November 30, 2021 by Stephanie

Walter-12 Months

One whole year. Twelve months of this little boy who has completed our family. He is the dream that I never though would come true. Today is about celebrating all that he has brought to our family and all that is yet to come for him.

Weight: 21 pounds and up to the 37 percentile. Our pediatrician is not concerned about his growth and weight anymore so that was positive to hear.

Health: He did have a double ear infection earlier this month, and we found out today that he has another one. He is cutting his two incisors, so I am sure that is contributing.

Diet: WE MADE IT TO A YEAR WITH NURSING! There were moments this month that I wasn’t sure that we would, but here we are! I decided that I would stop pumping last week and just start the weaning process through the Thanksgiving week since he does not have long nursing sessions. I only nurse him now in the morning and right before bed. I am not sure how long we will do that. Over the last week, he has either done really well nursing or he has had no interest. So we’ll see on that, but honestly it is just a relief to put the pump away. He has about 4 six oz bottles a day. My app says that we have had 108 feedings over this last month, and spent around 15 hours nursing him. I have also pumped 40 times over the month. I did not have this app the first month of his life, so I would estimate that in the last year I have nursed him close to 2300 times, and pumped close to 325 times. We are feeding him 3 “meals” a day, and he is becoming a really good eater. He is eating mostly what we eat at meals without much doctoring for him. His favorite food this month is definitely oranges.

Clothes: He is in size 6-9 month in clothes and size 4 in diapers.

Sleeping: Bedtime is around 8:30. During the week, I wake him up around 5:30 and do a quick nursing session before putting him back down. Due to school pick up times, his schedule is all over the place. He usually takes at least one nap a day if he sleeps in until around 9. But he can do two naps a day depending on when he actually wakes up. On the weekends, I don’t get him up until closer to 7am.

Likes: He still loves music, baths, and sticking his hands in Daphne’s mouth. He loves to play with with Daphne in the play kitchen, and is particularly fond of the play pots and pans. He has these little wooden balls that he likes to carry around. He likes to scrunch up cloth in his hands. He also loves to pull and play with my hair while he nurses. He loves doing penguin kisses with me.

Dislikes: He still does not like it when I leave the room. He does not like to wait on a formula bottle. He can hear when we are making them and screams until we get them to him. He apparently hates balloons, and he had a meltdown when we tried to do our birthday tradition with them in his crib. He hates oatmeal. He also is not fond of you trying to make his hands do things. We have been trying to teach him signs and clap, and he does not want you to do it for him.

Nicknames: Walt, Wally, Wally Bear, Wally Olly, Waller, Wallace, Wallaby, Butters, Sweet Bean, Stinkerdoodle, Waltie baby, Cutie baby, Sweetie baby, Baby guy, and Baby Walter. It’s really gotten out of hand…

Milestones: He is just really moving every where. He started climbing the stairs, and standing in his crib. He is drinking from a sippy cup. He is doing new sounds like “caca” and “gaga.” He also does squats and bounces a lot.He also started cruising across furniture, so I would think that walking is coming soon. He had his first Halloween (as Luigi) and Thanksgiving.

Quirks: My favorite quirk is that he hums while he eats. It is so funny to listen to him during meals. He does downward dog in his crib. He also likes to burrow his head in your lap.

We parents are: doing pretty good. My world was turned upside down at work due to some structural changes, and I am being challenged in all kinds of ways. But it has been good, I promise. I am learning a lot and being stretched in new areas of the college, so that has been exciting to learn and lean on a new team. I am not sure that there is anything else new, but we are doing good!

Big kids are: doing alright! At the start of the month, all three were sick at the same time. They both are still so in love with Wally. We had parent teacher conferences this last month, and it was so nice to hear how they are doing at school. Both received compliments about how kind they are to their classmates, which to me means so much more than anything else.

Daisy is: doing amazing. They are really warming up to each other. Within the last week, she has discovered all the food scraps that Wally drops at dinner. She also likes to burrow her head in your lap, so it is super fun when we are all on the floor when Wally and Daisy try to crawl in your lap.

In case you are curious, here is George at twelve months and Daphne at twelve months. I feel like I am going through the roller coaster of emotions with them all turning one all over again!

