Gerrit: 12 Months

November 6, 2015 nk3302 Comments

Happy birthday, Gerrit Allen!

Age: 12 months on 27 October 2015
Weight: 23.04 lbs
Height: 31-1/2 inches
Teeth: 4
Clothing Size: 12-18 months & 18 months
Diaper Size: size 3
Milestones: walking, signing “all done,” signing “milk,” following simple commands, recognizing animals and objects, helps with getting dressed and undressed (responds to “arms up,” pushes arms through sleeves, tries to take socks off), giving kisses (the big messy open mouth kind haha)

Sleeping: What a month, ha. It was pretty rough, not going to lie. Our best night was 3 night wakings, our worst was probably about 10 wakings (yeah…10), and our average was 4-5 wakings. I probably don’t have to tell you that I’ve been very tired. It’s been pretty frustrating not knowing what is waking Gerrit up and making it hard for him to settle back down to sleep. I’m sure part of it was the tail end of Leap #7 (Wonder Weeks), but he should have been done with that leap by the end of the first week in October. The worst sleep he got was when we went to the beach for a few days the week before his birthday. I don’t know if waking up in a strange room was freaking him out or what, but it was a rough few nights. I barely felt like I slept at all while we were there! Things got a little better once we got back home, but it was nothing spectacular.

Most days, Gerrit got 2 naps in. He had a couple of days where he skipped a nap, but most of the month he did well. Thankfully he was getting 2+ hours of sleep in naps each day for the most part, which made it slightly better that he was only averaging between 9-10 hours of sleep at night. I still feel like he was a little low on sleep hours, but there wasn’t much I could do to improve on that.

When it came to going to sleep, Gerrit perfected the intentional cry. As soon as I would lay him in his crib, he’d start his fake cry, which quickly moved into a real cry. It’s like he knows how to make me feel guilty! 🙂 I usually would let him whine and cry for a few minutes to get it out of his system, but I always ended up rocking and nursing him to sleep. I don’t even remember the last time he fell asleep on his own.

Eating: Eating is about the same. Gerrit continues to nurse well, and he does it frequently. Just in the daytime hours, he probably nurses about 6 times. Plus however many times he gets up at night. In terms of solids, he is still pretty hit-or-miss.

His favorite things to eat are Cheerios and fruit for breakfast and penne with spaghetti sauce and meatballs for dinner. He’s generally pretty good about eating any meat I offer him. Veggies are not a favorite lately, but he does pretty well with fruit (except for bananas).

While Andrew’s parents were here, we ate out a few times, and Gerrit did really well eating those nights! I think it was all the new things to see and hear that distracted him as he ate, haha. When we went out for sushi, Gerrit ate quite a bit of edamame, which surprised me. We didn’t give him any sushi yet, but he did well with the grilled cheese and oranges he got. 🙂

Once we went to Gerrit’s 12 month well baby appointment, I found out why he was nursing so much: he had a big growth spurt! From his 9 month appointment to his 12 month appointment he went from the 55th percentile for height to the 92nd percentile! Wow! He’s never been much higher than average for height, so I was pretty surprised. His weight gain has definitely slowed down, and I’m sure that’s because he became much more mobile in the last 3 months. His weight was at the 71st percentile in July, and it’s now only at the 53rd percentile.

Mommy Update: Tired. I’m really really tired. The lack of sleep definitely seems to bring on the depressive feelings. My motivation has been low, my general outlook is not that positive, and it’s just really tough not getting enough good rest. I still nap almost daily, and I’m sure it’s a necessity. I’m trying to get myself to be more energetic and plan some fun activities, but I feel like I constantly have other things that I need to get done.

The picture above is from our trip to the pumpkin patch! We don’t get out a lot, but it’s fun when we find something nearby to do as a family. I struggle with letting go of our nap schedule to get out and do things, but it’s always good to get out of the house. And I guess I just have to accept that there will be bad nap days.

My stress level was definitely higher with family coming into town (I love you all, but you know I like my space!) and planning Gerrit’s birthday party. I did get the house pretty well cleaned and organized for guests, but I came down with a cold just a few days before his party. That combined with terrible sleep at night had me feeling pretty miserable. I hate being sick, but having to be a mom on top of that? Ugh… Thankfully, our families were there to help out with running errands, cooking, and setting up for the party. I don’t know how we would have done it without them!

