I haven’t done a Tommy update since I think he turned 1 and since my blog is his baby book, I’m going to jot down a few fun things.
Is Tommy still nursing?
Yep. Unfortunately. I had hope going on the cruise would help him wean himself. I did wean him for about 12 hours… He was mad at me when I got home and didn’t “want” me. In the morning it was another story. I continued because I thought it would be helpful on our flight to London. Now that we have no planned flights right now, I’m getting ready to officially cut him off. I only nurse in the morning, at night and occasionally if we are home during the day and he is pulling on my shirt.
I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be to stop!
Is Tommy sleeping through the night?
He is. He just wakes up early. He goes down at 7 pm most nights and will sleep 10.5-11.5 hours. He goes to bed very easily, we have no problems. He never wakes up anymore before 5 am. When he gets up usually at 6:15 am he is so thirsty. He will down an entire cup of water or milk if mom is around. We are going to start putting a water sippy cup in the corner of his crib per a recommendation from a book. He wakes up well rested once he has a drink but cries and cries until he gets it and won’t go back to sleep. I only share this because some of you suggested we leave him in his room until we are ready to get him. I can’t physically do this. I’m too weak as a mom hah.
We recently ditched a sleep sack and he’s just sleeping in pjs. He has a stuffed bunny he loves to sleep with from Jelly Cat but that is all we put in his crib right now.
What does he like/dislike in the food department?
Tommy is not a great eater. Some days he eats a ton and other days, he eats very little. He loves cheese and anything made with cheese so this includes string cheese, cheese bunnies, goldfish, these cheese sandwich cracker things, grilled cheese, sliced cheese and more… He isn’t a big fruit guy but LOVES watermelon. He isn’t a big veggie guy either so I strategically have to get them in his food in a meatball or nugget. He loves peanut butter and hummus so usually I just put one of the two on fruit or vegetables and he will eat it.
He loves anything expensive too, like avocado toast, kale chips, smoothies (only from Juice Press or Whole Foods) and more that I can’t think of right now. He likes things I ate when I was pregnant.
I think the problem with Tommy’s diet is that he wants adult food and I keep giving him kid stuff. He would rather eat a kale pesto hummus than plain hummus. He doesn’t like kids greek yogurt, he wants mine with all the fixings.
He still does not drink cows milk at all or juice either.
Is Tommy talking?
He has a bunch of words but you probably would only be able to understand a few of them like Truck or Hi. Hi is his favorite word by far and he says it to literally EVERYONE on the street or in stores.
Other favorites include belly (which is in fact his belly), shoe (which he also says in reference to a foot or sock), eye (actually his ear), bear and doggy. Today I noticed him doing the “more” sign in sign language. That was a first.
How much does he weigh? How tall is he?
Tommy is a big boy. At his last check up he was over 28 lbs and in the 95th percentile for height which I do not remember. He is wearing 18 month old clothes but a lot of his tops I buy 2 T or 24 months already.
How many naps is he still doing?
Another tricky one here for me… we are still on two naps and I’m trying to push it to 1 but he just doesn’t seem to be budging. At 16 months, he is on the early side to transition but people have made me feel like he should be ready and it’s up to me to push his schedule. I just assumed it would be easy like going from 3 to 2 naps. It’s not! His naps are pretty all over the place but I’m trying to keep him up a bit longer in the morning. His problem is that he wakes up so early that by 10 am he is exhausted. He did one nap yesterday and went to bed at 6:30 pm. He slept through util 6:15 am which is normal but is currently going on a 90 minute 2nd nap which would be a total of 2.5 hours for the day.
Favorite activities?
Tommy loves to be outside. At the park is where he is happiest. He loves balls and running around. He also loves to fall on purpose and scare his mother by pretending to jump off the high jungle gym apparatus. He is still obsessed with dog but the bigger the better. He also loves to play hide and seek, especially in the pillows of mommy and daddy’s bed.
He loves reading books. Although some of them like any Dr Suess we barely can get through!
He also really loves a good episode of Sesame Street. We try to limit TV like every parent but we also use it to our advantage to just chill for a minute since he is so active all the time while awake. The child will not sit still!
In Boston, our favorite things to do currently are the playgrounds, the Children’s Museum, Little Lovage Club Messy Munchkins and visiting our cousins in the suburbs.
Mom’s least favorite habit of Tommy’s?
Tommy hates to be in his stroller right now and prefers to walk. It’s always a struggle to get him in the Vista so he walks beside me stopping at every drain, stoop, dog, person, whatever along the way.
He also loves to throw the food I take the time to healthfully cook on the floor (again like all small children). We often feed him instead of letting him use a fork and spoon because we know he will just chuck whatever utensil we give him with food on it. I do wonder if we should let him do stuff more independently.
He hates to have his diaper changed but it’s been better lately. He also loves to climb on everything which now means round two of child proofing. Tommy can get up to the very top of the toilet and kitchen table. His new favorite spot to watch Sesame Street is sitting on top of the coffee table.
