March 2010 Babies, Happy 1st Birthday!

[cocoanib]

So Mamas what's been going on?

Can you beleive our little ones our almost a year old!

I would love to hear how everyone is doing. Mamas and babies too!

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!     

Some questions to get us started

Height and weight if you know it?

What's babe eating/drinking?

Sleeping?

What's babe doing these days?

How's Mama doing?

Any birthday plans?

Everything else?

Post pics too if you like :)

[peacelove&camping]

hey! :) i'm new to the 'birth month club', so it won't exactly be an update, more of an intro :D but we're happy to be here now :) eb was born mid-march at 6lb14oz, on her due date via c-section [she was breech].

what's new with eb? well, she's finally got a tooth!  she's 11.5 months, and she just cut her first tooth yesterday! holy cow :) she was pretty miserable for a couple weeks, but seems to be perking up already.

her 1-year appointment isn't for another couple weeks, so she hasn't been weighed or measured recently. but i'm guessing somewhere in the low 20s for weight, and 28 or 30 for length. her weight gain sort of tapered off from about 6 months on.

she's eating *everything*  loves vegetables; she'd eat peas and tomato soup any day of the week. beets, okra, carrots, zucchini, peppers, shredded wheat, rice cakes, toast, chicken, hamburger, tuna, and beans beans beans. still just bm for liquids--she has a milk protein allergy, so we're coming up with a game plan next month at her one-year for what to do about liquids then--but she uses a straw cup like a champ :D

for a while, sleep was amazing--she was sleeping like 12 or 13 hours with no waking, from about 6 months to 9. then at 9, we had a couple weeks of accidental dairy ingestion by me, which screwed her up; then several nights of jammies i didn't realize were a little too short, so that bugged her, then that teething. so she hasn't really slept well for more than a couple days in almost 2 months. but hopefully we'll be back to normal very soon :)

these days, she's pulling herself to stand on everything! she had done it a couple times starting about 6 weeks ago, but in the last couple weeks she's gotten really good at it :) and her most newly-acquired skill is sitting herself back down!  and she crawls like a demon, everywhere and so fast. she can cruise a step or two, and stand on one leg while being supported, but that's about it. she recently discovered clapping-as-super-fun-game, and will do it if you only say the word 'clap' :) she's extremely vocal and always laughing, she has this crazy laugh she does that absolutely has\s me in stitches every time. she uses the word 'dat?' when she wants something, but i really don't think she means 'that', i think it's a coincidence, or mimicking but not purposeful word-using. she has signed 'more' and 'light' a few times :D she's a very snuggly, kissy, touchy kid :) and we're still wrapping on the front, facing in!  sometimes people give me funny looks because she does look a little big for it, but she loves it! she has also started purposely taking books down to sit and flip through the pages and look at the pictures :D for the longest she wouldn't sit still to be read to, she only wanted to chew on the books  but now she 'reads' them all by herself :D

i'm doing okay :) stressed about house and life stuff, but extremely happy as a mom and wife :)

birthday plans, ugh. i have a strong feeling that first birthdays should be at the house, i think it was inherited  but our apartment is too small for anything more than, well, us. i was so upset about that i almost completely boycotted a party at all. but dh talked me off the ledge, and we're having it at his firehouse, which i guess is about as low-key as you can get without being at home :) we're having immediate family [which is 9 adults and one kid] and two friends. just cake and hangin, nothing major :D

and for your viewing pleasure :D :

[IMG]http://i51.tinypic.com/2ylv1he.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i54.tinypic.com/2h38l7o.jpg[/IMG]

:D

eta: the pictures obviously didn't work.... i'll have to see if i can fix them later.

[cocoanib]

Thanks for the intro! Love the pics with the pig tails. That is one happy little girl and so cute.

We wanted a get together at the house too for DD's 1 year, but just like you our condo is way too small.

Even for the 12 people were having, it would be cramped. So, were having it at DH's job.

Height and weight if you know it?

She was 21lbs at an appt in December for an ear infection. I forgot how tall, but she's growing for sure :)

What's babe eating/drinking?

