11 months is such a fun age. There are so many big developments taking place and I can almost see the changes take place on a day-to-day basis. Zoe seems to understand a lot of what we communicate to her and she uses a combination of sounds and motions to tell us what she wants. We've been using some baby signs, mainly just "more" and "all done", and Zoe sometimes flaps her hands together when we are eating. I'm not sure if she's telling us she wants more, or if she's just clapping at us. Being able to communicate is one of the most exciting milestones.
Playing Peek-a-boo
Standing and cruising like a big girl
The other very exciting milestone that we are so close to is walking. Zoe still cruises a lot and may take a step here or there. Over the past week or so, I've worked on having her take a few more steps. I expect that at the 1-year update she'll be walking like a pro.
You can't turn your back on an 11-month-old
The two stresses of this age both relate to eating and food allergies. Because Zoe is not yet a year, her school still requires us to provide milk for her. On the days she is with me, Zoe does still nurse fairly regularly (like 4-6 times a day). On the days she goes to school, I try to send three bottles with at least 4 ounces each. At school they tell me she likes a bottle for her nap and she's been alternating between 2 and 3 naps a day. To get 3 bottles, I have to pump 3 times at work during the week, plus pump before bed every night (7 days a week). So many times I want to go to bed at 9pm after putting the girls to bed, but I have to stay up to pump one more session. Since we are now so close to a year, the end is in sight, which is what keeps me going. The major milestone that I look forward to is not having to pump anymore!
All dolled up for a wedding, and wanting out of her car seat
I'm not quite sure what we will do when we do get to a year. It's hard to know if Zoe drinks more breast milk because we don't offer as much solid food to her, or if it's because she just likes mommy's milk. Zoe has had skin reactions to a variety of solid foods, like dairy, eggs, and some nuts. She was fine with a cashew packaged bar, but then broke out in a rash when eating a similar bar that had almonds and walnuts. Most of the reactions result in patchy rashes on her face that look like hives. She'll often scratch at her face a bit, making it look worse, but once we wipe her down, the rash often clears within a few minutes. The cheese still continues to be the only food that made her throw up. We've given her very small amounts of cow's milk and most times she gets a little rashy. The pediatrician told us we could go straight to water and skip milk. To do that, I think we'll have to get better at giving her more food (and a variety) throughout the day. With it being summer, we've relied a lot on snacks (like fruit, cheerios, granola bars), and/or eating meals at the pool. I don't know how she does so well eating solid food without any teeth! We'll have some scheduling changes starting in October, which corresponds with the end of the summer from the perspective of the pool closing down. I expect we'll get back on target with cooking a variety of entrees that we can all enjoy. We stopped doing our community-supported agriculture (CSA) share last year because it was hard to keep up with it while having a young infant. I'm hoping we can rejoin for a winter share that will include produce and eggs.
Being a ham at snack time
This past month we also had to start double-stuffing Zoe's cloth diapers because she had been leaking through them so much at school, resulting in several clothes changes a day. Other than that, we haven't had many changes to her cloth-diapering routine.
In preparation for Zoe's entry into the 1-year-old class at school, she has started taking her naps on a cot instead of in the crib. I wasn't sure how that transition would go, but she's done great with it. For the most part, she still prefers a morning nap around 10 and a long nap mid-day (12 or 1). Many times, she also wants a nap at 4. Because of our summer schedule, she's been going to bed fairly late, between 8:15-9pm, which might be why she wants that 3rd nap during the day. She has a consistent 6:30-7:30am wake up time.
Zoe did a fair amount of sleeping in the car seat in July
We did a lot of traveling in the car during the month of July, and both girls did fairly well. During a quick weekend trip to New Jersey, we drove almost 1000 miles in two days. We left Saturday morning at 2am and arrived home Monday morning at 2am. It took a long time for us parents to recover from that trip. Because the girls got to sleep for most of the drive, they did just fine!
