Charlie 11 Months

Oh sweet child of mine, I'm slacking this month.  It seems like the 11th month came and went so fast.  I realized Sunday night that Charlie would be turning 11 months the following day.  So I opened up my Notebook app to see what notes I had jotted down throughout the month and this is what I saw.

I can say without any doubt that Charlotte has been busy this month.  So busy in fact, that she didn't even give her dear, sweet mom a chance to put down some notes.  No, can't blame it on the baby? 

Speaking of baby, it seems in this month my baby went to a toddler quickly.  At the beginning of the month I can distinctly remember telling someone (or many) that I didn't feel like she was a toddler yet and she still felt like a baby to me.  Well not anymore! The baby is vanishing so quick, I feel like it's smoke that I see but can't grasp.  

- Charlie learned how to walk with assistance.  She can walk independently while pushing her blue elephant.  The first time she did this was for Steve and I on a Friday evening.  And like any good parent would do, similar to her crawling experience, we made her do it over and over while videoing. 

- OVER baby food.  No more, no sir. In the beginning her gag reflex was still pretty evident so we transitioned to the Gerber graduate foods.  Anything she can pick up and feed herself is a win in Charlie's book.  Depending on what we're having for lunch or dinner, we'll feed her what we're

having also.  She does not like the carrots that mama makes.  LOVES bread, all the bread, all the time.  She also is getting use to using a fork and spoon on occasion.  Sometimes its more of a throw toy but it's a work in progress.

- This months Charlie has also discovered the sharing nature she has.  As in, she loves to throw food on the floor to let the dogs get bites too.  She'll also casually drop her food covered arm and hand to the side of the high chair and the dogs will gladly clean her up. You have to be paying good attention to her to catch this act before it's too late.  

- Working on the sippy cup.  More so, mama is working on remember the sippy cup.  She'll use it like a champ and loves water, but 8 times out of 10, I forget to give it to her.  

- Still drinking four 6 oz bottles of formula a day.  Sometimes this will vary depending on the day and who's she's with, but generally that's what she has.  When she hits 11 1/2 months I'm going to start transitioning to whole milk I think.  

- This month was a blissful month of sleeping through the night.  One or two wake ups in the middle of the night that resulted in her coming to bed with us.  It's not a habit I want to start, but it was kind of nice to cuddle with my baby again.  

- We continued with swim class this month.  Although we missed a few, she's finally starting to splash in the water and smile a teeny, tiny bit! Progress! 

- Bath time got moved back by a half hour this month.  Now we go for bath at 7 pm.  We let her play and splash the whole bathroom for around 15 minutes.  It takes another 15-20 minutes to get her dry, diapered and clothed! From there it takes around 30 minutes for her to drink her bottle and finally fall asleep as we rock.  

- It's odd but nap time and bed time routine has changed again this month.  Charlie use to let me lay her down in her crib and she'd fall asleep on her own without too much fuss.  Now a days, I rock her to sleep for both nap and bedtime if I have any hopes of her going to sleep.  I feel like we're regressing but at the same time, in my gut it feels right.  She'll make the next transition on her own. 

- Still on Zantac twice a day

- Still experiencing some "stranger danger" tendencies.  She won't full out scream, but she pouts and curls into mom or dad tighter.  

- Experiencing some grass this month with the warm weather! Not a fan.  Ha! She will leave one foot down and hold the other leg, foot up. Like a dog that doesn't want to step in the cold snow.  It's fairly amusing to watch.   

- Wearing 9 months clothes.  Size 3 disposable diapers.  

- No height or weight to report as we haven't had any recent doctor's visits (thank goodness) But I'm pretty sure our little tiny baby is getting some chunk! 

- Speaking of size, she's probably at the 20 lb weight limit to turn her car seat forward but I figure we've come this far with rear facing, might as well make it to her birthday! She still hates the car seat in the evenings.  In the mornings she's fine for her daddy.  But he generally seems to be the only one.  She isn't a fan of the rear facing situation at all, but it is what it is.  

Goodness, this little baby is going to be a whole year old in one more month! It's so amazing to watch her learn and grow with each day.  Looking forward to what lies ahead!