In addition to reaching this one year milestone, I feel as though I personally have reached a milestone of sorts - for most of my adult life I have had this handwritten summary of what I was like as a one-year-old. We found it amongst my mom's things some time after she died. I love reading and re-reading the summary - not much different than what I've been doing for the Bean monthly - in part because it's a glimpse into my childhood, but mostly because of how telling it was. It led me to the conclusion that we are exactly who we are going to be at just one year old. Not unlike that adage about learning everything you need to know about life in kindergarten. I've held this profile on a pedestal, of sorts. In some ways the details meant little to me, having no reference point for what a 12-month-old is supposed to be like. And now, it's fun to compare little me to little Francie. And to think about how one-year-old me turned into almost-31-year-old me, and to wonder how 31-year-old Francie will be.
But because you can't really read the picture-of-the-photocopied-handwritten-notebook-paper, I've typed it out as well:
"Joanna - Profile @ 1 Year
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
17 lbs, 10 oz
28 inches
6 teeth (4 upper and 2 lower)
Small amount of fair hair - reddish in some lights, less than B had at same age and not as yellow blonde.
Has been walking for 1 month; started walking 2-4 weeks prior to that; rarely crawls.
SPEECH:
Says "bye bye" and waves, does not really call us "mama" or "dada"; speaks own language to a great extent; points a great deal and gestures; shows inflection and intonation.
Sucks left thumb when tired (never really used a pacifier).
TEMPER:
Is not placid; has definite likes and dislikes; if she's unhappy and I attempt to placate her with a toy which she doesn't want, she hurls it away angrily; if she has something she shouldn't and I take it away, she arches her back and screams and throws herself on the floor and will not be consoled.
Holds bottle with left hand; prefers right hand for doing things.
FEEDING:
3 meals a day; about 3-4 bottle a day (was weaned in 12th month), likes self-feeding; likes scrambled eggs, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, carrots, green beans, fish sticks, mos fruits except currently not bananas.
SLEEP:
12 hours at night and takes 2 good naps each day if home; does not sleep in car seat as willingly as Brian did, and does not sleep in places other than own crib at all willingly (B. would sleep anywhere).
Wakes up happy; gives "pat pats" (love pats) when gotten from crib or picked up at sitters after separation; likes to bring objects to people; loves socks.
Does not yet fear strange people or places; is generally very social and smiles and seeks out people.
Adored Brian unconditionally first 6 months; now resists his attempts to cuddle etc as too smothering; best if left to lead the way herself."
And to bring it full circle ...
Francie - Profile @ 1 Year
Likes: pulling books off the shelf; chewing the wooden door stopper; pushing chairs back and forth along the hardwood floors; praise; playing with mama's slippers; Logan; the letter D; iPods/iPhones; chewing on my travel coffee mugs and water bottles; her new doll "nay nay;" being with her parents; talking about balloons, milk, dogs or daddy; dancing to any music; giving hugs and kisses
Dislikes: the vacuum; teething; colds; not getting what she wants (e.g. me not handing her my iPhone or water glass); drinking water
Appearance:
19 lbs, 10 oz (25th percentile)
28.5 inches long (50th percentile)
17.75 inch head circumference (50th percentile)
Teeth: two lower front teeth, plus two upper lateral incisors
Hair: very fine, reddish-blonde, several long alfalfa hairs but a loooong way off from her first haircut
Clothes: comfortably wearing 12-month sized clothes
Features: eyes are still kind of squinty, but we no longer get the "she's so tired" barrage from strangers; long pretty eyelashes; full, chubby, rosy cheeks; button nose; broad, gummy, glowing smile
Motor: pulls to standing at every opportunity, but isn't very confident with sitting/falling down, so usually whines a bit before lowering herself; side steps/cruises on furniture and walls; downward dogs; fast crawls; never really attempts to stand alone or to take steps, but will ocassionally do so when Alex is holding her hands; everyone asks if she's walking yet, which is an annoying question because it's a conversation killer - I have since learned to ask parents, "what's your kid doing these days?" so as not to imply success/failure
Words: "nuh" + pointing for milk, food, water, and Soothie; "dah" for dog; "nana" for banana; "daiy" for daddy; "mmmmmmmama" for mama, which she only seems to say when I'm not around; and her go-to phonemes are "nuh" and "duh" for babbling, pointing, and inquiring; she seems to very consistently understand: mama, daddy, Gizzy, dog, banana, baby, book, up, down, milk, ball, hug, kiss, food, yay