Still BFing mostly, but trying pretty much everything I eat. Our regular foods are smoothies, apple/pear sauce, organic puffs, beans and rice. She loves any fruits and has tried a ton of them.

Sleeping?

She does 2 naps most days. Ususally a mid morning nap and then one sometime in the evening.

She wakes in the night average of 2-3 times. I truly don't know because we co-sleep and I usually rub her back or get her on the boob and we fall back to sleep. Some nights it seems like and all night boob fest and others it's not as bad.

What's babe doing these days?

She crawls well and has started walking. She loves getting things out and putting them back and enjoys sitting in and pushing her radio flyer wagon. She tries to stand up in it. The scariest thing for me with all her movement is her getting hurt. She's taken a couple tumbles and I know it happens, but truly that's the hardest part of parenting for me. Trying to let her have fun without getting hurt. Sometimes I wish I could wrap her in bubblewrap and put a helmet on her, but I know that's not practical! Is it crazy that I'm thinking of getting rid of all our furniture and just getting a bunch of pillows for the ground. Seriously, our place is so small and I figure it would be safer and give her more room to roam around.

How's Mama doing?

All is well in Mama hood! I love it and am looking forward to more babies in a year or so. DH thinks I'm cookoo, but this past year has been so much fun and I've learned so much about my little girl and myself.

The only thing I'm having trouble with is my weight. I have yet to keep a consistent workout schedule and my eating habits have been less than great. Almost a year and I'm still not down to my pre baby weight. Ughhh.

Any birthday plans?

Were having a family and very close friend dinner. Would love to have it at the house, but it's too small, so were having it at DH's job. I'm cooking a bunch of vegan food, all stuff DD can eat and probably doing some sugar free cupcakes. I'm working on a video of DD's past year and so I'll show that. As for decor, I'm just making a fabric birthday banner that we can use for years to come, maybe some potted flowers and I'll have a board up with pics for a guess the age game and that's it. The focus will be on loving up on DD, hanging with loved ones and eating some yummy food. 

Everything else?

That's all I have for now! Life is grand and I'm so thankful for this past year with DD!

[skfmama]

Hey March mamas! It is craaazy that our little ones will be a year so soon!

Height and weight if you know it?

We haven't been to the doctor since Dec, but I would guess a little over 20lbs and at least 30in? He's starting to grow out of 12mo stuff, and depending on the brand is already in some 18mo clothes.

What's babe eating/drinking?

He's started drinking water out of his little cup (a little espresso cup) on his own. It's really cute! He's still nursing 7 or 8x/day, but he eats whenever we do too. He eats whatever we're eating, except we haven't introduced any wheat yet and we're still deciding if he can handle oats. He LOVES fruit, especially oranges, and gets mad when we peel the orange and he can see it but has to wait for us to get it ready. He's upped his solid intake for sure over the past 6 weeks or so and I think it's helped his sleeping.

Sleeping?

SO much better. At night he's up 1-3 times...and usually nursing a max of 2 times at night. I feel like a new woman with regular stretches of 5 hours. :) He's still taking 2 naps, but has longer awake times in between than he used to.

What's babe doing these days?

He's not walking on his own yet, but he has this little cart he walks around with. He can stand on his own but it scares him so he doesn't do it too much. Crawling, fast. Loves his stacker toy. Likes putting things into containers and taking them out. Sitting and looking at books. And he is SO funny. He has this fake sounding laugh that he does if someone else laughs. He likes to tease. He's started understanding us more - we can ask him where something is and he can (if he's in the mood) point to it. Or he'll go kiss his stuffed animal when we ask him. That's new and a lot of fun. No words yet, but lots of pointing and eh's.

How's Mama doing?

I'm doing pretty well. Loving the more sleep I'm getting and really enjoying playing with Samuel. I'm ready for it to get a bit warmer so we can get out easier. I want to start exercising more - I went running the other day and it didn't work so well. I'm pretty out of shape, and would like to get in shape before getting pregnant again (we'd love to get pregnant again at the end of the summer. or whenever, now that DS is a year old)

Any birthday plans?

