I have seriously sucked at blogging this summer! I think my last big post was when Gerrit turned 18 months old… and that was back in May. Wow. So here’s my attempt to catch people up on what has been going on this summer before I go into more detail on things (if I have time).
Summer in North Carolina is hot and humid. I knew we would be outside a lot more this summer compared to last summer, since Gerrit isn’t a baby this summer. He is a very busy toddler who loves to be outdoors! We spent lots of time in the backyard checking out Andrew’s garden, playing in the dirt/mud/water, playing on the slide, drawing with chalk on the patio, and checking out any bugs we came across. Our patio is pretty well shaded in the afternoon, so most outside time happened after Gerrit’s afternoon nap and before dinner.
Look at the garden grow!This particular patch of dirt became “The Mud Hole”An afternoon at the splash pad on baseWe had lots of fun with our little poolSo much mud…
The day after the 4th of July, Andrew left for Officer Training School in Montgomery, AL. My mom spent the first couple of weeks of his training with us to ease the transition, but it was hard when she left. July was a pretty quiet month for us as we got used to life without Dada for awhile.
In August, I decided to take on driving from North Carolina up to Michigan for the annual family reunion on my dad’s side of the family. This was a big deal for me because 1) I had never done a road trip with just Gerrit & me before, and 2) Gerrit is usually not a very happy traveler. And I wasn’t sleeping well at night (ahem, Gerrit), so I was worried about actually making it to our destination without falling asleep at the wheel! Needless to say, we survived: North Carolina to Ohio, Ohio to Michigan, Michigan to Wisconsin, Wisconsin to Ohio, and Ohio back to North Carolina. Nice little tour of the Midwest… which I will blog more about soon!
Stopped in traffic in Chicago
We got back from our Tour de Midwest, had a week at home, then repacked and headed for Alabama for Andrew’s graduation from OTS! Thankfully, my mom came with for this trip. And it was a much shorter drive (one day instead of two). We loved seeing Andrew/Dada as well as Andrew’s parents, had a great time celebrating Andrew becoming an officer, and saw some friends as well! Again, a more detailed post on all of this to come.
Touring Maxwell AFB
Now here we are, mid-September, and we are preparing to move! I’m hoping I will have downtime here and there to get back into blogging, since this is a pretty exciting time for our family. Stay tuned for posts about our summer travels, our move, and our new home in TEXAS! ❤
Age: 10 months on 27 August 2015 Weight: 22.5 lbs Height: 28.75 inches Teeth: 4 Clothing Size: 12 months Diaper Size: size 3 Milestones: pulling up to standing, taking steps
Sleeping: Right after Gerrit turned 9 months old, we were still going through a Wonder Week (#6 – Categories), so sleep was not great. And pretty much as soon as he was out of the leap, we were on a trip to Michigan. I think this trip and sleeping in several different places kind of messed him up too. He was just a restless sleeper. Sharing a room with him meant that I heard him tossing and turning throughout the night… so I didn’t sleep great either!
Once we got home from our trip, sleep started getting back on track. Naps became a little better (but still irregular) and night wakings decreased quite a bit. But that only lasted a few days. Things got pretty rough for the rest of the month in terms of night sleep. I have decided I’m blaming it on those 2 top front teeth. They were much worse than the bottom 2 teeth!
Can you see those top teeth??
Naps seemed unaffected by it, but night sleep was brutal. There’s supposed to be another sleep regression between 8 and 10 months as well, so maybe we were dealing with all of that together… who knows. Most nights in August had 4 or more night wakings. I am happy to say that most of those wakings were brief: I’d nurse him back to sleep within 10 minutes. But there were a few nights where I was back and forth and back and forth trying to get him to settle back down to sleep. Hopefully things improve in month 11!
Eating: I feel like almost to to day, eating solids improved when Gerrit turned 9 months old. I suddenly realized that the food on his tray was disappearing… and not into the recesses of his high chair or the floor! It didn’t appear that he was consuming a lot, but he obviously was. It was pretty exciting!
Eating breakfast: French toast and nectarines
Some favorite foods? Blueberries and nectarines are probably his favorite fruits. He still enjoys green veggies, especially broccoli. Although Gerrit will sample any meat, I think he still prefers having a slice of steak or pork to gnaw on. Chicken seems to be a bit dry for him yet, and he’s not impressed with ground beef. Carbs are hit or miss: sometimes he really seems to enjoy pasta and bread and other days it gets swiped to the side for fruit or veg instead. He also LOVES these:
I’ve tried them, and I like them too! I think he probably likes that they have a yummy fruit flavor and that they melt in his mouth pretty quickly. He doesn’t have to work too hard to ingest those!
Breastfeeding is going great! I feel like after Leap #6 (Wonder Week), he started nursing better during the day. I also think Gerrit is getting better at letting me know that he wants to nurse. He either smashes his face into my boob or starts fiddling with my straps. But he still nurses the best right before he sleeps. I’m really starting to cling to these moments of breastfeeding. I can tell that I’m going to be sad to see it end, and I hope he doesn’t rush the weaning process.
