Holy cow, we have a ONE YEAR OLD! It doesn't seem real at all, but according to the calendar Wesley is now over 12 months of age. I look at him, and he doesn't look any different or older to me. He doesn't look like a toddler. Well, apparently he is, and all I want to do is rewind the clock and hold my tiny baby so tightly that he can't grow any bigger. While I wish such an irrational thought as that were true, it isn't, and I instead
Size: Dare I say, this child has finally grown a touch? Yes! We've retired a few pair of footie pajamas recently. Even though he still fits in a few 3-6 month zipper jammies, the sleeves are a little short, and there isn't much room in the feet. Wesley's 6 month pants are a little short, even though they still fit fine in the waist. The next size up we have in Simon's hand-me-downs is 12 months, which are mostly too big for Wesley's tiny waist. I think that 9 months is probably a better fit for Wesley across most infant clothing brands out there.
Health: At his 12 month well baby appointment Wesley measured 29.5 inches (33rd percentile) and weighed 18 pounds, 10 ounces (11th percentile). This weight is 2.5 ounces less than what he weighed on our home scale at 10 months and 11 months old. Our pediatrician wants to see Wesley increase his caloric intake, mainly with table food, which shouldn't be an issue since he happily eats everything we put in front of him. Poor baby was also seen by the doctor for a nasty cough stemming from his first chest cold, as his previous bugs in the past have all been head colds irritating his sinus passage. Although it sounded awful, the cough passed relatively quickly with lots of extra fluids and the help of Wesley's new humidifier he got for his birthday. (Thanks, Laura!)
Feeding: Wesley wasn't regularly eating three meals a day before his birthday, but his meals with solids usually included a LOT of food (much like his Daddy and older brother, they can all eat like it's going out of style). He ate everything at Thanksgiving dinner including turkey, mashed potatoes (minus the green onion Eric added), green rice casserole, candied yams (minus the marshmallows), green beans, and a little bit of pumpkin pie! New foods that he enjoyed during his twelfth month include Cheerios, ravioli, and pierogi. Wesley is starting to do better with larger pieces of food and shows more control and patience with how much he puts in his mouth, although there are still occasions where he's too excited and shoves way too much in there. He loves to eat apples by the slice and even bit into a whole apple that he shared with Simon and Cho-Cho. Wesley happily drinks lots of water from his straw sippy during the day and is still nursing on demand.
Sleep: Nighttime slumber is coming a little easier these days. Wesley is only waking about twice a night now, which is a welcomed improvement. When he had a stretch of nearly six hours, it made for some much needed rest for Mommy and Daddy. Wesley's back teeth are still working their way out, so I don't expect him to be sleeping completely through the night until all them have come in. For this reason, I see no point in transitioning him out of our bed if we are still continuing to get up two times a night. Naps are pretty scheduled with one in the late morning and one in the mid-afternoon. I've noticed that we have an extra cranky baby if we deviate from that schedule for whatever reason, such as if we're out running errands or attending a get-together.
Milestones: We have had fun encouraging and cheering on our bug as he figures out walking. In his twelfth month Wesley could stand independently for a few seconds at a time and even managed a few steps. This happened mostly when he was distracted by something and not paying so much attention to holding on for support or maintaining his balance. He's very skilled in walking while pushing an object such as our lightweight Lego table and his Mega Bloks scooping wagon Cho-Cho got for his birthday. I've noticed Wesley squatting more, which is a funny-looking position for him, and his ability to sit up from lying on his back is now an effortless transition for him. His memory is amazing as he's learned the entire layout of our house and crawls from room to room with purpose. That boy knows exactly where to find me when I'm in the shower and will abandon play with Daddy to come greet me while I'm getting clean.
Likes: This busy body cannot be contained when he's curious and determined. Wesley loves to crawl onto the fireplace bricks way too much. It makes me nervous that he'll hit his head, regardless of the fact that we've yet to build a fire in the house since it's been cold. To keep him away from danger and injury, we blocked off the fireplace with a 6-panel play yard that our neighbor across the street gave to us when she was getting rid of a bunch of her grandson's baby items. The gate also worked wonders doubling as baby-proofing the enticing Christmas tree. Wesley's arms are long enough to reach over the top of the gate, but aren't long enough for him to actually get a strong enough hold of anything and cause damage. Other things Baby enjoys getting his fingers on are the toys we keep in toy bins between the car seats in both cars. Wesley knows the drill and automatically reaches into the bin for something to chew on as we prepare to buckle him into his seat. He is also fond of dumping out baskets or containers of toys at home and putting the items back in one by one. He'll repeat this process over and over, and I clap to give him praise of this new skill that will later lead to learning how to clean up.
Dislikes: Although he's very much a social butterfly, Wesley was being more clingy during his twelfth month and wasn't as accepting of being held by other people. He would happily go to the welcoming arms of any of our friends when we were camping back in August, but this changed into fussiness and immediately reaching back for us when in the arms of anyone other than Mommy, Daddy, or Cho-Cho (my dad is still watching Wesley for me when I'm at work, so Wesley is very comfortable being with him). Wesley was only somewhat cooperative when being held by Pappy and Auntie (whom came home to visit!) during Thanksgiving and his birthday party, as well as with other party goers and with various friends at additional events. I know that his shyness is a natural part of development as he enters early toddlerhood, but I do look forward to seeing Wesley more easily enjoy interacting with different people in our lives and being comfortable in their company.
Social: While in the comfort of his most familiar faces Wesley is very active and talkative. I'm finally convinced that "Mama" and "Dada" have meaning to Wesley. When he crawls though the house on a quest to find me, Wesley chants "Mama" the whole time until we meet with smiles. He also says "Dada" when Eric arrives home and greets him with an excited and happy face. Wesley can wave and says "hi," can sign ALL DONE and has tried to voice it as well, and is making tons more babbling sounds like he's carrying on a complete conversation with himself or anyone else close enough to hear. My new favorite communication from Wesley that I absolutely cannot resist is when he crawls over and reaches up as a request to be picked up. He spreads his cute, little fingers as far out as possible and always has the best, most happy expression on his face.
Other Updates: Our first Halloween as a family of four was very fun. We'd already warmed up our costumes at the ASL Harvest Festival earlier in the month, so we were excited and ready to get dressed up again for trick-or-treating. James and Lilly joined us at Laura and Lucian's house, which made it really special to be with Pappy and Uncle Ben for Wesley's first candy haul experience. I wore him in the Tula as we navigated the neighborhood, and he did a really good job keeping on his minion hat while I carried his bucket full of treats. Both he and Simon made out pretty well and got lots of chocolate to share with Mommy and Daddy! We also celebrated Wesley's last "First Holiday"--Thanksgiving--with a turkey dinner at our house. Pappy and Cho-Cho dined with us, and Auntie and Teresa visited with the boys later in the evening. I was so happy and grateful to share this holiday with everyone in our family, especially our two boys. We look forward to another year of celebrating and making memories together with our darling Wesley Woo. We love you so much, Baby Bear! Thank you for coming into our lives and giving us joy and love greater than this whole world.
Check back about Wesley's birthday party in separate post!
big boy growing up fast!
last night as an 11 month old!
fabulous dinner position
cozy nighttime with Mommy
Auntie home!
