The Merfett

18 Months!

The past 6 months have gone quickly so I though it might be a good idea to do a little update on our tiny human.

Weight: We had his 18 month check up this morning. He’s still off the charts gigantic. 27.14 lbs and 35″ long. The Doctor has to turn a few pages on his graph to plot Riley’s sizes. He’s within the normal range for a 3 1/2 year old and average range for a 2 1/2 year old kid. I’m sure he’ll level off soon, right?! I was a little worried about his weight since he’s been less interested in meals and more into playing. We’ve had several feedings “on the run.” Where he takes a bite and he’s off again! The Doctor said that’s totally normal and most kids take a dip in their weight between 15 and 20 months because they are so active and curious. He said we’re doing well because Riley hasn’t dropped his weight percentile, it’s still in line. How, I have no idea. Smoothies and applesauce pouches are my go-to on days when he doesn’t want to eat. He said around 21 months his appetite will come back.

Health: We’ve had our share of colds and sickness this winter. It’s been rough. Especially when we’re both sick. I talked to the Doctor and he said during the winter every 3 weeks or so you can have a bug of some form. We get out and about a fair amount, but when I think about kids in daycare they must be sick all the time since it just rotates from one kid to another :( Nothing we’ve had has required Doctor visits or antibiotics, just lots of rest and recovery the old fashioned way.

Sleep: Wake up can be anywhere from 5:30am – 7:30am. 6:00am – 6:30am has been the most common lately. 7:00am wake up is my favorite! I hear him wake up and talk to himself for a while before I pull myself out of bed to get him. He’s pretty happy in the mornings if he’s gotten 11.5 – 12 hours of sleep. Less than that can make him crabby. Meltdown city during breakfast. On an ideal day we’re home for 2 naps. Morning happens about 3 hours after his wake up, so around 9:00ish. He’ll sleep until 11am and then take another nap in the afternoon from 2:00pm – 3:30pm or 4:00pm. We’re one of the few at this age that still is on a 2 nap schedule. But he needs it and I’m happy to have 2 breaks a day for resting myself! Somedays he get’s one longer nap and skips the second or takes a very short second nap – that often results in an earlier bedtime. Most of the time he’s in bed by 7:00pm or 7:30pm. If it’s any later, like 8:00pm he’ll still wake up at his normal time in the morning and be cranky from less sleep. No matter what you tell yourself, later bedtime doesn’t make for a later wake up. I wish it did sometimes! I’m thankful he has healthy sleep habits, and we’re planning to transition him to his new bed in his ‘Big Brother’ room in the coming weeks.

Nursing: He self-weaned at 15.5 months. I had been ready for a while, I was just waiting on him to be finished. I never really believed he would wean himself. When people said that the baby will self-wean I thought it would never happen. We dropped to 2x a day, after wake up and before bed. Then we dropped to just before bed. A few nights I asked if his was ready for bed, or wanted milk and he would reach for his bed and be happy to lay down. After 4 or so nights of that I considered us finished. It’s nice to be able to leave him for an evening if I need to. Since he never took a bottle we had been giving him milk in a sippy cup, but he’s never been into that much before bed either. He has a cup of 2% milk with breakfast and another with dinner and he’s good. The rest of the time it’s water, he’s a great water drinker, or if we go out maybe juice.

What Riley is up to: Walking happened around 13 months. Kelly was home to catch his first steps on video. I cried when I found out I had missed it, but I was so happy Kelly got a “first.” He can say a few words now, “Mama” “Daddy” “Buddy” “Doggie” “Betsey” “Hi” “That” and the rest is a constant babble. It’s really funny to see how serious he is with his conversations. He’ll babble and point, and nod his head like you understand. He’ll nod yes or no to a question. And get’s very excited when you offer him what’s he’s asking for. I try to present him with one suggestion at a time, “do you want an applesauce” and I can get a very enthusiastic ‘yes’ nod. I learned that tip when I was working with autistic children. They and their parent’s would get so frustrated when they couldn’t communicate. The parents would ask “what do you want? do you want this, or this or this?” The child would be so overwhelmed they would shut down and cry. The therapists taught the parent to present the child with 1 -2 options at a time, no more than 2. The child would make a choice, helping both the parent and the child to build confidence. There are times when he gets frustrated when I’m not getting it right, but for the most time I think we communicate pretty well. Sign language has been a HUGE help. I know boys tends to talk later than girls, so I always knew I wanted to teach him basic signs to help communicate so we could avoid tantrums from frustration if possible. He knows the signs for eat/hungry, more, please, bath, nap, phone, all done, and thank you. I think the signs for eat and nap have been so helpful. I can ask if he’s hungry or if he’s ready for a nap and he will agree, or he can tell me himself. Several nights he’ll ask to go to bed before I tell him. It’s awesome! He’s recently become very interested in reading. He loves reading his stories before bed and when I tell him it’s time for ‘night-night’ he’ll run into his room and climb into the glider and wait for me to join him so we can read. It’s probably my favorite part of the day.

Holding hands, it melts my heart!

We got a hiking backpack and it’s awesome!! Riley loves it, and will even take a nap in it!

Still one of my favorite pictures of him – at the Long Beach aquarium.

Halloween Costume

Looking like a big kid

First Snow!

His new trick

Disneyland!

Frist Ride at Disneyland

This kid loves his Daddy so much, it’s amazing to watch.

My heart.

PostPartum: I did my first Whole 30 Challenge in the Fall and wrapped up right before Thanksgiving. I was feeling so good about my body and myself. My body was happy and healthy – so much, that I got pregnant on Whole 30, ha! I’m 15 weeks so I’m still in the icky part where I don’t really feel and look “glowing.” It’ll come :) I still have some stretch marks from the last go around, but meh. It’s ok. I’m thankful my body had time to recover between pregnancies and I’m mentally preparing myself for what may lie ahead with a Newborn and a Toddler.

Baby Gear: Puzzles, shape sorting toys, wooden blocks, mega block “legos” and his Smart Trike. He’s really gotten into shapes and fitting things together which is fun to watch. He’s play is very precise, and he is so proud of himself when things are “just so.” His snack and water cup have to sit on coasters, he’s very serious about that – not sure who he got that from ;) He also loves opposites. Open things must be closed, and closed things opened. Shoes that are on must come off, and shoes that are off have to be put back on.

Thoughts: I love being Riley’s Mom. I’m so happy to be staying home with him, and I love our little adventures. We’re happy to get out and explore or stay home and play. I really never imagined myself this content being a stay at home Mom, but it’s exactly where I want to be right now. I’m trying to dig up memories of the early weeks and months with Riley and image what that will look like this next time around with a toddler. I want to make as many memories as I can with Riley before #Merfketeer arrives. Not all of our days are sparkles and giggles, but they’re all good in their own way. The highs and lows can be more dramatic some days, but it just makes the good days so much sweeter.