I know that time passes too quickly and before I know it, the girls will be grown, but there are a few milestones that are coming up soon that I look forward to. In addition to not pumping, being done with bottles, and seeing Zoe walk and start communicate, I also look forward to slightly cooler weather. While I do like summer, this year has been oppressively hot in North Carolina. We've had 45 days reach over 90 degrees. I hate that indoor spaces are freezing (like my office) and then it's so hot outside. I think my favorite time of year in North Carolina is September-November. The weather is comfortable and there are so many kid-friendly fall activities. I basically want to get to mid-September and then freeze time for awhile. Who can I talk to to make that happen?
Sometimes it feels like life is flying by and I want it to slow down and other times I find myself looking forward to the next milestone. I'm one of the first to admit that the first year is really hard and on many occasions I have said that I will look forward to this fall and winter when Zoe is a little older. I do appreciate this age and how fun it is to see our little girl grow and develop. But, it's also difficult to have a young child who can't yet communicate her needs and still relies on mommy's milk.
Zoe at 10 months (a week or two late)
A smile now that she can play with the camera lens cap
The big news at 10 months is that Zoe is close to walking. She still crawls from place to place on one knee and one foot, but any time she can stand with support, she will. I often leave and find her standing playing with toys at school. And at home she loves standing at the coffee table that doubles as a toy storage area. There she can reach into the toy box to grab the toys she wants (within reach). When she's busy playing, she often forgets that she is not holding onto anything and she can stand unassisted for several seconds. She hasn't gotten over her fear of taking steps on her own, but I expect she will fairly soon.
At 10 months, Zoe has mastered the wave hello and bye bye. Often, she makes the number 4, by tucking her thumb into her palm as she waves. And, we call her wave, the "pope wave" because she puts her hand just slightly above her head and away from her body and makes short quick waving motions. You can see a little bit of it in one of the science museum videos.
During June and early July we did a fair amount of traveling. Colin and I describe summer in North Carolina as "dog breath air." It didn't seem like June was that bad, but July has been very hot. We try to get out of town as much as we can in July. Our big 4th of July week trip took us up to State College, PA to visit a friend, further north to Niagara Falls, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario (Canada), a little farther north and east to Montreal, Quebec (Canada), and back home to North Carolina with stops near Burlington, VT to visit a friend and the Albany, NY area to visit family. I'll post about our travels on another post, and will stick to Zoe's updates during the month.
Enjoying the baby play area at the Toronto Children's Museum
Standing to play and poop at the museum
Zoe exploring the Toronto Science Museum
Zoe cruising and almost walking
Zoe pooping:
As you can see in the video of Zoe playing with the brush on the wall, she's very inquisitive and cautious. Many of you have seen how long it took her to smile for the camera. She's somewhat shy, but determined. Even though that brush pricked her hand the first time she touched it, she proceeded more cautiously the second time and focused on the task at hand. Learning is serious business.
I'm almost afraid to post of our good fortune related to health with both girls at daycare/school. Over the past month or two, neither of them have gotten sick. I was really worried when we received notice that Zoe's class had hand, foot, and mouth on two separate occasions, and Rose's class had a confirmed case of croup. Zoe's teachers do a great job of washing all the children's hands the minute they are dropped off at school. In Rose's class, we drop the kids off outside and when they come in at 9am, it's snack time and they have to wash their hands. I hope our good fortune continues because healthy girls make for a happy family!
A typical reaction from Zoe when Rose plays with her.
She has a 50/50 chance of being hurt by Rose each time.
