First of all, Miss Clara Jane is 11 months old! Crazy! Less than a month until my baby is 1. Cue lots of tears. It seriously has flown by. Especially these last few months. In the beginning you think you'll never make it to a year, then by about 6 months you're pleading with time to slow down.
So what's new with Clara?
Eating: Still nursing, so happy to have made it 11 months! Not only have we saved a fortune not having to buy formula, but hopefully she will have the lasting health benefits of being breastfed. I know it's not easy for some moms and some moms aren't able to, so I feel so very blessed.
Clara is also eating everything else under the sun! She LOVES pickles, that has become very apparent. She also likes foods that are brightly colored, like orange. If you put carrots, sweet potatoes, orange/red peppers, etc. in front of her she will gobble them up. Seriously, this child has a healthy appetite.
We've also been incorporating her sippy cup more in the hopes to make her transition to weaning easier. I don't plan on fully weaning until closer to 18 months but she will be starting on almond milk/coconut milk and organic whole milk after her 1st birthday.
Sleeping: Ugh, I don't even know what to say about sleep. Sometimes it's great. We were in a good pattern of going to bed between 7:30-8 and not waking until 4-5am and then sleeping until 8-9am. But then we traveled for Christmas, and there was teething (yet still ZERO teeth) and everything was thrown for a loop. Last night was pretty good, but recently you seem to want to wake around 3am and will not go down without nursing. I really hope to break this pattern soon. But I know that this too shall pass. On a positive note, girl likes to sleep in! Sometimes I have to wake sleepy girl up around 10am--but usually she's been up 2-3 times in the wee hours of the morning to nurse and then passes back out. My hope is that by 1 year we may be closer to a 7:30p-7:30am schedule, but I'm not holding my breath!
Size: We haven't been to the doctor in a while but Daddy's put baby chunk on our scale and it seems she holding steady around 24 lbs. Everyone said that my chunky girl would slow down and she really has. Since she's been more and more active (crawling, cruising, scooting, using the walker, etc) she really hasn't gained much weight at all. She does however seem to be taller, but since we haven't been to the doc I don't know what her exact height is.
Milestones/Notable events: Chatting up a storm! Saying "dada", on a rare occasion we will get "mama" but usually when I ask her to say it I just get "dadadada", sigh. I'm holding out hope she'll get "mama" on command down by a year. Her other favorite word is "dog" but she pronounces it more like "doug". She says it at Rusty (whom she loves) but also at everything else, including the Christmas tree!
As far as mobility she is still not walking on her own yet, but is cruising furniture, using the walker and will stand without holding on for a few seconds at a time. I think she could free stand but she seems a little nervous. Everyone tells me not to be in a hurry, that once she walks nothing will ever be safe, so I'm trying to be patient, but I would love to see her take off :)
She celebrated her first Thanksgiving and Christmas, and loved them both. It was great to see family and friends. Clara gobbled up her turkey, she flirted with all my aunts, uncles, and cousins and she had a blast in general.
Over the Christmas season we went to go look at lights, met Santa (whom she was NOT a fan of, the mere sight of him brought screaming and tears), put ornaments on the Christmas Countdown wall hanging, and opened her first stocking and gifts.
Christmas really was ten times more magical this year--and I know it will just continue to be better and better as she grows up and discovers all that the holiday has to offer.
The end of the year brought some sadness as we said goodbye to my grandma, Clara's great-grandma and middle name sake, Eleanor Jane. I am happy that her body and mind are finally at peace but it truly seems that it is an end of an era. I'm happy she got to meet and hold Clara, but sadly she won't remember her. I plan to tell her lots of stories about growing up with Grandma and Grandpa Singer, as she won't get the pleasure of experiencing it first hand. I only have one grandparent left, so I want to make sure that Clara really understands and treasures her own grandparents and her great-grandma.
Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2014 is great. I know that 2013 has been a year of ups and downs, but it has also been the best year ever because we welcomed our beautiful girl into the world and I couldn't imagine this (crazy) year without her.
May 2014 be full of health, happiness, love and learning :)