I think every parent has these moments where they grapple with time and how polarizing it can be. It is a bittersweet day to say goodbye to the baby days, but also I love everything that he is. He has been the perfect calm in the storm.

October 30, 2021 by Stephanie

Walter-11 Months

Weight: 20 lbs. The formula has helped the pounds to stick.

Health: He is doing good. We haven’t had any real concerns here.

Diet: With being a month out from having a nursing journey of some sorts for a whole year, I am doing whatever I can to make it a reality. Besides pumping at home, I won’t do that. I am drying up so my supply is really diddly squat, but I am determined to make it another month of trying. As hard as it was emotionally to start giving formula, it really has been such a help. He has about 3 or 4 six oz bottles a day. As for nursing, Walt feeds about 5 times a day, and on average it adds up to 1 hour of nursing. My app says that we have had 109 feedings over this last month, and spent around 20 hours nursing him. I have also pumped 38 times over the month. We are feeding him 3 “meals” a day, and he is really getting the hang of real food. I have kind of lost track of what new things he tried. He is eating mostly what we eat at meals without much doctoring for him.

Clothes: He is in size 6-9 month in clothes and size 4 in diapers.

Sleeping: Bedtime is around 8:30. He is doing so much better since we added formula. Our PAT educator also said because he started crawling that may have affected him sleeping better too. Regardless, I am just happy that he isn’t waking up several times during the night. During the week, I wake him up around 5:30 and do a quick nursing session before putting him back down. Due to school pick up times, his schedule is all over the place. He usually takes at least one nap a day if he sleeps in until around 9. But he can do two naps a day depending on when he actually wakes up. On the weekends, I don’t get him up until closer to 7am.

Likes: He loves the “That’s Not My” book series, and he squeals touching the sensory pages. He has these little egg musical shakers that he loves. He loves his lotion bottle. He has to hold it when I change his diapers otherwise a wrestling match ensues. Honestly, he loves to put anything in his mouth so everything becomes a toy to him. He loves his walker, and just zips around the living room and kitchen in it. He likes getting his teeth brushed. He enjoys any type of music, no dancing yet but he does love listening to it.

Dislikes: He still does not like it when I leave the room. He does not like to wait on a formula bottle. He can hear when we are making them and screams until we get them to him. He also was terrified of the movie Tarzan. Any animal that came on the screen he started crying in fear.

Milestones: He is full blown crawling now. This kid is everywhere. He is trying to pull up on everything too. He has free-standed for a couple seconds, so I think standing more independently is on the horizon. He can squat down without falling down. He is able to hold a food pouch packet on his own without flinging it everywhere.

Quirks: He juggles his food before he puts it in his mouth. He will swap it from hand to hand.

We parents are: doing pretty good. We are kind of on a high from adding Daisy to the crew just yesterday. We just realized we couldn’t live without a dog. Things have been pretty crazy scheduling wise. We are half way through the semester, so it is a heavy time at work. Really when you think of it, all the times are heavy at work, we just shift the kind of things we are doing. It is a really exciting time right now. There is a lot of great collaboration and brainstorming which is my happy place at work. Tom ran his first range as fire arms instructor, and he is living his dream out every day. It is so good to see each other doing our thing.

Big kids are: doing alright! It has been a busy month, and we have been managing. Both are doing really well at school, and are even waking up early to start their days. They love the holidays, so kicking off this sprint to the end of the year with Halloween this weekend really ramps up their spirits. They both love Wally in their own little ways. George has been trying to hold Wally a lot this month, which if you know George in real life is a little terrifying. Daphne is still obsessed with him, but now that he is moving, she has turned into more of a boss of him.

In case you are curious, here is George at eleven months and Daphne at eleven months. I was a little weepy looking back on them as babes.

Here we are in your last month as a baby, Wally. It is bittersweet trying to soak up all this baby stuff up for the last time.

September 30, 2021 by Stephanie

Walter-10 Months

Weight: 18 pounds. We learned at his check up last week that he is in the 9%, which is significantly down from where he was at his 6 month check up. There were a lot of concerns about how he is not gaining weight like he should. So cue the mommy guilt…But looking at George and Daph’s updates for this month they were both 19 pounds. Seeing that one pound difference makes it not feel as earth shattering as it did last week.

