I remember thinking when Cora was first born how fun it was going to be for her to be almost 1 year old for her first Christmas. And now it's here! Cora is 11 months old and so much fun these days. And it's starting to feel a lot like Christmas!
At 11 months Cora is on the go. She is still under 20 lbs and I'd guess close to 18, but maybe a little bit taller than before.
For the last month or so she has not wanted to eat pureed foods very much anymore. She has been more independent and wants to pick up her food and put it in her mouth herself. Her favorite foods are currently bread, cheddar cheese, green beans, puffs, dried yogurt bites, and rice crackers. We've also tried tofu cubes, pasta, chunks of sweet potato, grapes, kiwi, and other fruits and vegetables, but she is quite particular on what she wants to eat and the other pieces she will throw off her tray. It's fun seeing her have her own mind, but at the same time I want to make sure she is eating a balanced and nutritious diet. My friend, Ashley, just let me borrow a fun looking cook book for babies, so hopefully Cora will be open to some of the ideas in there.
She is very into drinking her bottles lately though, which are solely formula now. Actually, she has not wanted to breast feed for the last 3 days at all, so I would say we have officially weaned from breastfeeding. Honestly it's a little earlier than I was thinking, with still another month until she is 12 months and a month and a half before I travel to Europe, and it is a little sad for me. But it is working for our family and that is what is important. In the last month she went from nursing 4 times a day to just in the morning and evening. When I went to Portland, Maine two weeks ago for 4 days I only pumped twice a day, but as soon as I got back she cut back on the morning nursing session. And now this week she has been in the routine of drinking 4-6 ounces in the morning around 7-8am, 4 ounces around 10-11am, 4 ounces around 2-3pm, 4 ounces around 5:30pm and 4 ounces at 8pm before bed.
…Okay, as I mentioned above, this is now over a week after I started writing, so I'm playing a little bit of catch up.
Cora is completely weaned from breastfeeding still and we both seem to be doing fine with it. She is starting to eat a bit more solid foods the last few days, but it is so interesting to see what she wants to eat and what she chooses to throw off her tray. I'm sure it's just begun! As for sleeping, she is consistently sleeping from 8-8:30pm until 7am, then takes two naps per day usually 1 hour each late morning and late afternoon.
She is talking so much more than in the past and says a lot of sounds starting with the letter b. Lately it's been "bah-pee" a lot, which I thought was maybe puppy, but really have no clue. She also says bye-bye, hi, mama, dada, and lots of other sounds that sometimes seem to be actual words and other times not so much. But what is amazing is how much she understands us now. You can ask her, "where is Rooney?" and she looks around on the floor until she finds the cat. Or "where is the fan?" and she looks up or "where is papa?" and she looks to find him coming in the door home from work. She also has been consistently responding to "where is mama's bellybutton?" by lifting up my shirt and finding it. I also think she has picked up some sign language at day care and consistently signs "milk" when she wants a bottle. She also has been patting her chest, which apparently means "please", but it seems she does it more so for "want" or "mine". Her communication skills are so much fun to watch develop at this stage!
As is her playing. She is really into putting things in and taking them out of containers and will respond to you asking her to put things in a certain place, like putting her bath toys away in the bucket, etc. She loves looking at books still and will entertain herself for quite a while with books or toys strewn about the living room. I will also find smaller toys in my boots or shoes when I go to put them on.
She is much more confident and steady walking while pushing her push-toy. She is now bending down to pick things up holding on with one hand and can get from a standing position down to sitting somewhat smoothly on her own. Neil and I think she will probably start walking sometime after turning 1, maybe closer to 14 months or so, but we will see! She loves clapping her hands, dancing, and playing any sort of peek-a-boo. She will laugh out loud quite often at various things she finds amusing, such as Rooney playing with a piece of string or mama jumping out doing peek-a-boo or mama dancing silly. It really is quite funny.
I'm sure there is more I could write about, but it is late and I've got to get to sleep! Here are some of my favorite photos from her 11th month.
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