DS and I will be on a ski trip with my family...DH won't be with us. We'll probably celebrate with a little low key party with my family and then again when DH and I are back home. I've made him most of his presents - I made a ton of beanbags out of scraps, and dyed some play silks. We might get him a book as well, we'll see.

[Snapdragon]

hi!

Ds has been scooting for a while but just last week mastered cross crawling. so adorable.

Don't know height and weight exactly but he is tall and skinny ( but not too skinny)

Eating tons of solids- eats many things and likes most.

Still nursing but not as much as before solids.

Ws doing great with EC but recently has been having some EC strike and choosing to poop and pee in his diaper more than the toilet- oh well, hoping that will change again!

Loves books balls blocks. Can sit and look at books. Says "B" for books and ball, and hints of other words.

Smiles and laughs a lot. (whines and cries sometimes too!)

Pulling up a lot, climbing. Loves playing with his haba blocks.,crawling around the house getting into everything.

Sings along to music!

more later baby needs me---

[SilverFish]

We already had our first birthday here!

 

Some questions to get us started

Height and weight if you know it?

18.5 lbs, 28 inches

What's babe eating/drinking?

little bits of everything. she goes back and forth on banana, avocado and sweet potato as her main favourites, but will try just about anything. i am trying to cut back on nursing a wee wee little bit, so am currently trying to offer food 5 times per day. mostly this is about me not being lazy and just whipping out the boob instead of schlepping to the kitchen and making us something, but also a little bit about me wanting to be able to leave her without milk for more than a couple hours at a time, and to slowly transition off milk during working hours.

Sleeping?

well! naps are a bit all over the place, sometimes one, sometimes two, sometimes short. nighttime is pretty consistently decent, with only one night (or early morning) waking.

What's babe doing these days?

Crawling, cruising, climbing all over. sometimes she looks like she's about to take an independent step or two, but nothing yet. no words either, but lots of wordy babbling and gestures.

How's Mama doing?

well (again)! lots of sleep is a big part of that. but she's just a lot of fun these days and a good little companion. right now i'm wrestling with the decision to go back to work, so that is probably the toughest thing i'm currently dealing with. health (mental and physical) are excellent.

Any birthday plans?

we went to Ottawa to see family and for DH to run a marathon. ate cake, went skating, spent time with the grandparents, went to a museum... a fun but packed weekend. on her actual birthday day, we had a small party with all our baby friends and mamas. dd has definitely inherited my sweet tooth as she went gaga for cake!

[Adaline'sMama]

Height and weight if you know it?

She is 17 lbs 8 oz,  27''

What's babe eating/drinking?

Everything. We arent spoon feeding at all, but she loves yogurt, peanut butter, eggs, all fruit, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, all bread, guacamole, cheese, and pasta. She loves to eat, but she is still nursing like a champ!

Sleeping?

Eh...She takes good naps. She nurses all night long though.

What's babe doing these days?

Trying to walk, talking up a storm, and remembering everything. She is mainly still crusing, although she can walk if I walk next to her and hold one of her hands. She says the following words:

hat, hot, cat, kit(ty), Mama, Da Dee, duck, la T (light), no-no (and points. She gets this from DH), na na (bananna). She signs milk  (nursies) and eat.

Yesterday she got the sugar jar off the shelf and figured out how to open it and strarted eating fistfuls of sugar (is it bad that I didnt stop this just so that I could take a picture?), today she figured out how to take the lid off a marker, and tomorrow she will probably learn how to fly to the moon. She is learning so quickly! She remembers things that are in certian rooms and makes a beeline for them as soon as we go into a different room.

How's Mama doing?

Wishing Id lost more of the baby weight by now. I cried when I saw the title of this thread. Its all going by super fast.

Any birthday plans?

Yes! Im baking a three layer cake. The bottom is a 14'' round pan, the second layer is an 10x10 square pan, and the thrid layer is a 6'' round pan for her. Its going to be hot orange with multi colored polka dots all over it.Dreamsicle flavor. We are getting a ridiculous baby tutu! Ill be done with her one year scrapbook by then, and hopefully DH will have made a computer slide show to be playing while the party is going on. We are getting her a trichair (wooden highchair/rockinghorse/desk).

