Tyler: Week 48 (11 Months Old)

May 18-May 24, 2011 (47w-47w6d old)

Tyler Update:

• He started kissing us and I've got to say, it's one of the best things ever!  He looks us right in the eyes, opens his mouth slightly and plants a long still kiss on our mouth.  We always say "Awww, thank you for the kisses" and then he smiles real big.  But, it has to be on his terms!

• His teeth are coming in well.  I had to install some crib rail covers after finding a few bite marks.  I highly recommend the Trend Lab Crib Wraps if you have a little termite on your hands.

• He's walking all over the house huffing and puffing, breathing like he's out of breath.  I guess this is his new noise of the week.

• We had to disable the buttons on the front of the tv as he learned how to turn the tv on/off and crank up the volume.

• It's very difficult getting a good picture of him these days.  Not only is he constantly on the move, but now he intentionally turns his back to camera every time I aim it at him.  Little stinker!  Now if I put his sunglasses on, he'll pose.  He so thinks he's a stud!

• He turned 11 months on May 23.

This is probably about the 239th picture I took as he would not hold still.

I only got this one because I teased him with a cell phone.

I took it back as he tried to take off with it.

Little guy was not happy about it!

Ok, REALLY not happy about it!
Ha ha, I just noticed my nanny in the background diving for the couch to avoid being in the photo!

This week in video:

Video:  I love how Tyler walks with his hands in the air!

His stance is starting to narrow a little bit now that he's gaining balance.

Video:  Tyler loves these closet doors and breathes like he's out of breath.

Video:  The boy loves hangers!

(This was at bedtime, so we had his diaper double stuffed.  We call his walk the cloth diaper waddle.)

Breastfeeding:

I've had several people, in real life and on this blog ask me about breastfeeding, so I thought I would answer them here.

• Am I still breastfeeding and how often?  Yep, around the clock.  I pretty much nurse on demand and the boy is very demanding.  He still nurses once or twice in the middle of the night and while it is exhausting, I love the special time with him and I believe it's crucial to keeping my supply going.  

• My baby is very distracted during nursing, does this mean they're not interested and/or wanting to wean?  Every baby is different, but I would say no.  Most babies go through a stage where they are very distracted during nursing.  I remember Tyler going through this and having to nurse him facing a blank wall or in the dark to get him to finish.  It was just a stage. 

• Is my little guy as interested in nursing as before?  Yes, maybe even more.

• Am I still pumping?  Nope.  I haven't pumped in quite awhile.  Basically I gave up because Ty takes everything I make.  There is only 1 time frame where I can collect and that's when he first goes to bed.  But it has never failed, every time I decided to pump, he would wake up as soon as I was done and then I had to turn around and give it to him.  Recently we had an event we had attend all evening, so I pumped and left a bottle for the babysitter.  This was the first time I had pumped in months and made a bottle. We were completely taken off guard when he refused his bottle.  I offered it to him again when I got home and the babysitter was right, he wouldn't have anything to do with it.  So I guess he's done with bottles which also means I'm officially done with pumping.

• When do I plan on weaning?  My goal was to make it to 1 year and now that I have, I'm just playing it by ear.  The only reason I would want to wean at this point is to get more sleep, but when I think of all the benefits of continuing (see below), weaning at this point is not even a consideration.  
• Tyler loves nursing and I can't imagine denying him.  I've experienced those crocodile tears when I was in situations where I couldn't nurse him and it does some serious heart tugging.
• All of the pediatric associations recommend breastfeeding for at least one year, some say two years.  There's a reason for this.
• There is nothing more nutritious available.  My milk is designed specifically for him and is still supporting his developing immune system.
• Breastfeeding decreases your risk of breast and ovarian cancer.  This is really important to me considering I increased my risk by injected myself with 240 injections of fertility meds to conceive Tyler and I want to be around for him for a very long time.
• I get to eat 500 more calories a day and it got me below my pre-pregnancy weight without effort.
• It's free!!!!!

These are my personal decisions/reasons and is no reflection on what another parent does.  Each must decide what is best for them and their child.  I hope this helps, let me know if you have anymore questions.    =)