Twelve Months

If you had told me twelve months ago that this little baby of mine

would grow into this gorgeous little girl in just twelve short months, I’m not sure I would have believed you.

At Caroline’s well child visit, she weighed in at 21 pounds (50th percentile) and 29 1/2 inches long (70th percentile).  A healthy little girl!

This month, we introduced cow’s milk and more solid food.  Our doctor gave us the all clear to give Caroline anything and everything.  So we have!! This little girl loves to eat, though she is becoming a bit more choosy about her food.  For example, out: veggie burgers in: bison burgers.

At this point, Caroline is completely weaned during the day and I can put away my pump! We are hanging on to the morning and bedtime nursing sessions for now.  I am so happy and grateful that we were able to hit the goal of breastfeeding for the first year, though it is such a relief not to worry about fitting pumping in to the work day anymore! 

Now, Caroline’s schedule looks like this:

6:30/7: wake up, nurse
8:30: breakfast with milk
9:30/9:45: snack with water
10: nap
12/12:15: lunch with milk
2:30/2:45: snack with water
3: nap
4/4:30: snack with water {sometimes if she’s hungry}
6: dinner with milk
7: nurse, bedtime

We offer Caroline water throughout the day.  She does not drink a lot of cow’s milk, in fact, she is nowhere near replacing the amount of breast milk she used to drink with cow’s milk. Our doctor is not concerned given that she eats cheese and whole milk yogurt without a problem.

When Caroline isn’t napping or snacking, she is very, very busy.  She loves to open and close things, especially doors, take things in and out and she is madly practicing her walking skills.  She can take up to five steps without assistance, but if I hold one of her hands she can go further. 

Her vocabulary is expanding.  Two days after her birthday she finally said mama.  I’ve never heard a sweeter sound in the world.  She has also added up {with arms raised} and she tries to mimic words and sounds that we say.  She understands everything we say, especially when we ask her to do something.  She may not be able to speak to us completely, but she responds in her actions and facial expressions.

To celebrate Caroline’s birthday, we spent the day at the zoo!  More on that later this week

Baby girl, you are more than Daddy and I ever hoped to have in a child.  We love you so much and are so excited for everything that is to come.  You make every day brighter, just by being you.  Sweet, sassy, funny, smiley, snuggly you.

This will be the last update focusing on Caroline’s development.  While I love writing these posts, I don’t think my blog is the place to share them anymore.  Thanks for understanding!

Tagged as: baby