Oh boy, this update is late! Sixteen days late to be exact. Life with an almost 1 year old sure is busy. =)
My little monkey ZOODLE, that’s what I call her when I get her from a nap. haha. Adriana is going through so many incredible changes. It’s an amazing age, yet challenging too. I can see her frustration with wanting to do so many things all at once, but not quite having mastered all the skills yet. I’m just trying to be there for her as much as I can and reassure her that she’s doing great. She’s just entering another leap so I can sense that she’s feeling a bit off lately, but aside from those challenges she is a very happy baby. She loves to giggle, smile, baby talk (oh my is it ever getting cute), and just generally being a stinker. She loves doing things to get a reaction! She is easy going when being held by new people. She went to a party the other weekend and was held by just about everyone and didn’t seem to care at all. On the flip side, she is learning to assert herself with mom and dad. She loves to put up a HUGE fuss when getting her clothes changed, face wiped, etc. It’s like end of the world dramatic.
She’s now pulling herself up to stand on everything. She’s always looking up…thinking what can I pull myself up onto? One of her favourite things is to crawl over to me or Eric and grab onto our hands and pull herself up to stand. We cheer her on and she just beams with pride, looking back at one of us as to say, did you see that!? It feels so good to be able to help build her confidence. She’s a super speedy crawler (I call it sprint crawling because she screams when she does it as if to rev herself up) – and always trying to get into things. She currently loves trying to follow me into the pantry – I have to be quick. And she zooms over to the fridge or dishwasher whenever I have it open. If I drop any food on the floor I can be sure she’ll have it in her mouth. The other day I found a piece of raw onion in her mouth….silly girl.
Breastfeeding and solids are both going strong. I’m still nursing on demand about 6 times a day. She has always been a milk lover. Her new favourite thing is to crawl over to me, pull herself up, and try to pull down my shirt! This could get awkward in social settings. She is also doing well with Baby Led Weaning and she gets 3 meals a day. I had many doubts and fears about BLW in the beginning (mainly choking), but it’s been incredible for her.
Here is our BLW story in a nutshell, taken from an Instagram post the other week:
We tried BLW around 7 months and she wasn’t interested in the food at all…just threw it around (which in hindsight I see was just part of the exploration process). So we switched back to homemade purees with very little success. She was NOT a fan of purees and mostly just pushed the spoon away from her face. We started to get discouraged…so then tried BLW again around 9 months old and never looked back. It started off very slow (with lots of gagging reflex) but after a couple weeks she started to figure things out. This time she was ready. Two and a half months into BLW and she’s so excited for meal times now. She screams with joy and will try absolutely anything. I’m sure this will change when she asserts "no" as a toddler, but I still hope it’ll help her develop a positive relationship with food. It’s been amazing to watch her learn on her own (and through watching us eat too). My own learning experience has been that all babies go at their own pace…try not to compare. Trust YOUR baby. this applies for everything, and as they say "under 1 just for fun".
This Baby Led Weaning book is incredible. I wish I read it months ago!!! Highly recommended.
Her favorite foods right now are: avocado, butternut squash, sweet potato, kidney beans, pastured eggs, zucchini, broccoli, apples (we can’t eat an apple without her anymore…or any food for that matter…she eyes us until we give her some). We let her try what we are eating and she’s enjoyed things like lightly spiced curry, chili, stew, veggie burgers, homemade fruit sorbet, etc. The only difference between our food and hers is that we don’t salt or sweeten her food. So if we make veggie burgers we will split the batch, salt our half and not salt hers. It’s a bit of a hassle, but not a big deal. I read that salt is hard on their kidneys at this age so I’m trying to avoid it.