Best Moments: Watching Gerrit get the hang of walking! Right around his birthday, he really showed how confident he was getting with standing and walking on his own. We are so proud of him! And he’s pretty proud of himself too.

It was also wonderful to watch Gerrit with Andrew’s parents, who hadn’t seen him since February (when he was 3 months old). Needless to say, Gerrit had changed a lot in 8 months! He loved having so much attention and new people to entertain.

Of course, we had so much fun celebrating Gerrit’s first birthday! Although I didn’t get to do everything I wanted for his party (I’m still mad about being sick!), it came together well and was really cute. Gerrit loved the decorations for his Brown Bear themed party, and he had so much fun with the kids that came to celebrate with him. More photos and details to come!

Likes & Dislikes: I don’t think the things Gerrit likes have changed much from last month. He still likes being busy and moving all the time. He loves his walking toys, especially his lion one that makes silly sounds. I think he likes how fast he can go with the help of his walkers! He also loves climbing the stairs. When Andrew’s parents were here, he would be happy climbing the stairs over and over again with them! You’d think burning all that energy would help him sleep…

Gerrit still really enjoys his books too. Some new favorites include Little Blue Truck, Trains Go (and others in the series), any singing type books like this one, and lift-the-flap books like Dear Zoo, which he just got. He’s gotten so many new books, I don’t think he knows which one he wants to read lately haha!

Gerrit still LOVES Lamby. Not only does Lamby have to be in his crib for him to sleep, he now needs to bring Lamby around the house too. I really don’t mind, except for when I forget to grab Lamby when it’s nap time. If I lay him in his crib half-asleep and Lamby isn’t in reach to cuddle, he’s awake and upset! I’m very glad we bought a back-up lamb, because this toy gets dirty pretty quickly.

Gerrit also likes hiding/chasing games. I know it’s probably bad of me, but I end up playing along with him when he takes off crawling or walking after his bath when I’m trying to get his pajamas on him. I’m sure it gets him a little too riled up, but we have fun! I love hearing that little giggle when he knows I’m crawling after him. 🙂

Gerrit has always liked bath time, I think, but he really enjoys it lately. He has figured out how to squeeze his squirting toys, and he finds that to be pretty amusing. He also loves splashing (of course)!

As for dislikes… Gerrit still dislikes getting his diaper changed and getting dressed. I don’t even know that he truly dislikes it, or if he just likes making me chase after him to get a diaper or clothes on him! He also still dislikes me being in the kitchen prepping food. He starts whining and clinging to my legs even if I’m just sticking something in the microwave! When I get really frustrated, I stick him in his high chair with a little snack so I can get things done. Other than those things, he’s usually pretty content.

Memorable Events: The first thing that comes to mind is going to the pumpkin patch for the first time! The day I originally wanted to go, it was really rainy, and Andrew was tired (he’s on mids right now), so we decided to go the weekend after Andrew’s parents arrived. I’m glad we saved it for when they were here — it was a fun time!

Gerrit also got to play in real sand for the first time when we went to the beach with Andrew’s parents! Despite it being October, the weather was really nice. Not quite nice enough for me to go swimming, but we all enjoyed playing in the sand and getting our toes wet. Gerrit especially loved watching all the birds!

During our beach trip, we also went to the aquarium. Gerrit loved seeing all the fish! I was a little surprised by how much he enjoyed it actually. We even sat for a little presentation about sharks, and he did great! He was either listening to the woman describing things or watching the other kids participating the whole time.

Last but not least… Gerrit turned one! The celebration began with the birthday party the Saturday before he actually turned one. He woke up from his 2nd nap about 20 minutes before people started arriving… I couldn’t have planned that better! He seemed to really enjoy all the people, the snacks, and the presents. And he got his first taste of cake!

The next day we went to a nearby park for a proper photo session for his first birthday. I was impressed by the cute photos we got, since we kept it pretty short & sweet! My sister did an amazing job, as usual. Thank you, Becki!

The following day, we did Gerrit’s official cake smash session. Yes, this was the never ending birthday celebration! 🙂

VanderWarfPhotography-9580 — Photo by Vander Warf Photography

And then we had to celebrate on Gerrit’s actual birthday, of course! We didn’t do another cake, so I gave him a treat: pancakes with real maple syrup! He had had pancakes before, but not syrup. I was disappointed that he wasn’t more impressed haha.

