Henry Lately: Always Growing, Always Changing
This week on Facebook, I polled you guys on the kinds of posts you’d like to see more of on the blog and “Henry udpates” topped the list. Not a huge surprise at all, haha! 😆 Baby updates are fun and cuuuuuuute. The people will get what they want!
And, hey, any excuse for me talk about/share photos of Big H is fine by me.
Let’s start with the BASIC UPDATES:
Henry is 13-months-old now! He has four teeth (top middle two and bottom middle two) and one lower one on the way, is constantly growing his dirty blonde hair with a few curls in the back (we call that area his “duck butt”), and is about 25 pounds. During his last doctor’s appointment we learned he’s in the 91st percentile for weight and 85th for height. He’s got muscular strong legs, his dad’s complexion and sensitive skin, and gets super excitable over the simplest things! His goofiness makes me happy.
He’s cruising furniture left and right, standing alone here and there, and has taken a couple steps. We went to an outdoor summer concert last week and he was standing alone a lot. It was awesome to see. He gets nervous to stand and try to walk, but we know it’s just a matter of time and we’re in no rush to watch our baby fly. We like cuddling this little crawler up as much as we can. (You should see him crawl, too.... he is FAST. Like in one room and then blink, in a different one.)
He’s recently started dancing (mostly just bouncing or swaying back and forth), climbing up on the couch and tapping on windows, and helping me when I dress him (he’ll push his arms through shirt holes… it’s super cute).
Some of his FAVORITE THINGS include:
FOOD - This little one can eat a ton. And we joke that he loves all the same foods I love—bananas, blueberries, peanut butter, oatmeal, avocado, bread, cheese, pancakes… Don’t be fooled, he eats pretty healthy too—and loves greens, beans, meat, eggs, and fruit too. A diverse eater. 😜
The great outdoors - Ever since being quarantined in mid-March, we go on family walks every morning around 7:30/8. H gets up very early, usually by 5:30, so we take a nice 1-2 mile walk before his first nap of the day around 9. He absolutely loves being pushed in his blue SmarTrike. We head down our main street, take a left and do a few loops around the park. We tend to see the same people every day. By the time we’re back home, he heads down to nap and I start my work day for real (I usually do some work around 6:30/7am to start).
In the afternoons, he adores his water table, swing, sand box and picking up leaves and sticks (and sometimes chewing on them… whoops).
Sam Jr. and “Pengie” - These are his favorite stuffed animals. He adores them and either holds and hugs them tight or lays on them. It is simply adorable to witness him and his buddies.
Naps - He’s such a great napper. I feel very lucky. He takes two a day - 9 and 2 (give or take, depending on his wake time). We can pretty much tell when it’s nap time and with the comfort of his blanket, he falls asleep within minutes. Sometimes naps are on the go if we are out running an errand, touring homes (we're house hunting), or seeing family, but for the most part, he naps comfortably at home.
Bedtime - I don’t know why exactly but H gets really excited for his bedtime routine. He knows exactly what’s happening when we dim the lights in his room, brush his teeth, change him and read a book before bed. He flips the pages and smiles a ton. It’s quite possibly one of my favorite times too. We squeeze him with love and say our goodnights. He’s a great little sleeper, snoozing from about 6:45/7-5:30/6 most days, unless he’s teething or feeling unsettled.
Getting into things he shouldn’t (lol) - Cabinets, trash, recycling, outlets, cords, closets, laundry baskets… you name it, he wants it. We are constantly chasing after him and hoping he doesn’t eat or nibble on things. Oh, H!
A few of his LEAST FAVORITE THINGS include:
Diaper changes - They are a struggle for us. He flips over almost immediately and it can become quite tricky unless both of us are doing it (luckily we’re able to right now being home together). Sometimes we use a phone, sing, or play with toys above his head to distract him. As they say... the struggle is real.
The noise of his motorized truck - He got an awesome truck as a birthday gift, but he just isn’t quite ready for it. The loud motor-like noise it makes when you press the button causes him to get startled every time. I know he’ll love it eventually, but wow, feelings!
Peas - not a big fan, lol.
When others are upset - We had some friends over with their babies and as soon as one of them started crying, Henry would burst into tears too. He would frown and truly get upset to see his friend so unhappy. It was weirdly heartwarming. I later looked that up and found it meant that he’s learning how to be empathetic towards others feelings, and that really made me feel so hard. He is a sweetheart.
When I leave the room - We are in a serious separation anxiety phase and it is both precious beyond belief and completely frustrating at times (like when I’m up against a work deadline or trying to make a call). H is glued to my hip. I can barely make coffee, use the bathroom or make a meal without him clung onto me, begging to be held. I know it’s a developmental thing and is completely normal, but wow, it can be a lot sometimes.
I will just take it as a compliment. 😘
Anything musical - He’s big into his mini drum set, our guitars, and just music in general. I hope he grows to be a music lover like mom and dad.
A recent precious moment I want to remember, hence me writing it down now:
Oh, do I have a good one. I’ll savor it forever.
The other morning, he was up crying earlier than usual around 4:30am. I gave him some time to calm down but when he wouldn’t settle, I went in to lay with him (he has a twin bed in his nursery). What started out as a five-minute cuddle turned into two hours! I couldn’t believe that when I woke up it was close to 7am. We had both dozed off so comfortably, all cuddly under blankets, and it was seriously the best thing my heart could ever want. I felt completely present in the moment when I woke, taking in the sweet smell of his hair and his little body in my arms. I love that I can bring him comfort in that way. And vice versa.
I don’t want to ever forget how perfect that felt. He is the sweetest boy and I am the luckiest mom.
Can I just say how awesome being a "boy mom" is? I freakin' love it.
Things we’re WORKING ON are:
I know it’s normal for bottle-fed babies to become really attached to their bottles/milk, but we’ve been trying to slowly wean him off the bottle in general. I read it takes babies sometimes up to two years to move on but I think the sooner, the better. He will still cry out for it and most times we end up giving it over, but hopefully within the next couple months, we can replace the bottles with sippy cups. It’s funny because he will use a sippy cup for water, but when it comes to milk, he just wants his bottle. It’s definitely a comfort thing.
If you have any experience or tips with this, please let me know!
Standing and walking continue to be things we are working on getting him more comfortable doing. We encourage him and give lots of positive reinforcement. I love to watch him explore movement and his strength.
We are trying to get him to use silverware more. He is pretty good with a spoon, you know, when he wants to be. Otherwise, it's all finger foods for now. 😉
Basic requests like “May I have that please?” or “Can you give that to Daddy?” are new parts of our everyday language with H. He’s doing really well with this and really likes to share his toys and (sometimes) his food with us. He will crawl over and hand me things just to see my reaction. I love it!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I feel so entirely lucky to have this time at home with my son. [You can read more detail about that here.] I dreamt of these moments as a mother and here I am, holding and caring for the most darling boy I know and it fills me up to the brim of my existence. He is just my all-time favorite human and I cannot wait until he grows to be the person he is meant to be.
(Okay, lastly... REAL talk - Do we have like any similarities that you can see? Like even one? Asking for a friend... 😂)
♥️
Ari