[cocoanib]

I’m loving the updates Mama’s! Sounds like everyone is doing well J

Skfmama, DD does that fakey laugh too and it cracks us up!

Snapdragon, we are ECing as well and I’m going to go ahead and transition out of dipes and into potty pants by her birthday. I think she’s ready and it will help us get to the potty better.

Silverfish that pic of DD looking at the cupcake is so cute.

Adalaines Mama, that sugar pic must be too cute and funny! I love your cake idea. If I’m feeling up to it, maybe I’ll steal it for DD’s party and have that along with some cupcakes.

[Snapdragon]

Cocoanib- I am SO jealous that your ECing is working and you are getting ready to transition out of diapers! We are having a bad time with that for a couple of months now :( We started ECing right at 6 days old and we got a very good flow with it- for many months. Now I feed ds lots of solids ( I think sometimes more than I should but that is an issue I am always working on) and I think that is contributing to his recent total hate of the toilet! argh! We try both a regular toilet and a little baby potty. The one thing we never got down with it was the signing though- so that is a part we are missing. We were a bit half hearted about showing him how to sign when he had to go- but we did, but he never caught on with it- we just took him to the toilet a lot and cued. He son't potty at all for dh- and he will sometimes pee in the toilet for me and rarely poop- he used to pee mostly in the toilet and poop sometimes in it. Now it is so frustrating! We bring him to the toilet and he just seems to hate it and arches his back and doesn't want to go.  We try to little wooden potty we have and he doesn't want to sit on it. Sometimes I cue him for pees over a flat dipe or a towel. He usually poops when he is relaxing and playing and not really being bothered. I wish I could rememdy it! I try to be as gentle as possible with it- any suggestions?ib

Cocoan

[Snapdragon]

--

[Amandamanda]

Hi mamas!

Height and weight if you know it? Not sure on height but he is around 19lbs

What's babe eating/drinking? He likes to nurse like a newborn- meaning every 2-3 hours even at night- but he also eats table food 3 times a day plus snacks

Sleeping? HA! See above question.

What's babe doing these days? Practicing walking!

How's Mama doing? TIRED. But happy. So so happy.

Any birthday plans? Probably go to Disney World. He turns one on Wednesday!

Everything else? Here are some pictures of my Adam from the past week. Can't believe how big he is!

[gardenmommy]

Subbing...

[staceychev]

Hi Mamas!

We're doing great, except Evie has a little bit of a cold. She's about 17 or 18 pounds, but hasn't been to a doctor since her first well-baby visit, so the weight is the "weigh Mama alone, weigh Mama with babe" method. She started walking on Valentine's Day and looks so cute when she toddles around. She's still nursing up a storm, but loves to eat big kid food, too. She was chowing down on string beans and salmon last night. 

[cocoanib]

Originally Posted by Snapdragon 

Cocoanib- I am SO jealous that your ECing is working and you are getting ready to transition out of diapers! We are having a bad time with that for a couple of months now :( We started ECing right at 6 days old and we got a very good flow with it- for many months. Now I feed ds lots of solids ( I think sometimes more than I should but that is an issue I am always working on) and I think that is contributing to his recent total hate of the toilet! argh! We try both a regular toilet and a little baby potty. The one thing we never got down with it was the signing though- so that is a part we are missing. We were a bit half hearted about showing him how to sign when he had to go- but we did, but he never caught on with it- we just took him to the toilet a lot and cued. He son't potty at all for dh- and he will sometimes pee in the toilet for me and rarely poop- he used to pee mostly in the toilet and poop sometimes in it. Now it is so frustrating! We bring him to the toilet and he just seems to hate it and arches his back and doesn't want to go.  We try to little wooden potty we have and he doesn't want to sit on it. Sometimes I cue him for pees over a flat dipe or a towel. He usually poops when he is relaxing and playing and not really being bothered. I wish I could rememdy it! I try to be as gentle as possible with it- any suggestions?ib

Cocoan

Don't be jelly, we are not EC masters by any means!

