Chase turned one at the end of July and the fact that I’m typing up his 12 month update more than two weeks late should tell you how life has been around here lately… Action-packed, on-the-go, exciting and ever-changing.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1,000 times but it is truly mind blowing to me to think that Chase was born a year ago. HOW is my tiny 5 pound 10 ounce baby boy ONE year old!?
This year has, without a doubt, been the fastest year of my entire life and Chase has brought more joy into my days than I ever thought possible. I love him so completely and it’s the most consuming, vulnerable, heart-wrenchingly strong, protective, I’d-do-absolutely-anything-for-you kind of love I’ve ever known.
I have so much fun with Chase every day and now that he’s mobile, our playtime is definitely not sedentary. He will occasionally sit with books and toys once he’s expended a bunch of energy but absolutely prefers to crawl everywhere, pull himself up over everything, climb on top of anything and explore every inch of the space he’s in at the moment. (Not long after I shared Chase’s 11 month update, he finally abandoned his crazy push-up inchworm crawl for a super-speedy “normal” crawl. I guess he had it in him after all!)
Chase is a social little guy and flashes his goofy 6-tooth smile at everyone who passes by. He has a myriad of “baby tricks” in his arsenal and loves showing everyone how he can wave, clap, dance, do the “spider” in Itsy, Bitsy Spider, raise his hands above his head to show how he’s “so big!” (<— oddly comical to us since he’s still in the first percentile for weight), point at “dog,” “mama,” and “lights” and more. He’s been saying “mama” and “da” (meaning “dog” or “dada”) for months now and loves practicing a handful of other noises, tongue/mouth tricks and goofy baby babbling sounds. He is a little sponge who loves to imitate the random noises and motions we show him every day.
During Gymboree, one of the teachers often opens class with an icebreaker question for parents and caregivers to answer. One of the questions posed asked our group what surprised us most about having a baby. When I asked Ryan what his answer would’ve been later that night he said the way he feels inside when he makes Chase laugh.
There’s something about making a baby belly laugh and dissolve into giggles that makes you feel like everything is right in the world. I could be worrying about a laundry list of things or consumed by outside stressors, but the minute Chase breaks out into his contagious laughter, my perspective shifts and I’m filled with joy and an understanding that no matter what else may be going on in my life, if I can make Chase laugh, fill him with joy and offer him comfort and safety every day, I’m doing something right.
It’s so easy to second-guess every tiny detail as a mom but I think it’s important to remind myself of the basics when I start to get overwhelmed and doubt myself. Focusing on gratitude continues to be imperative for me as a mom. When I start to worry or stress out about something related to mothering Chase, I pray, count my blessings and focus on how incredibly lucky I am to be his mom and how small my worries are in the grand scheme of things.
Eat
After a short reprieve, I’m back to being stressed out about Chase’s eating again. I had high hopes for some quality weight gain over the past few months but during his one-year pediatric visit, he registered in the first percentile for weight again. Our pediatrician is amazing and always reminds me that Chase is growing on his own little peanut curve and that he’s developmentally doing just fine. That always makes me feel a little better but it’s still hard no to get in my head and worry about our tiny little man.
To help with weight gain, our pediatrician encouraged us to continue giving Chase foods with higher fat content. I feel like we’ve already been doing this but I’m trying my best to keep it going.
Chase loves nut butter and I recently introduced him to green smoothies made with spinach, frozen bananas, peanut or almond butter, whole milk and full-fat yogurt. He seems to like the smoothies a lot but getting him to sit still long enough to eat or drink anything is a challenge. Playing still trumps food for Chase and it can be frustrating for me when I just want our little guy to eat, eat, eat. I have to trust that he will eat, grow and gain weight all in good time.
I am still nursing Chase quite a bit but over the course of the past two weeks, I’ve been trying to wean him off of some of our daytime nursing sessions and get us down to nursing first thing in the morning and right before bed (and sometimes in the middle of the night because I’ve succumbed to the fact that sleep is always all over the place in our house).
Transitioning away from daytime breastfeeding is going fairly well and I do think that dropping some of his daytime nursing sessions results in better eating during the day, but I am feeling a little challenged because Chase definitely prefers breastmilk to whole milk. He looooves water but when I offer him whole milk, he will only take a couple of small sips before pushing the cup away. I’m not sure how to get him to drink more milk, especially if that is supposed to be a decent part of his calories right now, but at least he likes the smoothies I make him that have a whole milk base.
Sleep
Ugh. Sleep. Here we go again… We’ll have Chase sleeping through the night until something changes – traveling, a guest in town, etc. – and then it’s like we have to start from scratch and really work toward a solid night’s sleep. With such an unpredictable summer full of travel and house guests, I just don’t have the energy to go through sleep training 10,000 times a month when one little outside factor throws everything out of whack.