Nursing really increased during those weeks of teething with those top teeth. I now know it was comfort nursing, and I’m so glad it was something that comforted Gerrit. I am really hesitant to give pain meds to him since he’s so little, so if he could be comforted by nursing, that is much better in my opinion.
Mommy Update: I feel like I need to do a separate post on Wonder Weeks, because my mood during those times versus “sunny” weeks is very different. As soon as a Wonder Week ends, I absolutely love being with Gerrit. Not that I don’t love being with him all the time, he’s just a lot more demanding during Wonder Weeks. So Wonder Week = stressed out, tired, grumpy Momma. And after it passes, I love my days with my little guy.
We have so much fun together during the day! Sometimes I feel like we really didn’t do anything at all, but we both enjoyed lots of smiles and cuddles, so it must have been a good day, right? 🙂 I will really miss our time together when I have to go back to work.
I was pretty sleep-deprived during this month. I started drinking coffee again (which I hadn’t done regularly since early in my pregnancy) to get through the afternoons. I also took a nap during Gerrit’s morning nap most days — I would barely make it back to my bed sometimes before I passed out!
Best Moments: Gerrit meeting more of my extended family. Everyone was completely smitten with him! He was so friendly and easygoing… I was pleasantly surprised! I was afraid he would have some stranger anxiety, but he did so well.
Spending time with Grandma Great
It was great for ALL of us to spend time with family! We had so much fun with my family, and I’m so glad that so many of us were able to get together.
Likes & Dislikes: Gerrit still enjoys being on the move! He crawls all over the place now, although he still does the army crawl when he’s frustrated or tired. He still likes us to walk him around, but he’s pulling up on furniture now (and me when I’m standing in the kitchen!) and walking along. He is still not sure about turning around corners though!
He also enjoys nursing in crazy positions now. He’s rarely content to let me just hold him to nurse unless he’s going to sleep. He likes to stand and bend over to nurse, lay across me, grab his feet and swing his arms around… it’s like breastfeeding a monkey.
Gerrit also loves getting into things! The biggest issue is keeping him away from cords. I’ve had to block off lamp cords in the living room and the cords in our bedroom too. He also likes going into the bathroom and pulling up on the bathtub so he can push his bath toys in.
What a stinker…
He still loves books, and his favorites now are lift-the-flap books. This is his absolute favorite. I’ve had to use tape to fix this book several times already. I have started rotating his books and toys to help keep him interested in his toys, minimize wear and tear, and help cut down on clutter and clean up time. Every Monday (“New” Toy Day), Gerrit quickly digs out his favorite books and toys that he hasn’t seen in a few weeks!
Gerrit is playing with one of his favorite toys in the photo above with his cousin Kaiden. Here’s a link to it on Amazon. He started out just enjoying looking at the different sized cups, but he’s starting to try to stack them now. My favorite thing about this toy is that there are several ways to play with it, and I think he will be able to enjoy it for a good amount of time.
Gerrit dislikes being left behind or not being included in things. He hates it when I walk away from him since he can’t keep up with me yet. He’ll normally just crawl after me while vocally complaining, but if he’s tired or cranky, he starts crying, wanting me to pick him up. He doesn’t like it when I’m cooking because he can’t be a part of that. I tried carrying him in the Ergo on my back while cooking, but that just wasn’t good enough for him! All chores include Gerrit: he needs to unfold clothes as I fold them and he tries to crawl into the dishwasher when I load and unload it.
Gerrit also dislikes getting ready for bed. He has never particularly enjoyed getting ready to sleep, but toward the end of the month he really started fighting it. It’s really tough to get a diaper on him as he’s trying to flip himself over the whole time. It’s pretty much a two-man job to get his pajamas on him now. And he gets so upset when he realizes that his fun his over and the parents are going to win again. I seriously need to try to get a video of his shenanigans!
Memorable Events: I think the biggest event for this month was our road trip to Michigan! After a lot of thought, we decided to split the 15 hour drive into two days with a stop near Columbus, OH (we stayed with friends there) to get the best result from Gerrit. He is a very busy little boy, and being stuck in his car seat for hours and hours is really hard on him. He is not the type of baby to just conk out for a nap or two while traveling, which means he needs lots of interaction and entertainment. Because he is not guaranteed to sleep in the car, I felt pretty wary about trying to drive through the night. Especially because that meant minimal sleep for Mommy & Daddy too. Not good!
We planned both driving days to begin shortly before Gerrit’s morning nap. Yes, that meant a later start than we may have wanted, but it also meant we got some relaxation and play time between breakfast and driving. And giving Gerrit the opportunity to burn some energy is always a plus! So he got a morning nap on our driving days, but he refused his afternoon nap those days too. That’s a LONG time for him to be awake, but he also wasn’t able to burn any energy either.
