait to see what he does next!  (maybe it will go to sleep without a fight – a mom can hope!)

*oh, and by the way, for anyone who is interested, we’re no longer breastfeeding.  He was completely weaned after my Mommy Retreat.  All went well!

Weaning??

Jack is 14 months old now.  I knew I was going to breastfeed as long as I could, but I didn't know how or when it was going to come to an end.  I thought I was going to be happy about it, given the fact that it has not been a pain-free experience for me.  But I never thought I would finish nursing by going ‘cold turkey’. 

(2 weeks)

We’ve been down to three nursing sessions for a few months now.  One before bed, one sometime in the middle of the night or early morning, and another right before his one nap.  It’s been going pretty well, except for the pain.  A mysterious blood blister showed up one day, which had me Googling all over Kingdom Come to figure out what to do about it – to pop or not to pop, that was the question.  (I popped)  A few clogged milk ducts here and there, and always teeth marks or holes from teeth.  I constantly try to work on Jack’s latch and position, but it usually just ends with me giving in to the pain. 

(5 weeks)

It hasn’t been a completely painful adventure.  A long time ago, I figured out that nursing is a great time for me to read a book!  I can go through 2-4 novels in a month in no time flat with this added reading time.  I found that it helps me to remain patient if my mind is engrossed in a book.  I can spend as much time as Jack needs me to spend if I’m not thinking of everything that needs to be done around the house. 

(3 months)

Back to weaning.  When Jack got sick recently, he started throwing up after every feeding.  I think it was because of the phlegm building up, which would make him cough until he would vomit. All. Over. Me.  Poor little guy.  Poor Mama!  It was after our third change of clothes in one day that I finally decided to stop letting Jack nurse.   It worked well for a day or two.  No more vomit, and Jack didn’t seem to miss the nursing.  I was a tad uncomfortable, so I did pump just enough to relieve some pressure.   Things were going great!  ‘Cold turkey’ was working.

(3.5 months)

But then my hormones decided to revolt.  I started crying and sobbing about losing this precious part of my baby, and I just couldn’t do it! I missed it so much!  I missed snuggling with him.  I missed the bond we shared.  I missed running my fingers through his baby-fine hair.  I missed him falling asleep in my lap.  I was shocked about these feelings, because I thought I was going to love being FREE and having my body back to myself.  But BOY was I wrong!! 

(8 months)

I immediately went back to three feedings, and haven’t looked back since.  It helps us while Jack’s molars are coming in, and it helps  him to fall asleep for his naps. I realized that, even though I’m reading a book while he nurses, I’m still connected to my baby in a way that I’ll never have again.  I am not ready to give that up, and I’m okay with that.  I won’t be nursing him when he goes off to preschool, so this will end eventually.  But for now, I’m happy to have this quiet time to connect with my baby. 

(11 months)