Baby Will is 1!

Baby Will - who I guess is now Toddler Will?? - turns 1 today! Insert head-exploding emoji. The common adage "the days are long but the years are short" is especially true during the baby's first year of life. There were many days in the early months where I had to bounce Will so often that my FitBit thought I was logging multiple sessions on the elliptical! There were sleepless nights (and still are sleepless nights - I'm looking at the 4+ wake-ups/night over Thanksgiving weekend). But there were lots of good moments, too, like watching the boys interact, seeing Will's love of water develop, and the recognition and appreciation of the fact that Will is a really chill, content baby!

Growth: I think he's hovering around 20 pounds and is 30" long - so 2" longer and about 2 pounds heavier than Paul was at 1. Will is very long and lean, and especially has a long torso! In terms of percentiles, he's in the 30s for weight and the 80s for height. But he seems sooo big compared to how small Paul was (Paul was around 5th percentile for weight at 1!).

That posture! He always sits up nice and tall!

He has 8 teeth now (4 on top, 4 on the bottom) and his bottom molars are coming in which is making him CRANKY!!

I thought it would be fun to compare pics of the boys at age 1. They look SO different. Paul had a rounder face and chubbier cheeks and Will is so much taller - and has SO much hair. He's due for another haircut this month whereas Paul didn't get a haircut until around 18 months or maybe even later! I've given Will several at-home trims and he's had one professional haircut.

Likes: 

Hands down, bath time is his favorite time! He usually takes a bath with Paul and it is a BOISTEROUS bathing experience. There is much splashing and shrieking. They have so much fun together!

He can't stand on his own but loves to stand/lean on the train table and ottoman.

 

He also likes the walker, but he has not figured out how to walk behind it.

- He ADORES his older brother. It will be fun to watch their sibling relationship develop! Paul currently takes toys away from Will but I expect that dynamic to change when Will is more mobile!

Dislikes: 

- He's had a hard time with the molars that are coming in, but I remember Paul struggling, too. I can't wait for them to be in! 

- I've disliked how sick he has been over the last 6-8 weeks. He's had an ear infection and several fevers. He's a pretty good sport when sick, though, and I do appreciate the extra cuddles. But I hope we have a healthier stretch ahead of us as I've caught most of what's he's had, too! You can see from the photos below that he loves to suck in his bottom lip - he especially does this when he's not feeling well.

Firsts:  

- He "celebrated" his first Halloween but I use "celebrate" lightly as all we did was dress him up for the block costume photo. But he sure was a cute hedgehog!

- We took him swinging at the park for the first time and he really loved it!

- He celebrated his first big holiday with my side of the family - Thanksgiving. Unfortunately I have no photos of others holding him since he was pretty fussy due to feeling under the weather. My mom did get some time with him on Saturday morning when she graciously took care of him and Paul so I could go back to bed - but I didn't get any photos!

- He also learned how to clap, do "so big" and give high fives. He has gotten really good at scooting around on his butt. We jokingly refer to him as Lieutenant Dan from Forest Gump! I know his doctor is going to say he's gross motor delayed at his 1y appt. At the 9m appointment she wasn't concerned as she said it was related to his temperament (he's just soooo content). We'll see what she says at his appointment next week but overall I am not concerned. Paul walked at 16 months thanks to his giant head on his tiny body. I thought Will would walk earlier but he may be on the same timeline as Paul was. It helps to have seen how little it matters in the grand scheme of things. I was so stressed about Paul walking late but I hope to be less stressed with Will. The gift of perspective is a wonderful thing!

Feeding: I AM DONE PUMPING! Did you hear me yelling with excitement from where you are reading this?? Ha. I still nurse him in the morning and evening each day and during the day on weekends, but at school he drinks whole milk from a sippy cup and water. He is eating the toddler menu at school and apparently is such a good eater that he eats off his friends' plates! Ha! His favorite foods are banana pancakes, mac and cheese, yogurt, bananas, and graham crackers. We try to feed him what we are eating as much as possible and he's a pretty good eater overall. He's learned how to drink out of a miracle 360 cup. 

Drinking out of a cup like a big boy!

Clapping at dinner at my parents

Sleeping: Meh. Sleep has not been great. Between all the illnesses and getting molars, he's getting up at least once a night usually but there have been nights where he's up hourly for a good stretch. I tell myself that this, too, shall pass. He goes to bed around 6:30 since he's absolutely exhausted from being at school and wakes around 6am. He takes 2 naps but the length of his naps is unpredictable!

Mama: I plan to do a post about being at the 1-year point soon so stay tuned!

We will have a low key celebration tonight. Then on Sunday some of Phil's family are coming over for a taco fiesta at lunch time. I'm making a banana cake with cream cheese frosting (thanks to Daily Candy for sharing a link to a banana cake!). Hopefully it turns out, but GF baking that includes fruit is usually very good and foolproof!