Everyone has their challenges and even though we’ve had some good nights, Chase still does not seem to be consistently sleeping through the night. Sometimes I feel like a big fat failure because we’re still waking up to nurse but other times I am just over the whole thing and think to myself, “If unpredictable sleep is one of our biggest battles, I consider myself very lucky.” (Well, unpredictable sleep and a child who doesn’t love to eat real food. Fun hurdles, right?)
Chase still wakes one or two times a night (his second waking is usually after 5 a.m., so I really don’t mind it since I wake up early to work anyway) and, honestly, at this point I’d rather just feed him and put him back to sleep since the whole ordeal takes less than 15 minutes versus listening to him fuss or cry on-and-off for an hour or more. Plus, our next two weekends include even more travel and more guests staying with us and I know that would foul up any headway we make if we started back up with sleep training again. I don’t feel comfortable letting Chase cry for long at night when we have guests staying with us since our guests sleep in the room right next to Chase’s nursery, and everyone knows that travel totally messes with a baby’s sleep, so that’s where we are right now. I’m eyeballing September as our “return to sleep training” month. Get ready, Mr. Chase!
I waffled back and forth as to whether or not I should skip the above part of my monthly recap because sometimes I feel like a broken record regarding our sleep hurdles but then I realized there may be someone out there in a similar boat who feels like they’re surrounded by stellar sleepers (and eaters) who might take comfort in knowing they’re not alone. I was actually reading a blog post Jessica shared a few years ago when I went back to read some of her baby posts that said her son wasn’t sleeping through the night at 11 months either and I felt myself exhale. It felt like a giant relief to read that I’m not the only one struggling with sleep a year into the whole baby thing! Everyone has their challenges related to parenting and motherhood.
As far as naps are concerned, Chase is still a good napper which is a HUGE blessing. As a mom who works from home, I’d happily take good naps over good nighttime sleep any day since we don’t have any childcare help and I rely on Chase’s naps to work.
For the most part, he’s still taking two 90-minute to 2-hour naps but there have been a few very unpredictable days in there where Chase refused to nap in the afternoon and skipped a nap altogether. When I observe his demeanor after a skipped nap, I feel pretty confident that Chase still needs two naps a day and thankfully he napped normally again yesterday. I’m still trying to figure out if he’s working toward merging his naps and dropping to one, but right now my gut says he’s not ready. Time will tell!
Likes
- Climbing over everything
- Slapping his hands/banging on everything
- Shakers
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear (He loves the sliding windows in this book and it comes with us everywhere)
- Doors (Apparently doors are magical)
- Splashing in the pool or bathtub
- Watching Sadie
- Super-speedy crawling
- Hide-and-go-seek around our kitchen island
- Flicking light switches on and off
- Music and dancing (He raises his arms and motions his hands up and down and it’s just the cutest)
- Pointing at everything
- Water
- Salmon
- Apples
- Peanut butter sandwiches
Dislikes
- Having his nose, face and hands wiped
- Getting dressed
- Being held for too long
- Sitting in his high chair for too long
- When we take something away from him that he’s not allowed to have (Pens come to mind…)
- When we pick him up after he starts speed-crawling toward Sadie’s dog food (He is obsessed)
- When Ryan walks away to go change into comfy clothes after he arrives home from work
12 Month Baby Favorites
We’ve had some new discoveries this month that Chase seems to love and I’ve added them to the beginning of this list that also includes some of our tried and true favorites that continue to be go-to items for Chase at 12 months old. (I also removed some past favorites that Chase decided he was no longer into this month.)
PLAY
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear Slide and Find Book
- Pat The Bunny Touch and Feel Book
- Oball Rattle and Roll Car
- Melissa & Doug Pull Along Zoo Animals
- Little People Activity Airplane Ride-On
- B. You Turns Steering Wheel
- Grandma Wishes Book
- B. Parum Pum Pum Drum Set
- V-Tech Sit to Stand Learning Walker
- Step2 Finding Dory Water Table
- Infantino Turtle Shape Sorter
- Tuffo Outdoor Water-Resistant Blanket
- SpringWays Swim Float with Canopy
- Sesame Street Silly Sounds Remote
- Baby Einstein Take Along Musical Toy
EAT/DRINK
- Lollacup
- Munchkin Snack Catcher Cups
- Munchkin White Hot Infant Safety Spoons (He loves carrying these around with him everywhere)
- Protective Floor Mat
- Chicco 360 Hook On High Chair
- NUK Mash and Serve Bowl
SLEEP
Past Baby Updates
- Eleven Months
- Ten Months
- Nine Months
- What I Wish I Knew Before My Baby Was Born
- Eight Months
- Seven Months
- Six Months
- Our First Sleep Training Experience
- Traveling With A Baby For The First Time
- Five Months
- Four Months
- Three Months
- Two Months
- And Then He Smiled
- Three Weeks
- The First 12 Days
- Q&A: All About Birth & Life With A New Baby
- Chase’s Birth Story: Part I, Part II
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Julie- I really appreciate the part about focusing on gratitude. I feel like I second guess myself about everything as a mom. It’s so easy to feel like you aren’t doing anything right. But in the big picture, there’s so much to be grateful for… For big smiles and laughs, and for a healthy baby. Thanks for the encouragement 🙂
I haven’t commented in awhile but felt compelled to with this update. I apologize if this is wordy.