He also had more presents to open that afternoon. Andrew’s parents saved the ones they got for him for his actual birthday, and we saved ours for that day as well.

I admittedly went overboard with gifts… I didn’t realize how much I had gotten him until I wrapped them all! Fortunately, a lot of the gifts are for when he’s a bit older. Since his birthday is only 2 months before Christmas, I wanted gifts he could grow into next spring and summer.

All in all, I think Gerrit had a great first birthday! It’s too bad he won’t remember any of it. But I think the first birthday is as much a celebration for the parents as it is for the baby. I mean, we did it! We survived the first year!

Month 12 was a crazy blur of little sleep, fun events, and a big birthday celebration for Gerrit. I can’t believe my little baby is already a year old. He’s really turning into a little person, and I’m excited to see him continue to grow and change.

You're so funny, Momma! — You’re so funny, Momma!

Happy 12 months, Gerrit! You are a whole year old already! I’m so proud of all your accomplishments, your fun personality, and how far we’ve come. You are a wonderful blessing in my life, and I’m so glad I get to be your momma. I love you, Gerrit!

Meeting More Family!

March 21, 2015 nk3302 Comments

Good grief, I’ve been working on this post for nearly a month! Gerrit has kept me very occupied during that time, but I really wanted to get it published finally.

While we were in Wisconsin, we mostly saw Andrew’s family. His parents flew in from Reno, and the majority of his extended family live in the state, so it was fairly easy to see everyone. My family, on the other hand, is a little more spread out! Almost all of my extended family is in Michigan, although in the winter, I also have grandparents that head down to Florida to wait out the cold. I have one sister still in Wisconsin, but the other two and my parents live down in Tennessee now. Like I said: spread out!

We spent the most time with my sister Amanda and her family. You wouldn’t have guessed it though, because I took pretty much NO photos at their house. I blame stress and lack of sleep for this. 🙂 I finally got a photo of Amanda, Gerrit, and myself at the baby shower she threw for us:

My mom’s parents drove over for our last weekend in Wisconsin. I’m thankful they were able to come over to see their newest great-grandchild before we headed south! The weather in February in the Midwest can be pretty hard to plan around. Here they are with Gerrit:

I just laugh at Gerrit’s reaction to the camera: completely solemn! One of these days he’ll realize you SMILE for the camera, not just study it intently.

My dad’s sisters had planned on driving over to meet Gerrit (and see us) that last weekend as well, but Mother Nature had other plans and dumped snow on them. They were pretty disappointed; I was too! So Gerrit will have to wait until our next trip up north to meet his crazy great aunts. 🙂

After nearly a month in Wisconsin, it was time to head down to North Carolina so Andrew could report at our next duty station. Since the rest of my family is in Tennessee, we made Chattanooga a stop on our trip. Only my mom had met Gerrit, so I was excited for my dad and youngest two sisters to meet our little guy!

Kelsi with Gerrit (sitting on his cousin!)

Kelsi’s little boy, Braxton, was pretty excited about meeting Gerrit! He wanted to hold him, play with him… pretty much anything that we would let him do ~~with~~ to Gerrit.

Aren’t they cute together?! Since meeting Gerrit, Braxton has become a big brother, and from what I hear he is loving it! I can’t wait until Gerrit and his new cousin, Nolan, are big enough to play together.

My sister Becki has said she won’t hold babies until they have some head control… so I’m glad Gerrit was almost 4 months old when she got to meet him. I wish we had had more time in Chattanooga for her to take some photos of him, because she has recently graduated with a degree in photography. Hopefully next time!

Last but not least, Gerrit had to meet my dad… his Papa! Gerrit’s middle name (Allen) is after my dad’s middle name. Since my dad didn’t get to pass on his last name to any boys, I wanted our first son to have part of his name.

I realize Gerrit doesn’t look thrilled to meet any of his family, haha, but he was much more interested in person! Like I’ve said, he is a pretty serious little guy. He really likes to observe people for awhile before he starts smiling and interacting with them. Slow to warm up to people, just like his momma. I’m hoping that the next time he sees everyone, he will get to play with them more and start to get to know them. I know he will love his crazy family!

