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Life with 1 Year old



  Life is pretty interesting with a 1 year old. The fact that we kept a child alive for a year is a miracle in itself! We have been beyond blessed this past year (and the 9 months of pregnancy) that Draygen has been such a healthy boy. He has had very minimal problems so far, Praise Jesus, and even did really well with his last round of shots, no fever, no crankiness! He is growing and learning so much.

Food

     We are officially off formula now and onto whole milk. Yay! No more arms and legs for cans of formula! I'm at a weird limbo stage though, when it comes to food. I'm kind of experimenting to find out what big people foods Draygen will actually like/eat. It's difficult too because his bowels are getting used to these new changes too. Thankfully he likes Prunes...lol. I have a ton of baby food left over from Wic and Draygen doesn't really want to eat it, except a few of his favorites. So to get him to eat fruit and veggies, I'm giving him smoothies. Mixing the baby food with his milk and he really seems to enjoy it, he drinks the whole thing down! So yay for that!
     I am trying to give him more freedom when it comes to feeding time. This is difficult for me. I suppose I am a bit of a control freak and do not want to deal with a huge mess on the floor, in his chair and all over him (especially when he just had a nice clean bath the night before!). I know I need to let go and let him learn. I'm trying...it's hard, the OCD tendencies are screaming NOOOO!!! deep inside me, but I'm ignoring them so that my boy can explore and learn to feed himself. Tonight was the first time he actually got the spoon in his mouth with a bit of food on it, twice! So I think he is slowly getting the concept and functions of a spoon. He does hand feed himself a lot and he's good at that. I am noticing more and more though, when I try to spoon feed him, he shakes his head no a lot. Once in a while, I'm lucky to get a few bites in, but tonight, he really was showing that HE wanted the spoon and HE wanted to feed himself. I'm proud of him despite me wanting to control the mess.

Sleep

     A while back, I talked about Sleep Training and the failures and successes and stresses you will experience. As I said we finally were successful with it. But then well...things happened, and I'm afraid that Draygen is not as sleep trained as he was. I know we could do it again, given the proper circumstances but it's very difficult in my household. He wasn't feeling well a few days and I babied him during bed time and am afraid I un-did the sleep training. Don't get me wrong, it was great when It worked and I was so happy when he was falling asleep on his one within the first 5 mins of laying down, but I was not consistent enough and so things are not as easy as they were back then. That's ok though. Many children grow up fine without sleep training. So many people and "experts" try to scare you into thinking you will ruin your child's future life if you don't do this or that just right. Yes, bedtime can be a struggle and no he's not sleeping through the night...but as my husband and I have discussed, a lot of that has to do with household circumstances and when he has his own room, it will be a lot easier. I believe then we could do the sleep training again and have it stick.
   
Play

     Now that Draygen is a walking 1 year old, his play has changed so much! He is so much more curious and he is learning so much, so quickly! It's fun to watch him grow and learn. One thing that is really cute and entertaining to see is how he looks for emotional cues from me. Today an neighbor who adores him brought her puppy over. Draygen had met the puppy once before and was a scared of it. This time she was holding the puppy and I held Draygen. He was afraid to touch it, and cried a bit. I could see how unsure he was of this new situation with this strange creature before him. I tried to put him down a couple times but he cried and clung to me. I tried to show him that it was ok by petting the puppy myself and telling him to be gentle and that it was ok. Then something adorable and amazing happened! Draygen leaned in to look at my face to see my expression. He was smiling at me, and I realized I had been smiling while petting the puppy. Draygen looked at me again to see my smile, and felt reassured that in fact, it was ok to pet the puppy and he slightly reached out to him. I was so proud!! lol (such a mom thing, I know) But the fact that my little 1 year old was looking to ME for emotional cues to know if the situation was safe and good, was amazing to me! I really felt a connection and communication between us.

     Of course things aren't always perfect. He does throw his fits and get's quite angry when things are taken away from him, but again, he's learning. I'm trying to talk to him like I would to anyone, and explain, even if he can't fully understand, that I'm not trying to be mean when I take things away, that its either for his safety or that I'm trying to help him. Hopefully he will get the point some day. lol Every day he is learning, growing, changing, before our eyes, it's exciting, emotional and amazing. I know I'll miss these days, but I know there will be more. Especially as he learns to talk, to read and to do things on his own. I'm so blessed and excited to keep learning along with him.

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