My daughter is just about 19 months and if I could go back in time and change anything it would be to let go and relax about sleep training. My daughter too was (is) smaller in weight (she’s tall but has always been thin) but we too have an amazing ped who has focused us on her growth chart and how it’s perfect. But back to sleeping…
I was constantly comparing and freaking out that my daughter wasn’t sleeping through the night. I truly think she is just such an active child that until she became super fast on her feet (I’m talking running around!) around 13/14 months she didn’t sleep through the night. Something switched at that point – like for the first time she was able to expend all her energy and the slept 9-11 hours straight at night. She’s never been and i doubt ever will be a “13 hour a night” child but unless she’s sick she will sleep 9+ hours every single night (wth guests, when away, etc.) I truly feel like I wasted so much time and energy worrying and trying different tactics when ultimately she just go there on her own time (and while yes it was hard, I’m so glad o got those cuddles in because she rarely stops moving these days!)
Also, around the same point she became an eating monster. The key is that she grazes ALL DAY. She rarely will sit and eat a huge meal (she wants to play play play) so we have found feeding her constant healthy and high in fat snacks more like 5-6 times a day have been perfect (scrambled egg cooked in olive oil, avocado slices on toast, peanut butter, etc.) She just recently started drinking milk (she wouldn’t although she would drink almond milk but it’s lower in fat).
This was the longest ever way of saying I think you’re doing an amazing job as a mom and of course you’re apt to worry about sleep, eating, etc. – but hopefully this is a small example to show you that in the end, they all get there on their own time so enjoy the ride 🙂
Julie, 17 years ago I had a 13 month old that would still get up in the night to eat. I had removed bottle and gone to sippy cup in hopes of him giving up the night feed…no such luck! He was an awesome napper…would have napped in Kindergarten if it was allowed. He also was a poor eater, no interest…always on the go! He is now 18 and off to college….I had many of the same worries as you do now nutrition and weight concerns, just keep offering food and he will gain!!
He is so adorable! As a mom I feel like it is sometimes hard to not worry and easy to compare our babies to other babies. My daughter has always been at the bottom of the charts for her weight, but she was growing, and I knew that was what really mattered. She also didn’t sleep through the night until 17 months so I feel your pain. Kids are wonderful and amazing though and it sounds like you are doing a wonderful job. 🙂
I love this! I am a new month to a happy little 4 month baby boy myself! Our little guy is long and lean and I get the stressing about it. Our doctor says that his weight is fine and it matches his parents size. It’s so hard to remember that all babies are different and not compare.
About the milk thing…..have you tried goat’s milk? I’ve heard it is the most similar to breast milk and babies often prefer it. Plus is it easier on there stomach than cow’s milk. I am actually going to talk to our doctor about this tomorrow at his appointment. We are exclusively BFing and thinking about starting to offer foods around 5-6 months.
Oh gosh, my heart just aches for you because I’m in the same boat on the eating thing too. It’s soo hit or miss and half the meal I’m spending telling Sully to stop standing in his high chair, I kid you not, or feeding the dog, or banging on his tray. All I try to tell myself is to keep trying. My friend is a Dietitian and her daughter only eats yogurt..so I figure if it’s happening to other kids, it’s okay. Sully refuses ALL vegetables and really only eats chicken and potatoes. I actually saw a therapist (I’m not kidding) about it and she told me it is one of the most stressful times in the first year (starting solids )and it’s usually the last stresssful phase..sooooo we are getting there!!!! Also sleep sucks! We did sleep training too AND I have a friend who paid someone to help her and our kids are still hit or miss…they just like to keep us on our toes. Just know we are all in it together…and the frustration is real…especially with ‘perfect’ moms out there, but the real is what we need more of xo
I didn’t read all the other comments, but I’m sure they are along the same lines as mine will be. My first baby (now 3) was an amazing sleeper and eater. She was my by-the-book baby.