Daily living · Parenting · Travel

Gerrit: 4 Months

March 4, 2015March 10, 2015 nk3302 Comments

I was going to delay posting this until we got Gerrit’s official height & weight from the doctor, but since we just moved, we won’t be bringing him in until almost the middle of the month. So his current stats are an estimate, and I’ll add the actual ones later. Turns out I was pretty accurate with my guesses!

Gerrit’s fourth month was spent living out of suitcases. Two days after he turned three months, we boarded a plane in London and flew to Chicago. Since then, we’ve driven around Wisconsin, from Wisconsin to Tennessee, and from Tennessee to North Carolina. The day after we arrived at our new base, Gerrit turned four months old!Yep, we forgot to pack the monthly onesies in our luggage, so they’re in our household goods. So I just snapped this photo on the day Gerrit turned 4 months. It is impossible to get this kid to smile for the camera!

Age: 4 months on 27 February 2015
Weight: 17 lbs (17.1 lbs on 10 March)
Height: 25″ (just over 25″ on 10 March)
Teeth: none
Clothing Size: 6 months & 6-9 months
Diaper Size: size 2 (barely)
Milestones: rolling from tummy to back once

Sleeping: The first thing I think of regarding Gerrit’s sleep once he turned 3 months old was the night before we flew out of England. He refused to stay asleep! I know I was probably making it worse, because I was fretting about how little sleep I was going to get before we had to wake up (3:30 AM). By the time he finally slept, I figured I had gotten about an hour of sleep. Thankfully, he slept on the coach down to the airport, so I was get a little sleep as well.

Once we got to my sister’s house, I think Gerrit hit his 3 month growth spurt. He had a few days where all he did was sleep and eat. I was so focused on getting him to stay asleep, that I was either napping with him or holding him while he napped. It wasn’t ideal, but I figured he needed it.

After that I started trying to track his sleep again. It really just showed how inconsistent Gerrit’s sleep is! For nighttime sleep, he has good nights and more restless nights. On the good nights, he goes to sleep and will stay asleep for nearly four hours before waking for his first night feeding. But on the restless nights, he wakes up every hour or so until I give up and bring him into bed with me. And then he will do his four hour stretch of sleep. For naps, Gerrit will most often only sleep for a half an hour or 45 minutes at a time. It’s frustrating! If I nap with him, he’s more likely to sleep for about two hours, but I really can’t nap with him every day and for every nap. And then he will surprise me and sleep solo for over two hours! I wish I knew how to make those fabulous long naps happen more often, but I haven’t figured that one out yet.

Overall, I’m hoping Gerrit’s sleep patterns become a little more regular once we get settled into a house. Unfortunately, that probably won’t happen until he’s over 5 months old. Until then, we’ll just keep doing what works for us.

Eating: Well, his weight gain has started to slow down, but I think Gerrit is still eating well. Those huge spit-ups he was doing? It only lasted 2-3 weeks. I’m not sure what changed, but I’m glad it’s over with!

Gerrit doesn’t have a feeding schedule; I still breastfeed on demand. In general, I think he needs a solid feeding every 3-4 hours right now. At one point I tried to coax him into a schedule (eating when he wakes up to try the eat-activity-sleep pattern), but if he wanted to nurse at the “wrong” time, I rarely denied him. Part of the reason for that is because I still think that some days he does most of his good eating during his night feedings. That’s when there are fewer distractions, and he’s cozy and sleepy. I’m hoping that eventually he starts eating better during the daytime hours, but I’m usually okay with him taking more calories at night for now. Eventually I think I’ll get tired of it, but we’ll deal with that when/if we have to.

Mommy Update: : I think every month I say that my milk supply is finally regulating, haha. Usually my supply doesn’t get too out of control, but on days that Gerrit surprises me with an extra long nap, I find myself having to hand express in the sink while waiting for him to wake up. Because he eats a good amount at night, I don’t usually end up engorged by morning, but it depends on how long his stretches of sleep are. I worry a little bit about him stretching out those nighttime hours of sleep, just because he hasn’t proven to be very consistent yet! I still need to use nursing pads every day, because I leak pretty regularly.

My weight loss has leveled out between 15-20 lbs. under my pre-pregnancy weight. I definitely have a high appetite, and I am enjoying eating whatever I want without gaining anything. I’m sure it helps that my alcohol intake is a lot lower than it was before I got pregnant either. 😉 I enjoy a glass of wine or two once in awhile, but it’s most often just when socializing. I’m hoping that once we get settled in a house that I can start eating healthier (since I can start cooking again) and lose more weight. Weight loss isn’t really a priority, but if it happens, great!

