My little tiny baby has now been earth-side longer than he was inside. He’s been here longer than I was pregnant with him. How did pregnancy drag so slowly but these 9 months have gone by like a whistle. All I know is that my baby boy is now a little boy, no longer baby boy (sob sob). He’s lost all of his baby-ness and you can really see what he’s going to look like as he gets a bit older now. I keep thinking about him turning 1, and it’s both very exciting and very saddening at the same time. We don’t plan on going all out on a huge party, we’re planning on just having family over to enjoy some cake.
Everyday this little chap surprises me with something new, whether that be something clever or something very naughty, he’s just loving keeping me on my toes. The time we’re spending together now is getting more and more special each day. He loves chase and hide and seek mostly. Don’t you think it’s scary how ‘peopley’ they become so quickly, a few months and suddenly they are this amazingly unique human being? When they say no two babies are the same, they really mean it.
We’ve come back from our first holiday as a family and it couldn’t have been more perfect. The babies acted marvellously the whole trip, they slept well and ate well. I think we were all quite surprised.
Size
So I got round to getting him weighed (finally!) and he’s 18lbs 4oz. Which is on the lighter side of what he should be for his age. But all I know is that he eats a lot and he moves around a lot. He’s just an active little boy. So I’m perfectly happy with that and not at all worried about his weight. He’s still in the 25th percentile (he was in the 50th when he was born but dropped to 25th pretty much straight away), so as long as he’s steadily putting on the pounds it doesn’t bother me. He’s still in his tidily size 3 nappies… I’m not actually too sure if he’ll ever leave them. I think he has a little baby butt.
And of course he’s still in size 6-9. Although annoying I bought him Halloween and Christmas clothes in 9-12 and I really don’t see him being that size in three weeks let alone three months. The difference in sizing between 6-9 and 9-12 is ridiculously large… I just don’t get it. I swear the 9-12 sleep suits are about a meter long… surely Theodore is no where near a meter?!
Development
More than anything it’s his mental development I’ve seen grow this month. He’s really started to clock on to things, he is understanding what I’m saying or asking of him the majority of the time now, and he’s also reacting to that. If I tell him no he copies me by shaking his head. He also shakes his head at me when he doesn’t want anymore to eat/drink.
He’s begun to help me tidy his room. When he notice’s that I’m packing his building blocks away he starts to get them one by one and put them in the tub, finishing with the lid. Although he thinks this is a game and wants to knock them all out again to tidy up all over again… certainly defeats the object. He’s almost mastered high 5’s and kisses also now, it’s so lovely that he’s just starting to learn about these little things in life. Everyone is so concentrated on teaching their children to walk, talk and poop in the toilet that these simple things get pushed to the back.
He squeals in excitement at a good game of chase. He’ll chase me and I’ll chase him, in and out of rooms until we’re both out of breath. He’s such a little boy now and it’s a total joy to see.
Character
I’ll say it again, cheeky cheeky chap. This boy knows when he’s doing wrong (touching wires, radiators, opening drawers and doors) and he’ll look at me to watch my reaction. It’s so difficult just telling him “no” all the time. Honestly it gets boring and it feels like I spend the whole day saying it. But I know consistency is key here, and the more I push that something is wrong he will eventually learn. But he’ll always test me and give me a cheeky smile whilst he’s doing all these things. I know that he just wants a reaction from mummy.
Lately I’m not sure if he’s going through a leap or teething, but most night’s he’s been waking up at 5:30am (he used to sleep through till 7am) demanding a feed. It’s very tiring, especially since we’ve been used to full nights sleep since around three months old. He goes straight back to sleep after, but it feels like the hazy newborn days making a bottle in what feels like the middle of the night. We’re certainly hoping that it fades out and he’s just got himself stuck in a little routine of waking at this time. I kind of messes our whole day up in terms of his routine, but I’m *really* hoping I can get him back on track this week… somehow.