Health: He is cutting the top four teeth. The front two just popped down this week, and the incisors are coming. He did not seem to be having any health issues, but obviously his weight is now a concern.

Diet: Here is where the stress lies. I had been increasing his feedings to almost every 2 hours since he was only spending at most 10 minutes feeding (2-5 mins a side). He was also waking up in the night to feed. Shortly after he turned 9 months, we did add a formula bottle to help with the night feedings, but he was still waking up 2 hours after that bottle. So when I explained this to our pediatrician, she was concerned that this was all signs that he was not getting the calories that he needed during the day. My mom brain heard that I was starving my kid through nursing. She said that she wanted to have us bottle feed him so that we could visually see what we are giving him and see if the sleeping patterns changed. I refuse to exclusively pump though. The pump and I do not do well, and my mental state dramatically declines the more I have to depend on it to make this work. So we are going to move ahead and still nurse every 4ish hours, but follow it shortly after with a 4-6 oz formula bottle. After a week, it seems to be helping as we have only had a couple nights where he has woken up. As for nursing, Walt feeds about 5 times a day, and on average it adds up to 1 hour of nursing. My app says that we have had 147 feedings over this last month, and spent around 24 hours nursing him. I have also pumped 32 times over the month. I do know that I have nothing to feel guilty about with all of this We are feeding him 3 “meals” a day, and he is really getting the hang of real food. We added a squash, salmon patties, blueberries, watermelon, turkey, hamburger, shredded cheese, meatballs, and meatloaf this month. His favorites are peas, meatballs, and blueberries.

Clothes: He is in size 6 month in clothes and size 4 in diapers.

Sleeping: Bedtime is around 8:30. I wake him up around 5:30 and do a quick nursing session before putting him back down. He usually wakes up officially for the day around 8am. He does take a couple naps during the day.

Likes: He loves the “That’s Not My” book series. He has these little egg musical shakers that he loves. Honestly, he loves to put anything in his mouth so everything becomes a toy to him.

Dislikes: I can’t really think of much that he dislikes right now besides when I leave the room.

Nicknames: Walt, Wally, Wally Bear, Wally Olly, Waller, Wallace, Butters, Sweet Bean, Stinkerdoodle, Waltie baby, Cutie baby, Sweetie baby, Baby guy, and Baby Walter.

Milestones: He has taken a few scooches with crawling. He likes to plank for a long time, and just this past week has started figuring out how to move his arms to crawl. He has also figured out how to walk forward sitting in his walker. He also holds his own bottles now to feed. He has said Dada and Mama, but I am the only one in the house that has not heard him say mama. Tom won on this one that Dada was his first word, but I got George and Daphne’s first words.

Quirks: he does this fist pumping/waving motion with his arms stretched out wide when he is excited about something. He has a dimple on his left cheek only.

We parents are: We seem to be in survival mode this month. With the start of school and more activities, we seem to be always on the go. Tom has been really sick this past month, and he changed his diet up completely to help with some severe heartburn issues. Come to find out some acid reflux he was experiencing due to the heartburn actually caused pneumonia. Only Tom… Work for me has been flat out nuts, but in all the best ways. The start of a school year is always busy with new student meetings, programs, and settling into a new schedule. I am teaching a first year orientation class, which isn’t new to me, but it does add some things to my plate that I don’t have during the spring and summer. Right after school began, I was tapped to supervise a new department that our institution received a grant for. This is all really exciting, but it is a lot of work to try to squeeze into an already busy schedule. I just keep reminding myself that this is just a season and trying to make sure that I have some balance some days. I still don’t have email on my phone so I call that a win!

Big kids are: doing alright! We are month into school, and they seem to be really loving it. We also really ramped up the after-school activities. They are both in soccer, and they are getting better at it every week. George started Scouts, and he is so excited about all that he is going to learn. They have their first camp out this weekend, and you would think that they were going to space. I think it will be a really good fit for him. Daphne is starting to make some friends at school, and it has been fun to hear her talk about her day. I do think we are starting to see some regression from her with all the transitions of school and of being a big sister. She has had trouble communicating her emotions at home recently, so we are trying to make intentional sister time to see if that helps fill her bucket up more. They both still love Wally and dote on him whenever they can. They both have their own way of trying to teach Wally to crawl which is hilarious to watch.