Are we potty training?
Nick’s mother told him that he was potty trained by 1 1/2… so therefore the two of them have begun to “potty train” Tommy. I really don’t see how there is any way Tommy could possibly be potty trained by July but I bought the Baby Bjorn Small Potty on Amazon that sometimes he’ll sit on before bed. Nothing has ever happened and I seriously wonder if these facts Nick believes accurate.
I can’t think of anything else that people usually ask me but if you do have a question, leave it in the comments below!
Photos were taken by the lovely Lucie Wicker and I was styled by Keely Witkowski. Can you guess who so jealous of the finished product that he asked for his own photoshoot for Father’s Day?
As I hit publish on this blog post reports of the Ariana Grande concert explosion are coming out. I’m sick to my stomach and all my postpartum anxiety feelings are coming back. I’m holding my baby extra close tonight and not taking one day for granted. What a scary time it is we currently are living in 🙁 I’ve wanted to do a post on my postpartum anxiety for awhile and think I’ll be sharing next Monday finally.
Great to read a Tommy update! He’s getting so big! I had to laugh at the breast feeding and Tommy pulling on your shirt! When my nephew was about Tommys age and he would fall down or get a “boo-boo” my sister would just breast feed and he would instantly stop crying! She didn’t need boo boo bunny, she had boo boo boobie! And potty training, you have a while! Children are usually potty trained between 2 and 2 years 9 months!! That’s when they are ready and they get it!
My 2 cents try not rush the nap transition or potty training. They will both happen for sure, obviously some encouragement on your end is needed but try not to get frustrated with it. Especially potty training. We had to implement a reward system to finally get our daughter over the hump on it. Worked like a charm, really took the pressure off us. I forget where it was, but I read somewhere that ” we’re always rushing our kids to grow up before they’re ready to do so.” I always think of that especially when approaching a milestone.
I cannot believe how big Tommy is getting. Its been so cool to watch you go through various stages of parenthood! Have you ever done a post on trying to get pregnant? I’m wondering if you did anything to prepare your body- like cleaning up your diet more, or easing up on your workouts?
Love these updates -- Tommy is so cute!! Stopping nursing is so hard, and no one warned me about it. A friend who nursed for 18 told me about a pretty good strategy that also worked for us: have dad get baby in the AM and get him all excited to have a banana (or whatever) first thing in the AM. So the banana eventually replaces that nursing. Once you’re down to nursing just at bedtime, have dad start doing the bedtime routine with a water cup whenever possible, and after a few weeks, nursing will be forgotten. it took us a couple of months because I’m a softy, but worked really well. There were lots of tears at first at bedtime, but now I feel so free! good luck!!
Thank you!!!every bit of advice helps
First, I wanted to say I am happy that you continue to share this part of your life; Tommy is growing so fast and shows tremendous personality. He’s so darn cute!
I agree with the comment above, don’t rush the potty training. Potty training is the one thing they have full control over. I was happy to still use diapers, I didn’t get stuck at home to be close to the potty, I didn’t have to navigate a disgusting public restroom begging my kids to not touch anything. When they’re ready they’re ready.
I never used a “potty” I didn’t want to have to clean out another thing, we just got a ring for the toilet. For boys, when he’s ready, you can put cheerios in the toilet and have him “aim” for them; I’ve heard putting food coloring also, although I am not sure that it doesn’t stain porcelain.
Hah! I love the Cherrio idea!!
I love these updates 🙂 and I hate being “that person”, but don’t push the potty training! Kids that potty train early tend to have many more UTIs (even boys!) -- just because they are old enough to hold it, doesn’t mean they are old enough for the responsibility. To them, learning to hold it means = never have to stop playing. Here’s a great opinion piece on it http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-hodges-md/potty-training_b_1424826.html
He’s the cutest! I have a 13 month old and the nursing is tricky. We have went down to once before bed. He almost always wakes up at 3-4 am and wants to nurse. My husband will try to calm him but it does not help and he will fit me until I give in and nurse him. It only takes about 3 minutes of nursing and I lay him back down awake and he will go right to sleep. The struggle!
Your son sounds so much like my little guy. He doesn’t love to eat much, we cover just about anything in peanut butter to get him to take it down. And he is so busy, always wanting to be outside running around. diaper changes are nearly impossible so we’ve had quite a few accidents on the floor. Ugh! Good for you for potty training already!! We should probably start as well
And yes, it’s a super scary tune to be raising kids 🙁
Love the updates! Been following since you were pregnant and it’s been fun to read. And I would love a post on postpartum anxiety. I had it + PPD. I find it comforting and inspiring to be able to read about when others get through hard times, whether it is parenting related or otherwise. and I relate to feeling protective! Now that I have a baby I don’t want to watch any tv or movies or read books that have anything at all involving a child being harmed. Oh and I think they must be exaggerating about the potty training! That sounds quite ambitious so early! ????