We started some ECing right away and started pottying her own potty at 6 months. She still has'nt started signing, but were pretty good at signing to her whenever we say potty or we take her potty. One thing is I think DD actually prefers to go on the potty and not in dipes. She has had no problem peeing and pooping right away when it's time. There's only been a few times where she was'nt happy about it. I think that was when her poops became more solid from more food eating. It felt weird to her, so I would just hug her while she was pottying and tell her it was ok. I think she's used to the solid poop sensation now...solid poop sensation(that sounds funny for some reason) but you know what I mean :)

I think that moving to all potty pants while at home will help her even more and it will keep DH and I on top of things. I plan to get a ton of them and am not worried about "accidents" and things. We will just go with whatever she's ready for.

My only two suggestions would be, whenever he's not into it, take him off the potty to go do something else for a little while and then try again.

The other thing is, don't be hard on yourself at all about EC. It would be great if my DD has the potty thing down by 2, but if not, no biggie.
 

ETA- Another thing is how you were saying your DS goes when hye's relaxed. LO's do go easier when they are BFing and relaxed, so sometimes I will notice DD has to go right after BFing, so we go right away then. Sometimes I'll ask her if she needs to go while on the boob. If she unlatches, we will go then.

[cocoanib]

Amandamanda, love the pic of DS cruising on by. Looks like he's a walking pro :)

I might take DD to Disneyland on my birthday(in March as well) because it's free!
 

Stacychev, I hope Evie feels better soon!
 

[organicmom3]

Some questions to get us started

Height and weight if you know it?        Alexander is 26 pounds!!!!  That's my boy....  not sure about the height...I know it's at the top of the scale too, so all is proportionate...he's quite healthy!

What's babe eating/drinking?      He is still breastfed. All sorts of vegetables and fruits....nothing from the highly allergenic lists though...he absolutely loves to eat... .  also rice, oats, quinoa, and just a bit of wheat here and there (he loves zuchinni bread!)    we just introduced egg yolk.  I might introduce chicken shortly.  He's just beginning to notice that our food is differnt that his and is reaching for our plates....perhaps I should introduce more.

Sleeping?   UGH!  I'm the one that posted for advice and encouragement.... he was a great sleeper for the first 9 months and then suddenly not so good!  Instead of just getting up for 1-2 times for only about ten minutes to nurse, he's getting up between 3-6 times, very fussy, and staying up for 15 min to sometimes an hour or two! 

What's babe doing these days?  Well, other than keeping me up at night, he is adorable of course!  He still crawls with his butt up in the air....crawling on his knees must be too slow for him!!  He is cruising around the furniture like it's his job and has stood on his own several times over the last 2-3 days.   He has 5 teeth and loves to chew on everything....unfortunately, he likes to come over to where I"m sitting and chomps down on my leg from time to time.... his crying is pitiful when I yell.   He likes to pull the pieces out of his jumbo knob puzzle and throws them back onto the top....not getting into the slot, but seems to have the idea!  He loves his blanket and gets all excited when he sees it and then rubs his face into it.  He sucks on it at night like his big brother did.  He has said Mama and Dada but not often and I'm thiking he doesn't know what it means yet.....sort of disapointing t me as my other two were saying much more by now.  I know...I shouldn't compare or worry....

How's Mama doing?  Tired.....soooooo tired.....   loving the adorable moments but really needing sleep.

Any birthday plans? His birthday is the 30th.  He'll have his first cake!  His godparents have been invited to celebrate but we haven't made formal plans yet.  I figure it's more for us then him....he'll enjoy it no matter what ....

Everything else?  This is the first baby we have had in cloth diapers and breastfed for this long (my other two I only fed for about 4-5 months) and made my own baby foods for.... it's been a treat!

     We are still bothered by his excema.  We are seeing a naturopath physician for it....and treating it with a homeopathic remedy on top of Alexander and I taking probiotics and a supplement with omega 3,6, and 9.....and treating topically with oils.  We've seen improvement and will stick with that for now, but not as much as I'd like...actually we saw a lot of improvement and then went back for some reason....just can't figure it out.  :(   It's fun to see our older kids interact with him.  (They are 12 and 15)  Alexander was a big surprise and all of us are enjoying the blessing! 