My second baby (13 months) has her own agenda. Naps for maybe an hour twice a day (much better than her 30 minutes ones she did until she was 9 months). She still wakes up during the night and didn’t sleep through the night even once until she was just over a year old (woke 2-4 times each night). She also didn’t want real food or want anything to do with whole milk until a few weeks ago. We had a rough start with food sensitivities with her though, so my husband and I just kept telling ourselves that we didn’t care if she doesn’t eat or sleep much because she is one happy little girl. Some day we will sleep again (and until then I’ll just live in a dazed state – ha!). It still amazes me how to littles from the same family can be so different.
You have a great outlook and keep it real. I appreciate that you write that way. It’s hard being a parent, and knowing there are others who are in the same boat (questioning things or trying to figure out how to make it all work) make me feel supported in a way. So thank you!
I love reading your honesty about motherhood! It’s been a joy to watch Chase’s first year ❤️
My now almost 3 year old refused to switch to drinking whole milk, or any sort of mix of it with breastmilk from a sippy cup. We eventually tried chocolate milk and she was hooked, and we slowly (over a week) mixed in less and less chocolate and she kept drinking it! Nesquick had no high fructose corn syrup so that was our syrup of choice.
Best of luck and remember every parent and child is different and it’s quite obvious you make all your decisions for him out of love and that means he will be fine ❤️
Omg… I’m so glad to read this post, I have a 13 month old and having trouble with the eating part. He’s also below the 10th percentile and I was worrying too much about it. I keep offering healthy food and hopefully one day it will just click..:) the sleeping part, we co-sleep and he still wakes up to nurse thru the night, it’s something that doesn’t bother me because I know once he stops I’m going to miss it. They grow up way too fast! You are doing a great job mama, you keep doing what you think it’s best for Chase and your family!
My son was a crappy sleeper until about 18 months and then one day we realized it had been a few days since he had gotten up. He wasn’t breastfed but he would get up for a bottle or just to be comforted. He is two now and from time to time he will call for me in the middle of the night but not usually. I just waited it out and he’s fine! As long as you can deal with it, then that’s all that matters. You are doing a great job!
I love your honesty in these posts. Someone told me once, don’t worry they won’t go off to college not sleeping through the night. Not sure if it was comforting though. Looking back, sleep will be such a small blip on the radar I’m sure. I saw on snap y’all were getting bloodworm done, hope everything is okay.
I’m so glad you still talk about his sleep. I have a six month old, who currently has erratic sleep. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one whose baby doesn’t always sleep through the night!
Trust your gut when it comes to sleep and feeding, and do what works for your family. Your sweet babe looks happy and healthy, which is the most important. My little is 17 months and definitely has opinions about what she will and won’t eat. She also loves water and I am lucky to get 8 oz of whole milk in her per day. But, she’s growing and walking and talking up a storm, so I don’t worry too much.
I will say that when we finally cut out nursing (dropped bedtime feed last over a few evenings when my hubs could put her to bed), she started sleeping through the night. I think it was totally a comfort thing for her. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we stopped nursing and found out I was pregnant again in the same week, so my sleep hasn’t improved!
Like others have said, you’re doing great, your guy is adorable and thanks for the updates!
Sleep was such a struggle for us. Our little guy finally slept through the night at 13 months. It was a long haul and I felt like everyone around us had a baby sleeping through the night. He got up at 1:30 and 4:30 consistently until 13 months. We tried the sleep training but I think he was just eventually ready. I was not breast feeding him at that point and I will say his eating habits are still not great and he just turned 2 in May. Don’t put pressure on yourself. If I have learned anything as a first time Mom it is to not compare your kid to someone else’s it just causes frustration and stress. Love your blog and thanks for your honesty!
My 17 month old does not sleep through the night–ever. And I won’t tell you how long it took my older daughter to sleep through the night. I will tell you that the 4 year old is the best sleeper ever now! And that I am so. Very. Tired.
Julie, I held onto every single word of this post. In the next few years I would like to start a family, and in reading this I realize the honest difficulties that come with being a mother. However, it’s so evident how worth it it is. Despite the difficulties, your love radiates off the words for your family. Reading about Chase’s laughter being something that can shift your perspective is powerful. I am excited to experience that one day. Thank you for sharing the reality of beautiful motherhood. xx
First off you are doing an amazing job! I personally think “sleeping through the night” is an over emphasized milestone. I have a 15 month old who still wakes 1-3 times a night for cuddles or to breastfeed. I’ve found a lot of peace with just accepting that’s what’s best for us and her and reminding myself that when she’s a teenager I’m going to be agonizing over how much she is sleeping!