In case you are curious, here is George at nine months and D aphne at nine months.

Wally, you are such a delight!

August 30, 2021 by Stephanie

Walter-9 Months

Weight: 18 pounds

Health: No big health concerns, but he is cutting the top four teeth. I can tell that he is uncomfortable, but he hasn’t had any fevers or rashes like my older kiddos when they were teething.

Diet: I have made it another full month of exclusively breastfeeding him! I honestly cannot believe that I have made it to NINE months! I really didn’t think we were going to make it all the way through this month. It has been a little tricky. He is only wanting to feed for 5 minutes max for each feeding, and a lot of that he spends crying or biting me. I have almost doubled the feedings throughout the day, and he is often waking up in the middle of the night. But we made it through another month. We will be adding formula for at least one feeding starting next week, as my freezer stash is completely out. Walt feeds 6-9 times a day, and on average it adds up to 1 hour of nursing. My app says that we have had 173 feedings over this last month, and spent a little over a day nursing him. I have also pumped 25 times over the month. We continued with solids this month, and he seems to be liking it a lot more. We added asparagus, crackers, rice, noodles, tilapia, salmon, hamburger, cauliflower, and peas this month.

Clothes: He is in size 6 month in clothes and size 4 in diapers.

Sleeping: We normally get him down around 8:30pm. He has started crying a little when I put him down the first time, but if I rock him another time, he usually will get to sleep the second time. As I mentioned, he is waking up in the middle of the night lately. Most of the time I will do a quick nursing session, and he will go back to sleep. He is getting up 1-3 times a night, and I never know what to expect. During the week, I get him up at 5:15am to do the first feeding of the day, and then he goes back to sleep. On the weekends, we sleep in until about 7am. He typically takes two naps during the day, but they aren’t usually very long. He is still sleeping in the zipadeezip. He moves so much in his sleep. He is never in the same spot when you glance at the monitor. We did have to move the crib down because he is starting to pull up, which is another level of terrifying.

Likes: He loves the “That’s Not My” book series. He starts waving his hands and trying to grab at the animals anytime I get these out. Apparently he loves volleyball. I took him to his first game, and he loved the noise and music and cheering. He kept jumping around and waving his hands every where. He love mirrors and his kick-and-play piano. He loves all his family, and he usually has smiles waiting for all of us.

Dislikes: He really hates the prep time it takes me to get him set up for feedings. He screams at me for the few minutes it takes me to get unwrapped or switch sides. He has also started getting really upset if I leave a room he is in.

Nicknames: Walt, Wally, Wally Bear, Wally Olly, Waller, Wallace, Butters, Sweet Bean, Stinkerdoodle, Waltie baby, Cutie baby, Sweetie baby, Baby guy, and Baby Walter. I think the most common are Wally, Wally Bear and Waltie. Apparently we really like nicknames.

Milestones: We are right on the cusp of crawling. He can get to all fours, and he rocks himself back and forth but just not forward yet. He can pull himself into a sitting position.

Quirks: he does this fist pumping/waving motion with his arms stretched out wide when he is excited about something.

We parents are: busy. Tom got an intense homicide case at work that affected a local family business we frequent. So that has taken up a lot of time, and he put his heart and soul into finding the person who committed the crime. I am so proud of him for following his intuition and not giving up on the leads. August in Higher Ed is just a busy month. I feel like a blinked and the month is over. I am feeling really good going into this year though. There is a lot of great energy on campus, and it is hard to believe this is my seventh year at CC. I really love my job and what I get to do every day. While August is a lot, it is one of my favorite times on a college campus.

Big kids are: enjoying the last days of summer. This is our last week before they start school. They both started fall soccer. George is loving the fast pace of the first grade team, and Daphne is still trying to figure it out. They both love Wally and try to make him laugh all the time. Both of them have tried to carry Wally, which I don’t fully trust from either of them, but it is sweet. We also got to celebrate George turning seven which is so crazy to think about!

In case you are curious, here is George at nine months and Da phne at nine months.

Before I know it, Wally is going to be the seven year old! It goes too fast!

July 30, 2021 by Stephanie

Walter-8 Months

Weight: He is 17 lbs.

