William at 13 months

As of this morning, William now weighs 21.5lbs, has a head circumference of 18.25", and is 30 1/2" long.  

William is now 13 months, and this new month has brought many changes. Probably the biggest change for me is that he is now totally done breastfeeding, much to my dismay. Interestingly enough, right before he stopped breastfeeding for good, he suddenly started thinking that breastfeeding was funny. He'd latch on, and then latch off again, look at my nipple and laugh like it was the funniest thing in the world that I'd want him to breastfeed. Eventually he would nurse for a little bit (way shorter than he used to, about 4 minutes total instead of 8-10 minutes). But he'd always finish, look down and laugh again. It was like he was thinking, "Mom, this is ridiculous!"


I totally stopped pumping right around his birthday, but we kept that last morning feed, as it was the only one he would consent to. Then suddenly, two weeks later, he just started refusing that feed as well. I thought my boobs might get a little engorged or at least show some signs of distress from this sudden stop, but they didn't. Its almost as if they were relieved to finally give up the charade. They had been producing so little for so long, when they got the signal to stop, they did almost immediately. I had hopes of keeping that one feed for a few months more, but given that he had started to find breastfeeding so funny, I had a feeling the end was near. Maybe the next kid will want to go longer. Who knows? In its place we have instituted "milk and cuddles," where I give him a sippy filled with warm milk, and we rock in the nursery while he drinks it. Its not as nice as breastfeeding, but its a close second.

In the language department, William is babbling a lot, saying some words and mimicking sounds. He makes a "mooo" sound when I read him a book about a cow. I read him another book about a monkey and made the sound, "ooo ooo ah ah" and he said "ah ah ah." He has also started mimicking Michael and I in one very specific way: sighing. If either of us lets out an exasperated sigh, William copies it exactly, tone, duration and everything. It is adorable and usually makes us forget about whatever we were exasperated about to begin with! His very first word came out the other day, when we gave Will an apple and said, "Will do you want an apple?" He eagerly reached for it and said "apple!" I should have known his first word would be food related! This kid loves to eat! He also excitedly says "book" when I bring one out to read to him, he says "cheese" when I give him cheese, he says "up" perfectly and if I ask him if he wants something, he will crawl over and say, "yayaya!"


He is learning to share. He will be playing with something, and if I hold my hand out, he will hand it to me (most of the time). Then I hand it back to him, and on and on it goes. Such a fun, simple little game. He also will share food, holding it out in his grimy, sticky little hand, or try to put it in my mouth. Usually I decline those offerings, as sweet as they are.Occasionally I will oblige him and take a little nibble, and the look of satisfaction on his face is priceless!


He can now put objects back into containers,
instead of just taking them out. The other night I was putting his blocks back into their container, and he started helping me!! His fine motor skills are regularly practiced by delicately picking up any stray crumb or piece of fuzz that he can find, and shoving it into his mouth. I am constantly asking him to open his mouth so that I can extract whatever thing he has put in there this time. Gross motor skills are getting a fair shake also, as climbing is a new obsession. He tries to climb over just about everything, especially people laying on the floor, but also pretty much anything that blocks his direct path. Instead of going around, he just climbs over! He has also stood unassisted a couple of times, but as soon as he realizes that hes not holding onto anything, he falls. Eventually he will gain the confidence to walk, just not for the time being. Truth be told, I am not all that eager for him to walk anyway. He is already into everything as it is and that won't help matters any!

Finally, in the last couple of months, we have begun to play a new game. Maybe its because I knitted so many cute hats, and made him wear them as a newborn, but he now hates to wear hats, or any other head covering, and will not allow anyone else to wear one either. If he notices anyone wearing something on their head, he makes it his immediate mission to crawl over and remove said object. This is funny when its Michael or I (we play this game all the time), but not so cute when he does it to strangers or other kids. Needless to say, we've had a couple of embarrassing incidents!

 William is turning into an opinionated, very social and extremely active baby who wants to explore everything, everywhere constantly. He is quite a handful at times, and other times he is just a joy to be around. He reminds me of Michael a lot with his sense of humor. We laugh together all the time. He can be so sweet also, giving me hugs and kisses and wanting to cuddle in my lap. He doesn't like to be left alone for more than a minute or two, and loves to play with other kids. He certainly isn't shy (yet) like both Michael and I were as children. In fact, if you briefly leave the room, he will stand on the other side of the baby gate and shriek as loudly as he can (and its pretty freakin loud) until he either has your attention, or you re-enter the room. He is not to be ignored. Most of the time though, he is very well behaved and fun to be around. I am looking forward to him starting to talk a little more, and to be able to communicate with him more clearly.