[ciga]

wow, they've made posting pictures so much easier on here! just as a disclaimer, he can't balance this well in real life. My firend caught this photo in this perfect moment when DH had just let go of him before he sat right down.

okay so,

Height and weight if you know it?  well, I know he's more than 22lbs because that's what he was around xmas

    I just measured him and he's ~29in

   big boy!

What's babe eating/drinking?  anything and everything.  he LOVES stinky cheese, could probably survive on almond butter without ever getting tired of it, oaty o cereal is a fav, he likes water, once in a while he gets watered down juice. sometimes daddy will give him hemp milk when he's baby sitting.  Oh and he's still breastfeeding

Sleeping? well, if it is any indication I am most of the way through "the no-cry sleep solution" (I got it from the library on wednesday) and started logging our sleep related activities yesterday.  basically, I am beyond sleep deprived and got to a point where I couldn't take it anymore and was considering weaning and blah blah blah. Instead, I'm going for better sleep for everyone and night weaning.  I'll let you know if it works out in a month or so.

What's babe doing these days?  this kiddo is majorly active. he wants to get into everything and more. he's on the verge of walking.  He's getting steadier and steadier standing on his own and walking with one hand

How's Mama doing?  other than the sleep deprivation and a growing hatred of snow and winter in general I'm doing pretty good.  I started a new part time job working for a small chocolate company making chocolates. I work 3 days a week for a total of ~12-15 hours a week and I love it. Its my quiet time.  I actually just get to be me and be with my own thoughts. Now I just need spring and a bit of green!

Any birthday plans?  we're renovating a very very old house at the moment and we have a lot of stuff we need to burn so we were thinking of having a big bonfire party for him. during the day of course.  Hopefully we get some warm weather by the end of March

Everything else? I bought a mesh guard rail for our bed (ruben sleeps half and half in his crib and our bed) so I could get better sleep knowing he wasn't going to roll off and neither was I. last night as we were getting ready for bed Ruben bee-lined for the rail. stood up and proceeded to, very quickly, flip over the top of it. Papa managed to leap forward and catch him by the diaper and a leg.  Scared the crap out of DH.  I've never seen him so freaked out. Of course, Ruben couldn't care less.  This was all after about 2 hours of trying to get him to sleep.  awesome

[mum5]

Hi all, my baby is 1 today! I am sooo sad about it. This went by so fast, the pregnancy and the first year.

He is about 30 " and about 25 ish lbs,  ( 9lbs 3oz and 21" at birth ) We have a wbv on Wednesday so will find out for definate then.

Ds is such a happy baby, he loves all kinds of food, and eats well. He also loves his nummies, we are still going strong with that. I do hope to make it to at least 3 years for that.

We have not really with held any food from him. We have tried to avoid the usuals, honey nuts and shell fish, but he has had bread w/ honey in it and had pesto pasta, that had nuts in it, but we have no allergies on either side. We have not done milk as yet, but I don't really think that is neccesary with nursing.

He is walking standing holding onto things, pushes his highchair to get around or does a super fast combat crawl to get where he wants to be. He loves his sister's and his dada, and has a good vocab of his own words for things.

It is so great to be able to see what you all are doing, and see the little ones!

I am definately feeling like i want another baby, that I am not "finished" so to speak. Anyone else feel this way?

I am hoping that it will go away, as Dh definately is done.

Oh, and I have a carrot cake for his birthday in the 1 shape!

[gardenmommy]

I can't believe we're already posting about first birthdays!!  It seems like just yesterday we were all waiting for, or talking about, our newborns.  

Here's a bit of what's going on here:

Eleanor is about 20 lbs., not sure on her height.  She is such a petite little thing, until you see her undressed, and then she looks like a buddha-baby with her chunky thighs and fluffy tummy, hehe.