We continue to introduce new foods to Zoe in the hopes she will be able to eat what we eat. Now that the weather is hot and fruits are in season and appetizing, we've been giving her more variety. She still loves bananas and now has a love for grapes too. She's also content to receive strawberries, blueberries, and watermelon. She's a fan of meats like chicken, beef, or pork. We tried salmon this month and her face got a little red and blotchy, but it wasn't bad at all. We also finally tried a little egg yolk and so far she seems to not have any reaction. We'll likely do the egg white soon. Zoe's 9-month doctor's appointment actually took place around 9.5 months. Since we were going to the doctor, we decided to let Zoe try a piece of cheese. Within a few minutes, her face seemed to be itchy and got red and blotchy. And several minutes later, she actually threw up. So far that has been the only reaction. We will likely not do block cheese again soon. She seems to do okay with cheese that is cooked in foods (like meatballs or pizza). It might also be the type of cheese, or type of processing.
While we are likely in okay shape with Zoe's milk intake, I have really stressed out this month with pumping breast milk. Zoe's school has not been as receptive to me bringing less milk to school like Rose's school was. So, I've spent more days "power-pumping" at work and adding in an extra bed-time pumping session. Going back to my first paragraph on this blog, this is one milestone that I can't wait to get here. I have about 5 bags of pumped milk for Zoe left and she still has 6 weeks before she turns 1. Part of the problem at school is the teachers and the other part is that Zoe likes her milk. Rose liked food and milk and could take either with no problem. If given the choice, Zoe would choose mommy's milk 100% of the time. On the days I am home with her, she still wants to nurse 5-6 times a day. Unfortunately breast pumps are so inefficient at pumping breast milk. And, I would guess that Zoe stops nursing when the milk doesn't flow so easy when she is with me, but when she gets it from a bottle, she wants more.
Zoe continues to be a great sleeper, going to bed between 7:45-8:30pm and getting up between 6-7am. She is starting to transition from 3 naps a day to 2. At home, she usually wants a 1 hour morning nap around 9:30, a two-hour nap mid-day, and a 30-45 minute nap around 4 or 5. At school it seems like she takes a two hour nap late morning and she's often sleeping when I pick her up at 5:30. The pacifier is a source of comfort for her, and she looks for it when she wakes up in the morning. Sometimes sucking on it puts her back to sleep. We've been trying to put her down to sleep without it and only giving it to her when she needs to relax.
Sleeping in daddy's Ergo backpack
Going for a ride on Grandpa's boat is tiring
While the lifejacket pillow was nice, the jacket constricted too many movements
We continue to use cloth diapers at all times except overnight. At this age and with giving her so much milk or water, Zoe pees a lot and her diapers are often saturated. She frequently pees through the diapers and needs several clothes changes per day. After 2.5 years, I think my Bum Genius diapers are done. I had about 12-13 and there are only a few that actually have an in tact PUL. I've switched back to using my Charlie Banana diapers and the newer Fuzzibunz from Costco. I'm hoping these will get us through another year and that we can get Zoe potty trained early like Rose did.
Zoe is excited about seeing Niagara Falls from the Ferris Wheel
Rocking some shades on Centre Island (Toronto) beach on Lake Ontario
As you can probably see in the pictures, Zoe's hair is really coming in. It's fairly straight, somewhat thick, and light-colored. In the sun she looks blonde. Her eyes remain blue and I don't see any hints of other colors. Thankfully, we haven't had any problems with her skin, with rashes or sunburns. She is fair-skinned and I worried she would burn easily, but she seems to tan with the sun's rays.
Though I look forward to Zoe reaching one year for selfish reasons relating to pumping, I do enjoy the 10-month-old stage. I love seeing her personality develop, her start to "talk" and make noises, her persistence in getting what (or where) she wants. While Zoe's talking is still mostly babbling, her favorite sounds are "ah-da." We've been working on "ma-ma" and I sometimes get that sound when I'm around and she wants to be picked up. It will be interesting to see how her language develops since she spends 3 full days a week in a Spanish-language immersion school. In reflecting on Rose's 10-month-blog post, Rose was already making different letter sounds like "fif" "mam" "da" and "ba." We'll just have to wait and see what she says when she's ready and when she decides to walk. Only time will tell!
