17 months

17 months

I feel like Wilder has advanced SO much this past month. From WALKING (started April 15) to 4 new teeth, to saying tons of words and asserting his independence in many new ways, Wilder is changing very quickly. At 17 months old, he's a happy kiddo, quick to laugh and enthralled by his world around him. He also has definite ideas about what he'd like to do at times, and likes to stick to them. It's a whole new world with a toddler and we are loving watching his little mind process his world.

This month, Wilder:

• Is still in 18 m tops and 12 m bottoms, but I feel like his waist is actually slimmer than it was a couple of months ago. He's still in 4W shoes. Don't know his height or weight.
• Can walk on his own, and he walks everywhere now. He went from walking a step or two here and there to mummy-walking down the hall and he has been on a roll ever since. He wanders around the house, sometimes carrying a toy. It's so funny to see where he wants to go. He'll walk around outside a lot too, and will hold our hand for balance on rough terrain. We still mostly carry him if we're going anywhere remotely far or fast of course. He barely crawls now. It's crazy.
• Words he can say: mama, dada, mimi, papa, moon, mow (mower), mailman, wee-oh wee-oh (siren), oh yeah, bubbles, puff, apple, baby, berry, bob (from Bob the Builder, his new favorite show) and meow. Right now Wilder wakes up and says "mama, dada, BOB." He can string together phrases like pointing at the lawn mower and saying "papa, mo" which is funny because his Papa Dean comes and mows our lawn. He looks for the mailman EVERY day and will want to go outside saying "mailman" over and over if he thinks the mailman might be here. He can also point out his head, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, arms, hands and feet when you ask. He knows there's a baby in my tummy and will point at my stomach and say "mama baby." He will grab the remote and say "BOB. BOB." because he loves that show. He'll "meow" when he sees the cat or is holding his cat toy. I feel like his communications skills are JUMPING this month! Every few days he says a new word.
• He got 5 new teeth this month: a molar and three canine. I feel like it's been 6 months since he got any new teeth! Another canine is on its way and I'm pretty sure he has more working their way through.
• He had been sleeping through the night just about every night... till this week. Sometimes he gets up once a night and he is NOT happy about it. See previous teething point.. I think that's the root.
• Working on weaning... we've dropped his afternoon session and are close to dropping mornings... but this week he's making up for lost time and nursing at night again. sigh. He still nurses 3x a day at this point.
• Wilder eats a lot. He enjoys rice with anything. Pears are his favorite. He likes croissants and tortillas and he likes pasta sometimes. He enjoys dipping his veggies and meats in balsamic vinegar, puree or yogurt. He loves strawberries and blueberries. Yogurt and cheese are daily staples. He'll eat his cheerios (it's called Love O's and they're made of beans. Pretty tasty and 6g of protein!) with a little milk. He eats oatmeal and /or almond butter toast every morning. We use pouches of puree as jelly/condiments/dipping sauce and he also likes to suck them straight out of the pouch. These days he eats in courses until he's full. :-) 
• His favorite books still have to do with trucks, or construction, or Curious George.
• We still spend a great deal of time outside. Wilder helps me care for our herbs and blueberry and strawberry plants. We check our strawberry plants for new fruit every day. He also loves the sandbox and water table and makes a beeline for them eery chance he gets.
• Wilder is my little snuggler still. He needs it a lot lately. Even though he's a big boy, he still needs some hugs from mama and I so appreciate that!

We caught the tail end of bluebonnet season this month, but we did get some shots! On the way to the field, he figured out how to dump his sippy of water all over his car seat. I of course didn't pack extra clothes. So... his bottom is *soaked* here. oh well... :-) Here are some more photos!

Evidence! An entire cup of water. lol.

Baby Bump #2: 16 weeks

Yay for baby bump!

We've passed the first trimester with flying colors. Woo-hoo, I say! I feel like the nausea was less noticeable this time... I felt sick, but not enough to where I had to lie down. And I was really, really REALLY tired... but I didn't take naps like I did the first time around. However, my time is spent a lot differently these days, so it's possible that I just powered through. Who knows. I am thankful! I had food aversions and craved pasta and bread all the time... and Dr. Pepper. :-/ And I had a round of being sick/breaking my finger/allergic reaction/WAY too many dr. visits for little things that all added up. But those days are somewhat behind me. I still get tired, but I feel good for the most part. No complaints!

My bump got bigger, faster this time. Even though at my last appointment I had only gained a pound, I had to break out the belly band by 12 weeks and had to start wearing maternity pants soon after. I'm not really sad about it... they're way more comfortable than regular clothes!

After doing some research, we've decided to stick with the same practice for prenatal care and delivery: the UNT Nurse Midwives. I'm excited about our next appointment on May 7: We'll have an anatomy scan and *hopefully* learn the baby's gender!

We haven;'t bought anything for the new baby yet. We bought another convertible car seat for the truck, but Wilder uses it right now. We're waiting to find out the gender to pick an infant car seat and nursery items. If it's a boy we won't need many clothes, but if it's a girl it's a totally different story! Most of our items are gender neutral. I just have to decide on what kind of double stroller to get! And of course other things I am not concerned with just yet. :-)

As much as work deadlines allow, I've been power walking with Wilder in the jogging stroller. We have been lengthening our distance. Today we walked 3 miles in 55 minutes. I've been averaging walking 3-4 times a week. I have not been doing much strength workouts or stretching, so that's the next thing I want to revisit. I did some pushups and squats today. I just want to be strong and have endurance! I can do prenatal yoga now, but I haven't started that up again yet.

So looking forward to learning the gender. It helps so much with bonding to me. It's hard to believe I'll have another newborn this fall, but I'm so looking forward to watching our family grow. For now, Wilder's at a really fun age. I'll share more about that in another post this weekend!