The biggest challenge with feeding lately? She has been slamming her body into her highchair over and over like a wild animal wanting to be set free. She’s been doing this for over a month or so. It makes this huge banging sound and I worry about her hurting her head because she whips herself back so hard. She seems to get a real kick out of it because she knows it gets a reaction. Then she laughs and giggles like crazy, especially if I try to hold her head from doing it again! lol. If these walls could talk, eh? From what I’ve read online it’s very common for babies to thrash in their highchair. At least, that’s what we’re consoling ourselves with. We usually just take her out of the chair when she starts with the hijinks because I interpret it as a sign that she is done or bored, but then I worry she didn’t eat enough. *shrugs*
Nursing has it’s challenges now that she is more active. She loves to squirm, kick, pull my hair out (ouch), giggle, FLY OFF me when finished, etc. Such a stinker. Sometimes she just giggles and then I laugh and we’re sitting there laughing when she should be getting sleepy, but what can you do. I go downstairs and tell Eric I pretty much woke her up because we were giggling and being insane. I want to embrace all these silly moments because I know they won’t last forever. But I do absolutely cherish when she’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 she’s in my arms. Hello, hormones! It’s like a drug.
Sleep has made progress in some areas and setbacks in others. First, the good: She is sleeping through the night about 3-4 times per week (knocking on wood here). *insert praying emoticon here* Now, this doesn’t mean that she doesn’t wake up in the middle of the night, but she’s able to fall back asleep on her own after a brief cry or fuss. It’s awesome, especially after almost a year of getting up between 1-3 times a night. I think there is so much emphasis on having babies sleep through the night at a super young age, it’s easy to forget that it’s normal for them not to (just like it’s normal for some babies to sleep through the night early on!). I remember feeling like we were doing something wrong because she wasn’t sleeping through the night when my other friend’s babies were, and now I see how silly that was. Now, the not so good: bedtime. Whomp, whomp. She fights bedtime so much for the past few months and it usually takes a minimum of 1 hour before she’s asleep, sometimes two hours. Sometimes she just plays in her crib and chats while other times she cries and we have to go up there to soothe her. Naps have been pretty awesome (when she’s not skipping them). On a good day, she’ll nap just over an hour in the morning and up to 2 hours in the afternoon. This has helped me get so much work done which has been great because my second cookbook manuscript is due end of Sept.*insert praying emoticon here*
She went through a period where she had a meltdown every time one of us tried to give her a bath in the baby tub. It was stressful. So I remembered what some of you said and I tried having a bath with her instead. Oh man, does she ever LOVE it! No more tears after that. Bath time is fun again. Baby tub is OUT. I guess she just wants to be a big girl now? Her favourite thing is splashing the water and soaking me. Why would she want to go back to a baby tub after that? I sure wouldn’t.
I forgot to mention the state of diaper changes! They went from being easy breezy to feeling like I’m wrangling a wild animal. It’s so hard to change her now that she’s so active and mobile. She will often flip and start crawling away in the middle of it (when we’re changing on the floor, that is). We have less issues when using the change pad (with a belt) in her nursery, so maybe I should get one of those for downstairs too. I’d love to hear any tips on how other parents wrangle their kiddos! ;)
I’m gearing up for her 1st birthday party. I can hardly believe it. Our house is going to be packed with friends, family, and Adriana’s friends. Somewhere in the crowd there will be a mom creepy-staring at her baby while hiding her eyes welled with tears and smiling. Yup, that’ll be me. I’m going to lose my shit when we sing her happy birthday, I just know it. It should be fun. Here is a sneak peek of the colour scheme. Who says the 1st birthday party is mostly for the parents? ha….I would be guilty as charged. I’m having way too much fun planning the décor and food. My mom and stepdad are coming for a week around her birthday and I’m so glad they will be here to celebrate with us. Only 2 weeks 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.
Aww I loved this update. She sure is great with other people. I was slightly nervous before I held her that she would cry her eyes out but nope, she gave me a goofy grin and made my heart melt. She is such a sweetie, can’t wait to see the pictures from her 1st Birthday!
