Life with an almost one year old

Life with an almost one year old sure is busy.

 

Ansh is going through so many incredible changes. It’s an amazing age, yet challenging too. I can see his frustration with wanting to do so many things all at once, but not quite having mastered all skills yet.

He loves doing things to get a reaction. He is easy going when being held by new people. On the flip side, he is learning to assert himself with mom and dad. He loves to put up a HUGE fuss when getting his clothes changed, face wiped, etc. It’s like end of the world dramatic.

 

He is now pulling himself up to stand on everything. He’s always looking up… thinking what can I pull myself up onto next? One of his favorite habits is to crawl over to Ashish or I and grab onto our hands and pull himself up to stand. We cheer him on and he just beams with pride, looking back at one of us to say, did you see that? It feels so good to be able to help build his confidence.

He’s a super speedy crawler, he screams when he crawls sometimes, as if to rev himself up. He zooms over to the fridge, microwave or dishwasher whenever I have it open. If I drop any food on the floor, I can be sure he’ll have it in his mouth. Silly boy!

The bigger challenge is with his feeding lately. He has been slamming his body into his high chair over and over like a wild animal wanting to be set free. He seems to be getting a real kick out of it because he knows it gets a reaction. Then he laughs and giggles like crazy.

Nursing has it’s own challenges now that he is more active. He loves to squirm, kick, pull my hair, giggle, FLY OFF, etc. Such a stinker. Sometimes he just giggles and then I laugh and we’re sitting there laughing when he should be getting sleepy, but what can you do. I want to embrace all these silly moments because I know they won’t last forever. But I do absolutely cherish when he’s sleepy and calm, like before a nap or early in the morning. It’s my “zone out” and relaxation time and I can feel the stress melt away when he’s in my arms.

He hates diaper changes. They went from being easy breezy to feeling like I’m wrangling a wild animal. It’s so hard to change him now that he’s so active and mobile. He will often flip and start crawling in the middle of it and then pause to look back and laugh at us. It’s the cutest moment.

I’m gearing up for his 1^st birthday party. I can hardly believe how fast the time flew by. It’s going to be a grand celebration. I’ve chosen a Dr. Seuss theme and I’m making all decorations myself. I’ve been working on it for 3 months now and I’m very excited about it. There will be some 70-80 people. Somewhere in the crowd there will be a mom creepily-staring at her baby while hiding her eyes swelled with tears and smiling. Yup, that’ll be me. I’m going to lose my shit when we sing him happy birthday, I just know it. It should be fun. Who said first birthday is only for parents ha?

Only 1 months to go now!! And just like that, my baby will be a toddler in the blink of an eye…what a beautiful, crazy, wild, mind-blowing year it’s been. It just keeps getting better.

The big one-oh!

This little dude, hit the big one-oh this week!! How did this happen? I blink and he is a month older. The number scares me more than seeing him grow. Seeing him change and transform into a mobile, light hearted, silly, bright little baby is the best reward each day. I think I need to get over this whole idea that each month the number goes up and that all of a sudden he won’t be my sweet little baby anymore. I mean, he just gets better and better every day. It literally kills me when he smiles at me when he spots me from across the room. I melt into a puddle when he crawls into my lap, he wants me (his mama) and he makes that so clear all throughout the day as he leans out of whoever’s arms are holding him into mine. I know it’s selfish, but I’m okay being selfish when it comes to him. Ashish and I, both want to be the one who makes him smile and laugh until he squirms. He is the best part of us, I can’t believe together we made him.

I mean, just look at him. I wanna spread him on that waffle and eat him :)

A lot has changed this past month. He is mobile in every sense of the word! He can sit up from a laying down position (and that is his favorite thing to do when I lay him down for a nap), he loves to pull himself up to a standing position, he ‘tripod crawls’ all day long, quicker than I can chase him. He is so busy and into everything (especially wires, ropes, strings, anything handing and dangerous … lol). The other day, he was chewing on a piece of stem that he dug out of my flower pot; and the day before that, the tip of door stopper had to be pulled out of his mouth.

Sometimes he leaves the room completely destructed that amazes me. He tends to focus his attacks on specific areas of each room in the house. After spending his first months conducting reconnaissance, I believe that he has discovered the spots that can cause the most havoc in the least amount of time. It’s like, in his head, he is saying, “I need this, and this and this. Oh, and I have no idea what this is, but I most definitely need it.”

Making dinner while trying to keep a baby intact is a special challenge that I recommend for everyone to partake in. I try to rotate the actual toys in the kitchen to keep things fresh and to keep him interested, but apparently, nothing beats the siren song that emanates from kitchen cabinets.

The bathroom is known by parents world over as the great respite. It is the 5 to 10 minute vacation paradise where you get to relax for a few minutes and catch up on internet-y things while, umm, shedding a pound or two. At least, this is what I’ve heard. When you’re alone with a baby, you have no choice but to leave the door open, and this means entertaining the dude so that you can partake in your most private and personal matters.

He has learned so many social ques, it’s as though I am hanging with a little dude all day and not just a baby. He has taken interacting to a whole new level of fun! I love grocery shopping with him, because he smiles at every person and if that person smiles back, then follows a long conversation involving “aooooo”, “baaaah”, “aaeeee”. He specifically likes cash counters because the cashiers are sweet enough to talk to him and keep him entertained while I pay. If it was upto me, I would spend all day at the grocery store ;)

He likes to be constantly entertained. No sitting around for him. He especially dislikes diaper changes now, because they require being still, and he doesn’t know how that works.

Oh! He can clap. He likes to clap at everything. He claps at every bite he takes, every step he climbs, every person he meets. He just likes to celebrate everything :)

This month we were a little adventurous and took him to Mexico. He loved the sun, laid on the beach, swam in warm water, and it was bliss. But he was also a little uncomfortable due to his teething situation. He was in pain and you could see it, but he did enjoy most part of the trip.

He has started giving us hugs and slobbery kisses, and we just melt. He is the center of our world. 

9 months already!

I can’t believe you have officially been out of my tummy now longer than you were in it. When I look at your updates, you don’t even look like the same baby I brought back from the hospital. You are now a moving, babbling, crawling, busy almost- toddler. Some days I don’t believe it that I have a 9 month old. I feel your first birthday looming around the corner and it makes us ache. Watching each month pass is still bitter sweet. Watching you learn, change with each passing week is such a blessing. But packing up each box of little clothes that no longer fit you, makes me long for the days you were scrunched up like a little froggy newborn.

You are keeping your mom and dad on their toes these days. You waited long enough to crawl. Really, it took you 9 months. But now that you are moving, we can’t keep up with you! You are a little explorer, wanting to check every piece of fuzz on the carpet, every reflection of yourself in the oven, every tissue paper in the garbage can. Really! I can’t take my eyes off you for one second.

Your personality has changed so much in the past few months. You babble all the time, and even sing songs. You know how to fake-cry and you surely know how to real-cry.

We know when you are unhappy. You fuss, and arch your back and hit. I know it’s hard not being able to use words yet, especially when you are teething.

Some days are hard (and I blame most of it on teething), but most days are wonderful. You are such a happy baby. You are the center of our world, baby. We adore you and love you more than the day we brought you home.