Health: No big health concerns, but this month he has been a little fussier than my even keel baby normally is. I think there are a couple more teeth coming in.

Diet: I have made it another full month of exclusively breastfeeding him! My supply is going down when I am pumping, so I am not sure if it also going down when I am at home. The last couple weeks have been extremely difficult for us in this arena. He is only wanting to feed for 5-10 minutes for each feeding, and a lot of that he spends crying or biting me. I have had to add additional feedings throughout the day, and he is often waking up in the middle of the night. I just am not sure what is happening as I didn’t have this occur with either other kid. They were both on formula at this point. I am worried that he isn’t getting enough. But he is growing so I guess there is that. He just seems easily distracted or impatient with me. Walt feeds 5-7 times a day, and on average it adds up to 2 hours of nursing. He was going around 4 hours between feedings during the day, and then this week is about every 2-3 hours. My app says that we have had 159 feedings over this last month, and spent 2 days nursing him. I have also pumped 17 times over the month. We continued with solids this month, but we haven’t been pushing it too much since he still doesn’t seem too interested. He does really like strawberries, peaches, and green beans. We added sweet potato fries, yogurt, and applesauce this month.

Clothes: He is still in size 3-6 month in clothes and size 3 in diapers.

Sleeping: He is still fairly good about going to sleep when we put him down in the crib. We normally get him down around 8:30pm. As I mentioned, he is waking up in the middle of the night lately. Most of the time I will do a quick nursing session, and he will go back to sleep. During the week, I get him up at 5:15am to do the first feeding, and then he goes back to sleep. On the weekends, we sleep in until about 7am. He typically takes two naps during the day, but they aren’t usually very long. He is still sleeping in the zipadeezip, and this kid cruises around in his sleep. He started consistently rolling to sleep on his stomach. He often rolls to the edge of the crib and gets him self stuck between the bars. It is terrifying.

Likes: Daphne and Tom are his favorite people, and they can always get smiles out of him. He only cuddles with my mom. He loves blankets, and he is always trying to bunch them in his fists. He is putting everything in his mouth, so it has been helpful to have the pacy around. He really loves my watch and putting it in the relax mode.

Dislikes: He really hates the prep time it takes me to get him set up for feedings. He screams at me for the few minutes it takes me to get unwrapped or switch sides. When he is having a non-chill moment, he does not like for you to be sitting. We should not relax to calm down!

Milestones: I think we are so close to crawling. He did a full plank today. He props his arms up, but hasn’t quite figured out how to get his legs up just yet. He does scoot himself backwards everywhere. He has started grabbing at books and becoming more invested as we read to him. He did have a lot of firsts this past month with our vacation. He did so great on the planes. Most of the time I would nurse him, and he would just pass out. He was not a fan of the beach though. With all of our adventures though, he was so good just chilling in the stroller as we carted him around the Orlando area for a week.

Quirks: He only rolls from his back to his stomach. I could not even tell you the last time I saw him go from stomach to back. Wally is unaffected by fireworks. This face is also a constant where he looks like he is sucking in his bottom lip.

We parents are: doing alright. It was a weird month with our 4th of July party and vacation. I feel like we just got back to our routine this past week. I will say that it was our best 4th ever, and Tom really out did himself with our firework display. The vacation was a blast, and I am so glad we were able to create some memories like that for the kiddos. Work has picked up with back to school prep activities for me so I feel like my brain is constantly on the go. I also have been in the office quite a bit but never on the same days each week, so I never really know what day it is.

Big kids are: doing pretty good. They loved our Florida trip, and they still talk about it daily. George had summer school this month, which was fun to see him find a groove again with his new class. He also did a state soccer tournament this month, which was an adventure. We concluded our first t-ball season, and quite possibly our last. It is very clear that he is not going to be a baseball star, but he sure did have fun building mounds in the gravel dust! Daphne is Wally’s biggest fan, and she is the Wally whisperer if he is having a bad moment. They are both obsessed with each other. It will be fun to see them continue to bond. It is hard to believe that this is her last month before school starts for her. We have been watching the Olympics, and that has been fun watching gymnastics with her and seeing her recognize things from her class.

In case you are curious, here is George at eight months and Daphne at eight months.