13 Months

The monthly stickers don't go past 12 months, but I couldn't let March 12 go by and not acknowledge that Gavin is now 13 months. Each day is no longer his first time being around, but that doesn't mean we aren't seeing a lot of new things still. (No, he isn't eating the bar below just playing with it!).

His development is constant! He loves imitating us so he can do lots of fun things now and even try to put a word to it (da, ma, ba, sh and variations of those sounds). The answer to the big question we get lately ... no, he is not walking yet. He can motor around crawling and pulls up and surfs along furniture, and as of this week stands on his own for extended periods of time. He is completely mobile - just not on two feet yet! Many of you know we have not been actively encouraging walking so we are just fine with him taking his time.

Early I posted about our baby sleeping woes. We thought the sleep trouble was from molars coming in, but we haven't actually seen or felt them back there. Now we are wondering if it was a growth spurt (apparently it is common for one to happen at 55 weeks) and/or a sleep regression before his standing on his own/maybe walking soon development. Plus the time change didn't help! 

From the Sleep Lady site, "The term ‘sleep regression’ is used to describe the periods of time when your baby who otherwise slept through the night suddenly begins to have uncharacteristically frequent night wakings, and may even have napping issues. Sleep regressions usually last anywhere from two to six weeks, and then your baby’s sleep patterns return to normal as suddenly as they changed." Along with, "I find the most pronounced, although temporary, sleep problems occur as a child is learning to walk."

We are going to go with that since it makes us feel better and gives us hope he will return to consistently sleeping through the night again soon. Stefan has a few middle of the week trips the next few weeks, so come on, Gavin, let's get this and the sleeping issues settled! 

Its been rough, but I make myself stop and reflect that being up with our healthy, amazing baby is a tremendous blessing, even if it is several times each night. So ... on we trot and embrace that this is our version of parenthood for now! 

One big change is that a few days ago I made the decision to wean his last two feedings. He was still nursing morning and night. I've enjoyed nursing and am sure there are aspects I will miss, but I feel the physical drain now and believe it is time for me to fully give my body the break. As of a few days ago, we are down to just one feeding before his bedtime routine, and we'll do that for about another week then try to give that up as well. 

Besides that we are trying to enjoy the spring weather (despite it being a bit up and down) before the summer humidity hits. We hope everyone gets spring weather sooner than later since you all definitely deserve it up north!