Stretching his legs!
I spent the first part of the driving days in the front seat. It gave Gerrit less distraction when trying to fall asleep for that morning nap, plus I got some time to crochet or just rest. But once he was awake, I moved to the back seat to begin my entertainment routine! I packed a big bag of Gerrit’s favorite books and toys, plus we had his kid music playing on Pandora so I could sing for him too. It worked pretty well, although it was pretty tiring for me.
Hello, North Carolina! We’re back!
But it paid off: Gerrit really did quite well on the road trip. I was so anxious about the trip because of our last big road trip (back in February). But I knew he was older and more easily entertained now, so I tried to be optimistic. The trip back down to North Carolina was not as great, because he was over all the driving by that point. In desperation, I actually breastfed while we were driving! I buckled myself into the middle seat, then leaned over into the car seat for Gerrit to nurse. It really helped out Gerrit, and I only got a few weird bruises from it, haha. I avoided looking out the window, because I wasn’t sure what kind of looks I would get from other drivers!
Overall, month #10 was pretty good. Despite the crappy sleep Gerrit and I got, we had so much fun seeing family and friends! This is such a great age, and I love playing and interacting with Gerrit. I love watching him discover new things, and his personality just makes me smile. There is no better feeling than being loved by this little boy!
Here are some more photos from his 10 month photo shoot:
What’s down there?Such a goofball!Cute baby!He loves to stand!
Happy 10 months, sweet boy! We love you so much, Gerrit!
I was so nervous about our big flight from London to Chicago with Gerrit, but as the end of February approached, I started worrying even more about our 12 hour drive to Chattanooga, TN. We had driven around Wisconsin seeing Andrew’s family, and Gerrit didn’t always do so well on long car rides.
We planned to leave my sister’s house on Sunday. Well, we did leave on Sunday… but not until about 4PM. That may have been a good thing though. We left right when Gerrit was due for a nap, so he slept straight through Chicago (3 hours)! By the time he woke up, it was a good time to stop for dinner. We stopped at an Applebee’s just south of Chicago. We figured it would be a good place to stretch our legs a little and let Gerrit let off some energy. He did fairly well at the restaurant: he ate about 3 times (have I mentioned that he’s a snacker?), we got him a clean diaper, and he started getting restless right when we were ready to leave. Back in the car though? Meltdown.
We drove for awhile listening to Gerrit cry. It was awful! Then I thought about putting on a CD that has one of the “night time” songs I sing to him. I don’t know if it was a coincidence, but as soon as that song started playing, he quieted down and then went to sleep. I was shocked. I didn’t think babies recognized songs at that age yet, but it seems that Gerrit immediately knew the song and associated it with sleep time. Yes, we have a genius baby! 😛 Then Gerrit slept for over 3 hours. It was awesome.
When he woke up again, we stopped for gas and for me to nurse him. Again, he cried a lot when we put him back in the car seat, but he settled down when we played the other song I sing to him. It took a little longer for him to calm down, but he did go back to sleep. This time he slept until about 3AM, I think.
We stopped for me to breastfeed again. I could tell we weren’t going to have an easy time this time. Gerrit was really sleepy, and I knew he wanted to nurse back to sleep…which he obviously couldn’t do in the car seat. Well, we tried putting him back in the car seat, and he was pretty hysterical. We tried pulling over to comfort him several times, but by that point, I was exhausted and crabby. We tried the CDs with those songs on them again, but Gerrit was done. He was happy to snuggle and hang out with us up in the front seat, but as soon as he was in the car seat, all hell broke loose again. I grumpily asked told Andrew to stop at a hotel. He had been really hoping Gerrit would cooperate well enough so that we could drive through the night to Chattanooga, so he wasn’t happy about stopping just to sleep for a few hours.
We stopped in a little place called Cadiz, Kentucky. I was SO happy to be stopping to sleep in a bed. We brought in the playpen, even though I doubted Gerrit would sleep long in it. The poor little guy was so tired, I barely had to try to get him to sleep. He slept for a little while in the playpen before I brought him into our (king size!) bed. We both woke up feeling much more cheerful.
The next day, Gerrit seemed to know what was up. We didn’t have far to go (4 hours or less), but he refused to take a long nap this time. We stopped for lunch at a little Mexican place, thinking it would be enough activity to tire Gerrit out a little. He wasn’t keen on going back to sleep again, but he did nod off for maybe an hour. We ended up having to stop again though.
The last half hour or so to Chattanooga was so long. I kept dangling toys into the backseat to entertain Gerrit. I would have sat back there with him, but we had suitcases piled up in the other half of the seat. Side note: if you ever need to cram a TON of stuff into a car, have Andrew do it. I still don’t know how he managed to get all of our crap in there. Anyway, I was overjoyed to see my parents’ place and couldn’t get Gerrit out of that car fast enough!
Stay tuned for part 2 about our drive from Chattanooga to Goldsboro, NC. 😉
On An Even Kiel 