Chat with you pediatrician but it’s also very common for BF babies to not love cows milk, for a lot of them it’s the different consistency. Try almond milk and if that’s a success slowly start mixing it with whole milk until he’s just drinking whole milk.
Good luck!
Once my boys became aware of the world around them it was very hard to establish any kind of routine. With food I ended up spoon feeding them for a while while they played with playdoh, keys or whatever I could find to distract them so they wouldn’t notice a spoon going in their mouths. We followed the weston price foundation diet for the kids. As for sleep, exercise and a full belly always helps but for us, a little bit of classical music, Enya or any other soothing type of music helped. My two boys are now 8 and 4 so we are way past the whole sleep/eat routine but I can tell you that time is your friend. Before you know it he’ll be able to sleep with no problems. Now with the third one on his way I’m more than ready to go through the whole sleeing bootcamp over again.
Oh my, I feel like you just described my life! My son is 17 months old today and has slept through the night maybe 5 times ever. He is still up 1, maybe 2 times a night and is still breastfed. He has really no interest in “real” food and it gets frustrating a lot. I am home with him now but am going back to work part time in the fall and am scared he just won’t eat! It is so easy to get caught up in what is “normal” and what your baby/toddler should be doing. I do get stressed mostly with his eating, but he is growing and has energy for days it seems, so he must be getting something, and he is so incredibly smart. I have to remind myself that I have a beautiful and healthy little boy who is his own person and will do things in his own way. It sounds like Chase is the exact same way! Hang in there, mama. You are definitely not alone!
A baby’s laugh is incredible, just as you describe! My boy is 14 months and we are very lucky to have good night sleeps (unless we are traveling!), but after talking with several friends lately who have kids around his age, I have realized that we are actually the exception, not the norm. Their kids are still waking once or twice per night to nurse – so you are definitely not alone!
My little one loves smoothies in refillable pouches – have you tried pouches? I’ve been trying to cut down nursing during the day, but sometimes he just needs it and I’ve decided that I’m OK with that. Especially since he can be all over the place with eating – at least I know he’s getting great nutrition and fat from my milk! We don’t do whole milk at all, we put breast milk in everything (smoothies, oatmeal, etc.)- which I think is fine to do – who knows, it works for us 🙂
I was wondering: when you travel by plane with Chase, do you take your carseat? If so, how do you transport it?
as a long time reader it has been really fun to watch your little boy grow! It is crazy how quickly time goes and I can only imagine it goes even quicker when you have a little one and you just want to freeze time!
My one year old (gulp. how is he almost one?!) is not a huge fan of whole milk either, I usually mix it with breast milk and plan to just slowly decrease the amount of breast milk I put in his sippy. You’re doing great! Being a mom is so hard and you’re rocking it. ?
My almost 14 month old is a super picky eater! You aren’t alone! My daughter also seems to get sick way more than my son ever did – she is always getting a little cold or a little tummy bug so her sleep isn’t quite as stellar as my firstborn’s. I think every mother on the planet struggles with something (or more realistic, a few things), but all our struggles can look a bit different. But the important thing to remember is we are all in it together & all doing the best we can! ☺️ Chase is lucky to have you.
Hey! I’ve been reading for about a year now, never commented before. I think you have such a sweet spirit and love your genuine thoughts. My son (the younger of my two kids) is almost four and didn’t fully sleep through the night until he was over two. I’ve learned over the years it’s easier and better to take cues from the kids and guide them along the way. We sleep trained my daughter and let her cry it out and she cried herself to sleep for years. But st the time that’s what we thought was best and went with it. When the second one came along I didn’t have the heart to do that and rocked him to sleep. When he was one and two we played down with him until he was asleep. It was a long road to get him to go to sleep by himself and sometimes long nights of laying with him instead of spending time with my husband, but I don’t regret those moments. I say all that to day, he will come around in his own time. He will est and he will sleep. You’re doing s great job, caring and providing for sweet little Chase. Hang in there, momma!
Hi Julie
I’m so glad you shared your sleeping issues with chase. Please continue to share the bad with the good. As a new mom to a 10 month old I was so shocked at how little other moms had told me about the hard stuff before my baby was born and how many new moms want to say everything is going great and leave out the tricky things and the emotional parts. Why? it’s so important to be honest and be normal – there’s nothing wrong with not everything being perfect, you certainaly would tell people if there was something hard about your job or your hair or anything else, why not tell them if something isn’t perfect with parenthood.
It’s so clear you love your baby and are working hard to be a great mama. Keep it up!!!
Also – since my guy is 10 months I love the preview ahead of the toys and tricks Chase is liking. It’s like a littel developmental reminder of what i can do and look forward to.
THanks!