My baby is 11 months too! I sometimes struggle with what to feed her. She is currently eating a vegetarian diet with very little dairy (raw goat’s milk only). Do you steam your broccoli, zucchini and apples for her? Or, how do you cook them? Any chance you might be doing a baby/toddler cookbook or posting recipes? Happy 1st bday to your daughter!
My girl will be 1 on the 19th! They are so close in age. I give my girl something to be distracted with when I change her bc I was having the same problem. It’s usually her toothbrush.
You’ve probably answered this, but why do you include eggs?
Thanks for your perspective!
Hi Angela
My son just turned 2 on Monday so I totally know what you mean. Time FLIES by! Enjoy every second. If you do not have a bedtime routine already, I would suggest that to help her go down. We’ve always done bath, milk, brush teeth and snuggle. Now he’s not keen on sitting still to snuggle so for awhile now I have been taking him into his room and reading him several books. We read by a lamp instead of the bright overhead light. Then we turn out the lights and lay on the guest bed while I sing his prayer song and good night song I made up and he snuggles on my chest. I snuggle with him til he falls asleep. I know I probably shouldn’t have started that habit since he would go right down before on his own but I enjoy it and I know I don’t have much longer that he will let me do it. Soak of every minute.
As far as the changing diapers on a bucking bronco, the only thing that works for us is for him to have a toy or something to hold or we just keep him distracted singing songs. I think all kids hate having their diaper changed.
Hi Angela!
I’ve been following your baby posts since your early pregnancy. Our babies are 2 weeks apart so it was very interesting to follow. I have an 11 months old very active boy. Seems like our babies are very alike. My son hates changing clothes and its a wrestling war every diaper change. He also just started sleeping through the night a few days a week and i felt that i was doing something wrong when he didn’t and all my friend’s kids did. My ped said its becasue breastfeed babies sleep not as good as formula fed.
I saw that you are feeding eggs to Adriana and wanted to ask if you also feeding diary or fish? It is difficult to find a lot of information about vegan infant/toddler diet. Do you think that eggs are essential for infants? If you have any good books/articles that you can recommend on the subject of vegan diet for toddlers it would be great!
Thank you
I’m having the same issue with vegan diet, I can not find enough information about what to give them. Now I am just giving her what I eat and she is very strong!
I saw that you’ve been feeding Adriana “pastured eggs”… Like chicken eggs? :( Are you not vegan? Just curious.
Hey Angela!
I love reading about what your little girl is up to! My baby girl is about to be 11 months on 9/29 and it has just flown by! They are so fun at this age, aren’t they? My daughter, Meadow is a little jokester right now! She loves to make us laugh and I love to see her smile and hear that adorable giggle. When she wakes from a nap, I love seeing that sleepy smile she gives me. I totally get the dramatics with diaper changes. Meadow is the same way! End of the world lol.
I love how she can just crawl over to me now and she loves to pull herself up with my leg and stand there. I am constantly cheering her on all day for things that she does and she seems so proud of herself.
I was cracking up when you wrote about the dishwasher and fridge bc that’s exactly what Meadow does. When I have the fridge open, she loves to rush over to the gap and look at me and smile and laugh from the other side.
I’m feeding Meadow 3 times a day now too. At first, it was a little daunting but now it’s a breeze and she loves trying new things.
She will be 1 year old next month and I am blown away at how fast time flies! I will definitely be shedding some tears that day but it will great to see her eating her cake and enjoying the day!
Oh I hear you about the diaper changes!! My daughter just turned 18 months, and we have tried toys, singing, ANY random item to hold (diaper cream, wipes, baby thermometer, hand lotion, kleenex box, etc etc etc), which all worked for awhile, but now I think she’s onto us! Now the only thing that works is watching short little videos of herself on my phone (bad mom!!). Doesn’t matter if I change the venue (floor, couch, change table), the little monkey just flip flops around like crazy. She really does like watching silly videos though, so that may work for Adriana as well. Love the updates. I agree that it just keeps getting better. My favourite age thus far has been 15 months until now – hands down. My child was never a great sleeper, but when she hit 15 months things just sort of fell into place and she went to bed like a dream and slept through the night (which is a bloody miracle let me tell you). So glad to hear how much you are enjoying your little one. They really are incredibly fun (even when they are stinkers) aren’t they?
