Dear Quinn,
I'm going to be oh-so-honest and tell you that I've been dreading 11-months-old for a while. Don't get me wrong: I am thrilled that you are getting older and that my sweet boy is growing. However, I'm so sad that my baby only has one more month of being a "baby." Soon, you'll be a "toddler," and your babyhood will be a distant memory. Being 11-months old is an exciting time, but it's also a time to savor you being less than one year old. This time last year, I was still pregnant, I was apprehensive about how a new baby would change our family, we were preparing for your arrival and going back and forth on names, and we had no idea just how blessed we were about to be by you joining our family! This time NOW, we are so in love with you. You continue to bring joy and happiness to our lives every day. You've had a crummy month being sick so much - again! But, once we figured out what was going on with you each week, we would get you back on track to being that smiley, happy, loving, sweet boy you are.
Honestly, not much has changed since last month with a few exceptions:
-You can stand independently for a long time, and you know you can do it. You test yourself more and more. You are very proud of yourself when you show this skill off, which makes me SO happy. It's always awesome as a parent to watch my child develop confidence and to have a front row seat to watching you gain self-esteem and pride! You do things while standing - like dancing or holding a big ball over your head. Or....
-Clapping!
-You are taking a couple steps on your own. You doubt yourself too much, though, and you often just slowly lower yourself to the floor before allowing yourself to keep stepping. But you SO want to walk! You love cruising around with anything that will serve as a walker: a chair, a toy stroller, even our kiddie table - just pushing it across the room with a big smile on your face.
-You've been sick more days than healthy. You had a cold, another throat infection, an ear infection, and developed eczema this month. (Daddy's even joked that you've been on more meds some days/nights than an elderly person! Zyrtec, Zantac, Tylenol, Motrin, Amoxicillin, Benedryl/Maalox mix, Mucinex, saline spray, VapoRub... you're a crawling pharmacy! But, Dr. B says this is all very "normal" for a second child. I'm so sorry!) And, even though I just took you to Dr. B for your ear infection recheck yesterday and were perfectly healthy, last night you couldn't sleep because you were so congested and then had a drippy nose all day today. Perhaps you're finally getting teeth??
-YOU STILL HAVE NO TEETH!!!!
-You were also diagnosed with laryngomalacia and GERD (reflux) this month. After months and months of loud, congested-sounding breathing, snoring, and gagging while eating table food, I took you to an ENT, Dr. M, who scoped you to see what was going on. Basically, when you breathe, your "breathing pipe is a bit sucked in" unlike a normal breathing pipe that would stay strong and open. Yours is a bit softer than it should be, and you were born this way - but with time, it will improve as the pipe becomes stronger, sturdier, longer, and stiffer. Because the pipe pulls inward, it acts as a pump, pulling stomach acid up - hence the GERD. So, Dr. M put you on Zantac for a few weeks, and since we didn't notice a great deal of improvement, we started Prevacid this morning. We're also using saline spray 3-4 times a day to counter the acid that can irritate your nasal passage. We'll see how the Prevacid works and visit Dr. M at the end of this month to see how you're doing. I will say that after reading up on this, I'm glad we've been putting you to sleep on your tummy since day 3! Maybe mother's intuition? Who knows, but it seems that this position actually helps kids with this condition!
-We started dairy this month, and you love cheese! Not so big on yogurt (or cottage cheese) yet, but we tried it a few times.
-You play more games - like peek-a-boo and "So Big!"
-You understand so many words: "up," "bottle," "no," "eat," "more," "all done," "water," "cup," "nap," "paci," "high 5," "bye-bye," "hi," Banner," "Mommy," "Dadddy," "Grandma," "toy," "snack," "lunch," "dinner," "lay keppe (head)". . . just to name a few! :)
-You went to your first circus this month, and we celebrated Daddy's birthday yesterday. You've been able to really get down and play at outings this month, too - at Hope Park, at the Splash Park. You are definitely liking your independence!
-But you are also still very clingy and don't want Mommy or Daddy out of sight. You are extremely sweet and affectionate. You like to lay your head down on our shoulder when meeting a new person. You give hugs and kisses, and you love to be held (unless the freezer or dishwasher or dryer is open!).
This coming month will conclude a whole year of firsts - first holidays, first seasons, first meetings of so many people, first smiles and laughs and grasps, first rolls and sits and claps, first tastes and waves and steps! But it's also a year filled with lasts - last midnight bottle, last swaddle, last baby bath, last baby food, last nap in the Moses basket, last "first." And yes, there are still so many firsts and lasts to come, but it's hard for my Mommy heart to let go of you as my "infant." So, yes, I've been dreading this month. I know I'll be nostalgic as we approach your first birthday, and I know I'll be savoring every single day before your big day. But, then again, that's no different than any other day this year - no different than any other day after. I just love you so much, Quinn, and I want you to know how proud you make me. I am so blessed to be your mommy. Thank you for these past 11 months. I'm so looking forward to celebrating your first birthday in a few short weeks, but I'm (not-so-)secretly hoping they go slowly!
Happy 11th, Sweet Love.
I love you so, so much!
Love,
Mommy
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| You're playing Peek-a-Boo here - sometimes you cover your ears, sometimes your eyes |