-Charlotte (Mill Valley, CA)
Julie, these posts are so helpful! I’m due in 1 week and 4 days (not like I’m counting or anything 😉 ) and I’ve loved reading this monthly updates + Chase’s favorites. So helpful!
I am looking forward to this coming first year of life for baby T- I’m sure it will go quickly, like you said.
It is biologically NORMAL (albeit frustrating) for babies to wake up through the night. You are in NO WAY a failure for responding to your babies needs! I hope he’s able to get back into his routine and give you some relief soon. My one year old sleep style is similar to Chase so I totally get the struggle. But they will sleep eventually!
Gosh, he is such a little cutie with his blonde locks! I love our Chase updates. 🙂
You’re doing an amazing job savoring every moment. While I only have nieces and nephews at this point (nine adorable, loving little ones – and some not so little anymore!), it’s amazing to see how fast they grow. I can only imagine how I’ll feel when I have my own! (Heck, I only put our wedding pictures on the blog today… I think it might be a minute first, ha!)
Congrats on having a beautiful, loving, happy 1 year old!!
XO, Jessica
http://www.semisweettooth.com
My son was born in July too. Isn’t the first year of parenthood a wild ride? To get my son to drink whole milk I put it in a bottle and warmed it up. After a couple of weeks, I switched to a sippy cup and now he loves it. I love your blog, I’ve been following since we were both pregnant. You are doing a wonderful job, it’s clear how happy your son is in the pictures. Your love shines through your words.
Julie, you are SO not alone and doing an incredible job as Chase’s mom!! My daughter is 13 months old now and she is stirring at night and waking anywhere from 1-3 times. I’m going to call this a “sleep regression” to make myself feel better! Also, I read that for whatever reason babies/toddlers tend not to sleep as well in the summer due to the heat and possibly it being lighter outside for longer. I also have the problem with not wanting to wake guests at night with her prolonged crying and whining so her sleep training has been messed up. I’ve heard from parents that it is to be expected that we have to retrain with sleep every couple of months. So our little ones are doing just fine, even though we are tired mamas! People do ask all the time if she’s sleeping through the night, but I know they’re asking out of genuine curiosity/anticipation of having their own child one day/concern for our own sleep. But yes, it’s hard sometimes not to think- what am I doing wrong?!? And I have become obsessed with regulating the temperature and her clothing at night so she’s perfectly comfortable- but still she wake at night. So you know what, as you said- we have got perfectly healthy normal kiddos on our hands. We are doing just fine!!
I’ve been following you for about a year and have yet to comment, but today I just felt the need to tell you that Chase sounds SO much like my son was! He’s 2.5 years old now, but a lot of the struggles you have with sleep are identical to Carter’s. Sleep was always very tough, and I hated hearing how everyone’s kid was sleeping through the night when he was a year old and still waking a couple times to nurse. We tried crying it out and all sorts of other methods and it just didn’t work. Time was the only thing that did it. At 16 months, he finally started sleeping through the night consistently and he weaned completely a few weeks later. I wholeheartedly feel like you’re not doing anything wrong by continuing to nurse when he wakes – it really is SO much easier!! I had to remind myself that sleeping is a skill and he needed my help to do it until he could master it. My son is great sleeper now! And as for eating, Carter was also the same. Lots of playing, low in percentiles. He’s still in the 5th percentile and his pediatrician isn’t concerned at all. He’s following his OWN curve, just like Chase! We did lots of smoothies (also added avocados or cottage cheese to increase fat without altering taste )and a lot whole fat yogurt. He still has a lot of both. He didn’t care much for milk until he approached 2 years old and even now, he only gets about 1 sippy cup a day. All that to say – you’re not alone at all! I’m so glad you’re honest about the sleep thing. I really hated when people bragged about their babies sleeping through and just wanted to hear that I wasn’t alone!! You’re doing a great job, mama!!
despite getting 4 teeth at once (?), our 14-month old has just started (sometimes) sleeping thru the night and my Mom pointed out that he’s really doing it on his own timeline…I, too, sleep trained and stressed and retrained and stressed some more but I’m slowly realizing he’s gonna decide when the time is right for himself on a lot of things. perhaps my two cents will help you guys somehow…
Have you tried organic whole milk or organic 2% milk? Our daughter hated milk. When we switched to organic 2% milk she finally would drink it and actually liked it. Once she got use to it, we started mixing in whole milk with her 2% milk. She was not a fan of the texture of the whole milk (basically – it was too thick). So it wasn’t whole milk, but it was a lot more than she would drink before.
Hang in there girl! I’m now dealing with a teenager. And I constantly feel like I’m failing her all over the place. We’re our toughest critics. You’re doing great and your baby is happy and healthy. 🙂 My girl is healthy and is overall happy – so I’ll take it! 🙂
Love reading these little updates about Chase! It also reminds me of how long I’ve been reading your blog! Since 2012, I believe!