It’s nice to see how the little ones progress. My daughter is 18 months and she is so busy. It’s great to watch them learn something new every day. We are surley blessed to be a aprt of it.
What a sweetie! I have to add that refined salt is bad, but it is very heathy and beneficial to add pink himalayan or celtic sea salt to food (good for all ages). There are many beneficial trace minerals our bdies need. Check out the weston a price foundation for great information on feeding babies. :)
My daughter just turned 11 months so we’re also planning a 1st birthday right now! I was wondering if you were doing some sort of cake for her. And if so, would you be able to share the recipe? It’s been difficult finding a healthy but tasty looking recipe for a 1 year old. I was thinking of doing something with pumpkin since she likes pumpkin and it’s the perfect time of year for it… Any suggestions? Thanks!
Hi there!
Primo : thank you for sharing such yuminess!!
Secundo : our daughters are about the same age! She will turn one next week and I was just peeping to find that yummy coco cream recipe to use as icing on her birthday cake! I was just extra curious to maybe have a sneak peek at what type of cake you will prepare!
I was thinking of icing a cake with the coco cream and maybe also some avocado raw chocolate pudding and adding some fruits as cute toppings.
It’s very fun to read you and I’m gonna wish your little stinker a very happy birthday and congratulate you on your first year of being an awesome mommy!!
Cheers from Montréal!
OMG with the head banging. We never had an actual high chair, just a booster on a wooden chair, but my daughter started banging her head on the wooden chair back around a year old. She would start banging her head backwards and if we didn’t take her out right away, she would throw any leftover food on the floor. I would tie tea towels around the top of the chair back, so she couldn’t hurt herself. It was so frustrating. I finally gave up on the booster around 18 months and just let her sit on the kitchen chair.
Hi Angela! I am also a mom to a 4 year old and 10 month old and recent follower to your blog just curious if you already do or plan to have your daughter also follow a vegan lifestyle?
Loved this post! Can totally relate to it :)
I’m new to your story but can identify with your worries and challenges described here. My son (now 3) had very similar eating and sleeping habits. One suggestion, teach her sign language. It was so much nicer to have my son sign for milk, instead of pulling my shirt down. He self weaned at 16 months. Thank you for stirring up the memories.
My daughter was exactly the same. She is now 8 (her birthday is close to Adriana’s)! She refused to eat anything off a spoon until she was 16 months old and didn´t show any interest in food. Then turned around and self-weaned within 6 weeks, during which I taught her sign language which really changed our nursing relationship and made it much better – really recommended it!
My little guy will be 1 in two weeks and I’m trying to figure out what to make for his party. I’d love to hear what kinds of food, cake, etc. you made for Adriana’s birthday! Will we be getting a post like that soon? No pressure! :)
Hi Angela,
I have a 8.5 month old and I am also doing BLW with breastfeeding. Your comments resonate with me. I was worried about my son not taking to solids too (he refuses me putting a spoon in his mouth so purées have been out). He finally started becoming more interested in solids at 7 months. We have been doing BLW. It was nice to catch up on your blog. I began reading your blog when I was pregnant last year, to get some recipe ideas to increase my iron and protein intake. I’ll have to continue following. As you know being a FTM, life goes sideways with a new baby and I haven’t had a lot of time to cruise the internet except for baby related sites :)
Maybe the clean hands changing pad will help with your little ones diaper changing time
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1833466984/the-clean-hands-changing-pad-snoofybee
Can you post the recipe you used for your girl’s birthday?? My son is about to turn one and everyone wants to get him a cake, but there’s no way I’m letting him near all that sugar. I would to know what you did as an alternative!