Gestures: claps; just started patting when she hugs; lots of pointing; hugs and kisses; peekaboo
Social: smiles and giggles easily, more so with strangers from afar; very socially motivated - easily encouraged by us saying "yay" and clapping for her; does not like having things taken from her, but she is easily consoled or distracted; seems to know what she wants; definitely likes to be around her parents, will follow if we are puttering around from living room to kitchen, etc; when well-rested and fed, can easily play independently for chunks of time, exploring her area, playing with books or toys, and practicing new skills; fusses only when tired or hungry
Personality: sweet and affectionate; low threshold for frustration; socially motivated; friendly and outgoing in public when getting attention; is more of an observer when in larger group settings; when doing something new or around new people, takes some time to soak it all in, usually with a serious face, then likes to explore or socialize; occasionally likes to ham it up, with an audience; wants what she wants when she wants it; quick emotions - easy to get upset easy to make happy; sometimes wary of strangers, but hasn't demonstrated much fear yet, accept when startled when falling backwards
Sleep: easy to put to bed ~7 p.m. nightly; nightwakes 2-3 times, usually nurses and falls right back asleep; wakes up ~ 6 a.m., two 1-2 hour naps if home; still uses WubbaNub or Soothie for sleeping or riding in car; if near nap time, will fall asleep in car; sleeps in crib in nursery, except if really fussy/sick/teething we will bring her to bed with us
Eating: we've reached the one year mark of breastfeeding without EVER HAVING TO SUPPLEMENT!, which is clearly a victory in my book (that's even with me returning to work fulltime for five months, and taking a vacay to California for five days with the girls; I feel very fortunate to have had the tools and Alex's support - and also the stubborness - to persevere, even when the idea of pumping made me want to gauge my eyes out); she's still nursing 5-7 times per day/night, mostly from the left side; I'm in no hurry to wean her, and will see what happens naturally; she loves to eat and self-feed, although her preferences are starting to emerge, current favorites include: carrots, orange, cheese, hard oiled egg, peas, Cheerios, avocado, cottage cheese, yogurt, hummus, anything someone else is eating; still coughs and chokes on water from her sippy cup or straw water bottle
Toys/Stuff: BOB Stroller; Soothie and WubbaNub: board books; BumGenius cloth diapers and wipes, crib; children's musical instruments; iPod with Pandora or white noise; wooden toys; convertible car seat; baby gates; Pack n Play; clip-on high chair; hand wipes and Kleenex.
And finally, my profile of being the mother of a one-year-old? I still love it. For me, it's been more work now that she's older, mostly because she just doesn't sleep nearly as much during the day, and therefore needs to be entertained. I am most definitely chronically sleep deprived. I feel like I've aged five years since last March, but somehow I still manage to get up each of the four times every day (2 nightwakings + a.m. + napping) that Francie interrupts my sleep cycle. Girlfriend has GOT to learn to sleep in larger stretches (at the advice of our pediatrician, we are once again jumping aboard the sleep-training caboose). I have loved staying home with her the past several months, although I am looking forward to starting my new job to get closer to that work-life balance we all strive for. And also for a bit of structure to my week. But I will miss her so. I'm definitely back to my pre-prego weight, maybe even less, but wearing the same clothes. Thanks to our slightly ridiculous purchase of the elliptical trainer. I still cannot fit into my old bras. If someone would have told my teenage self that my boobs would get even bigger with pregnancy and breastfeeding, I probably would have gotten my tubes tied. I love my husband, for being my best friend but also for being a loving, involved, enthusiastic daddy. I have only recently started craving date nights, and longing for time for just the two of us, which we have some plans for in the very near future. Grandparents are fun. I like seeing my daughter develop relationships with others - but I also like for Alex to reassure me that I'm the very most important. In summary - we got fucking lucky with this Bean, and not a day goes by that I don't think so. I never knew how much I would love being a mama, her mama.
For my blog posts, can I just say, "See Jo's blog"? :) Thanks for paving the way!
ReplyDeleteSeriously!? Jo you gotta write a book or memoir :) so fun to read!!
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