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Thank you for sharing your struggles. I also feel like my friends have perfect little babies while I’m still struggling to figure things out.
I’m right there with you on the sleep and eat fronts. My baby just turned 1 also, she wakes up once a night. And just the other day I was literally crying of frustration because she would only eat a few bites of purées each meal. Then I realized that she can probably sense my frustration and she needs me to be confident in my actions, so the next meal I made her some food and waited about 3 hours to feed her. She ate it all up! I figured out she likes tomato sauce so now I put it on her rice and beans, lentil soup, scrambled eggs, chicken, turkey meatballs… whatever works right? Also I find she eats better when she’s distracted, so I play some nursery rhymes videos while she eats. This mommy thing is hard but we’ll get there!
My nugget didn’t like whole milk at first, but I think it was the “trainer” cups I was using once I switched to the Take & Toss cups with real straws, he really took to the whole milk and drinks it like a champ now. Link to the cups: https://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Take-Spill-Proof-Straw/dp/B0054YZDWC/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1471465031&sr=8-1&keywords=take+and+toss+cup (I get them at Target but I couldn’t find them on Target’s website!)
I also agree with other commenters that cutting down daytime nursing sessions and replacing them with food/whole milk can really help.
I love reading your posts about your little boy! He reminds me so much of my own. At 18 months, my guy is in the 2nd percentile for weight and 40th for height. He is TINY and always has been. I thought at 12 months he would have a growth spurt by 18 months and gain weight….nope. It’s just who he is! He eats only high-calorie foods and I make him high calorie shakes!
Your “little” guy is just meant to be little…at least for now. I wish our kids could meet because I never meet toddlers as small as my son!
Twelve months of cuteness!! Chase is so lucky to have such a sweet momma like you <3
I know others have commented on this but I also suggest almond milk. It is lower in fat but you can try to get fathe from other sources. Breastfed babies tend to like almond milk better bc it’s sweeter. My baby just turned 1 on Thursday and was exclusively breastfed and she loves almond milk.
First of all, I think society puts way too much pressure on us to have our babies sleeping through the night at such young ages. If he’s only waking once or twice, I don’t think that’s anything to worry about. And trust me, those days wont last forever! Secondly, I have a little peanut too (he’s 2.5 now), and he’s always been in the 10th percentile. As my husband always says – someone has to be or there wouldn’t be a curve! 😉 My paediatrician has always said he’s healthy and just growing on his own curved. As long as they’re consistent I wouldn’t worry!
Also, my son has never been a huge fan of milk. I nursed until he was 2, and he has the odd drink of milk here and there, but it never became a huge part of his diet. Luckily, we have a paediatrician that isn’t pro-milk so he never made me feel like we had to push it. As long as he was getting other forms of dairy, like cheese and yogurt and healthy fats, like avocado, he wasn’t worried. So! Don’t stress to much!! I know it’s so hard, but Chase looks like a healthy guy, he’s just little. Smoothies were a big life saver for us when my guy was Chase’s age. Just keep offering it, even if he gets only small amounts at a time, that’s ok! Chia seeds are good to throw in for some added protein punch too!
Don’t worry momma, you’re doing a great job! xo
Hey mama! Dont feel bad about sleep training, its so hard and YES to any little factor throwing babys sleep out the window (parents visit us and we KNOW that baby jo will be up that night at 4am). Im two weeks behind you, and were on the same boat! At least chase is an excellent napper! In regards to whole milk, jo hated it with a fiery passion the first two-tree times i gave it to her and someone offered me a nifty trick that might help you because it SURE HELPED US! Start by pouring 75-80% of the bottle full of almond milk and then the rest whole milk. so i would do for an 8oz bottle 6-6.5 almond milk and then 1-1.5oz whole milk and slowly began doing more and more until it was more whole milk than almond and now she drinks milk like a champ! They told me that almond milk tastes sweet like breastmilk, so babies prefer it! I fully understand about feeling worried, dont worry mama- some days with jo she eats more than me and others she doesnt eat much (teething affects this too). I hope this tip helps! Hugs to you
I can’t believe your little guy is ONE! You are doing great, Julie! <3
Before you even mentioned almost not commenting on his sleep, I was going to tell you THANK YOU for commenting on his sleep! Our little dude is 9 months next week and it seems like all I ever hear is how he should be sleeping through the night by now, or not nursing at night anymore, or some other combination of things. And of course, the ever-so-common, “I bet if you switched him to formula he’d sleep.”
