Jude, Eleven Months

Jude is 11 months old!

Time out. How can my baby only have 1 month left 'til he turns 1?!?! 

I know, I know. Moms have been saying this since the beginning of time. But I still can't believe it. The first year really really flies!

Weight

Welp, my bud is still only around 19lb, which means no weight gain since last month. We'll be seeing his pediatrician soon to make sure it's not being caused by a bigger issue. If I had to guess, it's just a combo of being a super active boy, super distracted nurser, barely eating much table food, and not being able to eat any dairy (he's still allergic to cow's milk). Please pray it's nothing more than that!

Height

We'll see how tall he is at his 1 year appointment next month! But for reals, he's a TALL boy, just like his brother. And since he's skinny and tall, we've got a bit of a string bean baby on our hands.

Sleep

Not gonna lie, sleep has regressed a fair bit. Naps are still stellar. One or two awesome naps a day. But the overnight has become a one- or two-feedings-a-night thing again. For most of the month, he just needed one feeding between 3am and 5am, and then would go back to sleep until 7am or 8am. I wasn't thrilled, but was totally on board with it because he definitely *needs* extra calories at this point. But as of this last week, it's also a 12am or 1am waking/feeding, plus the other one. So yeah, we're tired again over here. Once we get his weight back on track, this boy is officially being night weaned, gosh darn it. 

^^The many stages of a happy Jude.

Firsts this month
-Stands unassisted for several seconds!
-Tried to take the world's tiniest first step. I think walking is right around the corner!
-Claps when we say "yayyyyy!" or when others are clapping.
-Waves and says "bye bye" when prompted.
-Shakes his head no when we say "no."
-Signs "more" when he wants more food.
-Climbs from the bottom to the top of the stairs (with close supervision, of course).
-Gets into EVERYTHING. Opens all the drawer/cupboards. Unravels the toilet paper. Pulls folded laundry apart. JUDE THE DESTROYER.
-First word: "All done!" which he pronounces "aww DUH!" and says when he's DONE with high chair or crib time, totally unprompted!
-New dance move: sways back and forth, in addition to the bounce he's being doing for a while now. Cute central!
-Opened Christmas presents and instinctively knew to tear into the paper.

Nicknames
Boo Boo
Jude the DESTROYER -- John Paul especially likes to use this one as Jude pulls apart his toys.

Other things to note
-I thought he was really starting to get the hang of table food last month, but apparently not. This month he basically picks at his food and eats like a bird. Sigh. I promise you we've tried ALL the fatty non-dairy foods: avocado, coconut milk, coconut oil, egg yolk, nut butters . . . this boy just doesn't want to eat enough to chunk up. So for now, we still nurse a bunch, basically every three hours during the day. I'm praying my milk supply can keep up with his demand, even a year out from birth, because I can basically promise you he won't like the special formula we'll have to give him for his dairy allergy.

-Big brother John Paul got the woorrrrrsssttttt stomach bug I've ever witnessed. It lasted <are you ready for this?!?!!?> 3 weeks!!!! That's vomiting and diarrhea for 3 very long and yucky weeks. Thankfully he's on the mend now. And Jude didn't catch it, which is honestly a miracle. PRAISE GOD! But I do wonder if his stomach was still somewhat affected and maybe that is what caused him to barely each much this past month? Anyway, knock on wood, this house is finally vomit/diarrhea free and we'd like to keep it that way for a long time now. Kthanx.

-Current favorite foods: smoothies, peanut butter, hummus, and french fries.

-This boy is PERSISTENT! Way more so than his brother was at this age, if I'm remembering correctly. For example, he lovvvves trying to touch our TV speaker whenever we're watching a family movie and it doesn't matter if we pull him away from it 100 times and say no, he'll be right back at it a minute later. And he crawls over to it super fast and looks back at you with a huge grin because he knows he's doing something he's not supposed to. It's pretty hilarious when you get right down to it. Hilarious and a little exhausting. It's so fun to see these parts of his personality now.

-I really think this boy will be walking by 1. He's got it all down, he just won't take a confident first step.

-I took an Instagram poll about whether or not he should get a haircut before 1 and the internets agreed: 45% YES // 55% NO. So I guess I will be persuaded by peer pressure and not cut his fluffy locks until after 1. But srsly, it will probably be the day he turns 1 and I won't be sad, not one bit. I'm ready NOW. It's the husband who says no no no, not allowed until he's a big boy 1-year-old. Meh.

-When Jude gets tired, he'll crawl around until he finds a soft spot, and lay his head down on the ground for a few seconds, I think to signal to us: PUT ME TO BED NOW, PARENTS! It's really the cutest thing ever.

-EDITED TO ADD: How could I forget?! Jude got his first big booboo this month. He was playing on top of our carry-on luggage bag and his brother went to pick it up to roll it around. Jude must've been chewing on the edge of it as he fell because next thing I know, he's completely slid off the luggage and his bottom left tooth is sticking out and bleeding. It was so scary in the moment, though thank GOD he's completely fine now. As it turns out, baby teeth can set back into place even after they've been partially pulled out like that. It was wiggly for a few days, and his gums got torn up a fair bit, but now it's solid as ever again, completely normal. Is this a small preview into the life of a boy mom? My momma heart just can't handle seeing her littles get hurt!

^^Not pleased with having to sit still for Christmas pictures.

We love you, Jude! What a fun 11 months it's been. Here's to the last month of your first year being the best yet!