My mood has been much better since accepting my Mommy Instinct when it comes to parenting ideas instead of feeling self-conscious about them. When I doubt myself, anxiety takes over, and I obsess about becoming a better parent. That’s when I lose sleep and stop taking care of myself. Then Andrew has to force me to take a shower, eat, and/or get out of the house for a bit. It’s been so nice having family around; having more people to pass Gerrit to gives me more time to focus on myself. I try to take time to do things for me without feeling guilty, but some days it’s easier than others.

Pretty much the day Gerrit turned 3 months old, my hair started falling out. Like a LOT of hair. I noticed it mostly in the shower, but we started finding my hair all over the place. I know that it’s normal (hormone changes), but I can’t wait til it stops.

Best Moments: A lot more smiles and cooing from Gerrit! He is such a happy guy when he gets the sleep that he needs. He’s not shy at all, and enjoys spending time with anyone as long as they let him stand up and are willing to change positions and locations once in awhile.

Gerrit has started “talking” a lot more right before he turned 4 months old. He likes to say “ah-goo” and “ah-ha.” And when he’s mad, he yells, “Maa!” I’m pretty sure that’s for me, haha. He also started making loud noises that sound like a pterodactyl. He likes to squawk and yell when he’s really excited or fighting sleep.

Getting to meet his Grandma & Grandpa Kiel for the first time! He also met his Great Grandpa Kiel and GiGi (Great Grandma Schauder), as well as lots of his extended family.

Out for Friday fish fry with Andrew's parents — Out for Friday fish fry with Andrew’s parents

Gerrit also met my mom’s parents, his Papa (my dad), his three aunts, and his two cousins! I know my family was eager to meet him, and I only wish we could have spent more time with all of them.

Likes & Dislikes: Gerrit still really likes standing up a lot.

He enjoys us helping him to sit and stand. I started saying, “Up!” when I’m about to pull him to sitting, and we’ve noticed that he readies himself before I even pull up. Gerrit looks so proud of himself when he pulls up from sitting to standing – it’s so cute!

Right before he turned 4 months, Gerrit started trying to keep himself sitting up without support. If he’s leaning back on something, he’ll use his abs to try to sit up. Once he’s actually sitting, he ends up tipping sideways or slumping forward, but he works hard at staying upright.

...and tipping over, haha — …and tipping over, haha

He also likes to hang out on his back for quite a while if I play with his feet. He likes getting his diaper changed: he coos and wriggles around, all excited to have his skin bare! Gerrit likes putting everything in his mouth, especially his knuckles. He likes having books read to him and songs sung to him. He liked when his Grandpa Kiel played “Patty Cake” with him.

Gerrit still hates going to sleep. He doesn’t fight it so much at bedtime, but he is very stubborn about taking naps. He also dislikes being on his tummy for a long time.

He doesn’t like to be held horizontally (I think he associates it with being put to sleep). I don’t think he likes taking the time to eat meals, because he eats a good amount during the night. He does a little better when I go to a separate room so he’s not as distracted by everything else that’s going on.

Memorable Events: On the 7th of February, Gerrit rolled from tummy to back for the first time with minimal help. But he hasn’t done it completely independently yet. He doesn’t like being on his tummy, so it surprises me that he doesn’t roll from tummy to back more often.

Gerrit had a low-key first Valentine’s Day, although he got lots of kisses and cuddles from everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day! — Happy Valentine’s Day!

My sister, Amanda, arranged a surprise “meet the baby” shower for us. I suspected something was up, but it was still fun to see my friends! Plus she put together such a nice event with cute decorations and an adorable (and yummy) cake.

Gerrit went on his first road trip at the end of the month. We drove from Wisconsin to Tennessee to see my parents, and then we drove from Chattanooga, TN to the base in Goldsboro, North Carolina. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience (Gerrit hated being in the car seat when he wasn’t asleep), but we made it!

Gerrit’s fourth month was busy and a little hectic, but I’m so glad he got to meet so many family members. And now we can say we survived all that traveling we had to do — eager to see what North Carolina has in store for us for month 5!