Ugh. Everything about being a mom is ridiculously hard, and hearing unhelpful comments just piles on. Just know that you’re doing an awesome job – Chase seems like such a happy little guy! – which is what I have to constantly remind myself.
They (and we) will sleep eventually, right? Til then, coffee. 🙂
My daughter will be 1 year old in about a week, and she is still up at least 3x a night to nurse. You just have to choose your battles! She is a sweet little girl in every other aspect, but just does not sleep. We just have to remember that all kids are different, but I’ve never met a teenager that doesn’t sleep through the night!!! Chase is so cute, and you’re clearly doing a fantastic job with him!
Love the 12 month update! Chase is too cute! I’ve loved following along with his life (and your pregnancy leading up to it!).
Thanks for the honesty about sleeping and eating. My baby just turned one yesterday and has never once slept through the night. She’s still up to nurse 1-2x a night. We had to go through so much sleep training even to get to that point and I’m so over the crying it out at this point that I figure I’ll just keep this up until she naturally grows out of it. We also struggle with eating real food. She’s just too busy to want to slow down enough to eat! Somedays all she will eat is fruit and it seriously stresses me out!
It’s so comforting to read this post and all the comments to know I’m not alone! It’s hard when all I get are the judgmental looks when people learn she still isn’t sleeping through the night!
What a beautiful boy! My baby boy did not stzrt consistently sleeping through the night until he was over 2.5 years old! I agree its so much easier to just feed them when they wake, and it is absolutely normal and the best way to meet his needs in my opinon. Thank you for sharing your beautiful famoly!
Fellow 10/30/10 Bride, same exact honeymoon planner, and Mother to 4 lb. 5oz. now 23 lb. two year old baby girl Reagan (I’m totally a fan of Reagan Fagan, just saying) here. We’re almost exactly a year ahead of you guys and it’s all going to be okay! We EBF through 16 months and I hadn’t even thought about milk before that. When i gave her milk, it was in a straw cup and I think that made a world of difference! I think out of a bottle she expected breast milk so she didn’t like it at all, straw cup made it a game (also a totally new straw cup, not the ones we’d been using for water.) We also did almond and goat’s milk just fine, but in wanting those extra calories, we just slowly worked up to the high fat of whole milk. We’re Fairlifers through and through over here.
Eating: I think once we realized she’s a constant grazer, things got much better. We literally just have food for her on the ready all the time (the Yumbox and green pouches being our transporters of choice – so great.) She also got a little IKEA Latt table for her 1st birthday and after she did whatever eating she did in her high chair, I’d put the leftovers on the table with her milk and just like that she’d finish her breakfast or lunch over the course of the next hour or so. The tricky part there is keeping the dog away, haha!
All of your favorite good fat options worked well and I literally added coconut oil to everything since she’s never been a huge nut butter fan. Just remember that a few sips of a smoothie or bites of food here and there are better than none and they all add up! She loves eating a variety of foods, especially with “dip” (aka plain greek yogurt) and I always joke that she has an “appetizer platter” with the vast array of things on her tray at any time. The age old trick of giving forkfuls of food to her favorite toys or to us first also works wonders – “Bunny’s turn, yay bunny! Reagan’s turn, yay Reagan! Daddy’s turn, yay Daddy!” And now she’s a pretty decent sharer to boot, go figure.
My ped always says “they’ll let you know if they’re not okay” and judging by those big smiles, Chase is just perfect. Hang in there, Mama!
My now 19 month old was in the 1-7% for weight until she hit a huge jump at 15 months to the 13% and now she is at the 30%. I know it is frustrating, especially when people love baby rolls and your kid has none. I got a lot of grief about my baby being too skinny, but that is the way she is, just like Chase! I am in full support of the smoothie with whole milk. My daughter hates plain milk so we started with a banana and milk smoothie and now she gets banana, strawberry, spinach and chia every day in place of “milk time”. It is a little more work for us, but she gets in an extra dose of veggies and will actually drink it rather than forcing her. PLUS we can add things like elderberry or probiotics if she is sick and she won’t even know. Just keep offering and trying new things, I know it can get frustrating, but reducing bm feedings will hopefully increase his appetite for solid foods. Hang in there girl!
As a new mom to a now four month old, I’ve really appreciated your honesty about your sleep situation! It felt like everywhere I read other people had babies that slept better than mine and I would feel so alone and like such a failure sometimes. Your updates really helped me realize every baby is different and that I wasn’t the only one struggling with this. You’re doing a great job mama, keep sharing!
Hey Julie!
I have a little peanut as well, 5 months old, and constantly worried about her weight (3rd percentile!). Have you tried combining breast milk with whole milk to get him used to it? Starting with 30% whole milk 70% breast milk and slowing increasing? Might help!