She is eating everything in sight, except bananas and avocados.  She gives me this look of utter disdain, spits it out, and tries to throw it as far away as possible.  Like, "WHAT in the WORLD are you giving me?!!  That was like poison, MOM!"  She LOVES chicken, turkey, eggs (esp. the yolks of my breakfast eggs), very tender beef, sweet potato, butternut squash, apples and applesauce, frozen blueberries, black olives, salmon, steamed broccoli, green peas, black beans, pinto beans, black-eyed peas....  I found some purees that are in a vacuum-sealed package (ella's kitchen, maybe?), and she likes those, too.  Good for the diaper bag.  We've been slow to introduce grains, since our babies tend to not digest those as well until they are a bit older.  However, in a moment of desperation (I was trying to finish something quickly in the kitchen, and needed to distract E for a bit), I gave her some cheerios.  Oh.my.goodness!  You'd have thought I gave her gold!  She loves them so much, she almost won't eat anything else if she sees the box on the counter.  She looked at me like I'd been holding out on her, and screamed (very loudly!!) for more when they ran out on her tray.  

She's finally figured out how to get water from her sippy cup, too, and is most proud of herself.  She loves drinking out of it, loves to carry the cup around by the spout with her teeth.  Other than very small amounts of water, she gets all her fluids from nursing, which is just fine with me.

Sleeping is sort of hit or miss still.  She usually takes one good nap in the afternoon.  Morning naps disappeared about 6 weeks ago, sadly.  She loves to nurse all night long, which is mostly ok with me.  I miss having long stretches of sleep, but am glad for her to get the calories and nutrition, since she is so busy during the day, she often won't nurse more than 2-3 times throughout the day.  Having been here with 4 other babies, I know this phase passes, and before long, I'll get more uninterrupted sleep.

How am I doing.  Well, mostly pretty well.  I've not lost as much weight as I'd like, but again, I've been here before, and I know it will gradually come off.  I'm looking forward to the warmer weather, and to being able to bike with my family to the beach this summer.  We have lots of plans for being outside and being active, and it's hard to wait for that.  I've been trying to get outside to walk a few times in the week, but that's not consistent.  The weather has given us lots of snow, ice, and slop, which makes it hard to walk.  I've had several falls on ice in the past, so I'm kinda paranoid about walking with less-than-ideal footing, esp. when I have the baby on my back.  But, that will soon be behind us, and when it is, watch out world, here we come!  

Birthday plans:  we'll probably just have a small celebration with family, and maybe one other close family that has a baby very close in age.  I have a GF carrot cake mix that I will make into cupcakes for E, and will make a chocolate cake for DH, whose birthday is the day after Eleanor's.

Everything else:  Eleanor starting standing on her own briefly, of course, at 10 months, and has gradually increased that until now she can stand for quite awhile.  She is so cute standing there, playing with something, and then just plopping down on her bottom.  She walks around the furniture, along the wall down the hallway, pushing a chair across the floor.  She will walk with me if I hold her hands.  She has taken a few *very* small steps to me, but then gives me the look of "wait, I can't do this", and sits down.  Very funny!  She has mastered the stairs, and can go up and down, although I can feel more gray hairs sprouting every time she climbs them.  She LOVES her big brothers and sisters, and wants to be where the action is.  She will leave me and go find them wherever they are.  Her laugh is totally infectious!  She makes us all laugh, and then that makes her laugh, and it's all good.  She is a great spirit-lifter even on the dreariest of days.  She has 8 teeth, and I think is thinking about cutting molars, although I can't feel anything yet.  

There is more, as I'm sure there is for all of us, but it would take a book to tell about it.  I love this age!  It goes so fast, and I am trying to treasure up every day in my heart.  

[cocoanib]

yay more updates! I'm so enjoying reading how everyone is doing.

Organicmom, I hope your sleep situation get's better soon.

Ciga, Looove the picture! I was gonna get one of those mesh gaurd rails, but decided against it for the very reason you posted.

DD is very curious and I know that she would just try and climb right over it. So scary, I'm glad your DH caught him in time!

Ella-makes3, I'm not done yet for sure, but my DH has his reservations too. Once DD is older, I'm sure he'll come around :)

gardenmommy, your Eleanor sounds alot like DD. She can make the saddest days into fun with a laugh or a smile. Your little girl sounds

so amazing. I'm right there with you on the weight thing. :)

If anyone wants to be FB friends post your link.

I'll post mine when I get home!