End of an Era: Stopping Nursing

Yesterday was my final time breastfeeding. By Thanksgiving, I had weaned Will off both of his daytime nursings. A benefit for me with that is not having to pump at work any longer! I was happy to be able to not leave my classroom & instruction time. I continued to nurse Will in the morning before work/daycare & in the evening before bed. 

With Will turning 1 on December 17th and my having two and a half weeks of winter break, I thought it would be a good time to wean him from nursing & bottles during our time off and a more relaxed schedule. A week ago, I dropped his morning nursing session and instead gave him a 360 sippy cup of formula. Since day 1, Will has not shown a big preference or dislike between breastmilk and formula, which I am so happy about! It took a day or two of adjusting, but Will is doing great! 

Our new morning routine is: wake up, diaper & clothing change, then Will sits on my lap with his sippy of milk and we sing, read books, and take silly pictures while he drinks. He does pretty well at this. Once he's had most of it, I let him off my lap to play and finish his milk. Because he's over 1 year, he isn't quite as dependent on the milk for his basic nutrients. This makes me a little more lax about making sure he finishes his milk.

Tonight, instead of me nursing him just before bed, Bret had a sippy of breastmilk for him. I was sure to do breastmilk instead of formula as that is what he's used to (calming?) having before his night sleep. Bret gave him the sippy and read a couple of books to him as I sat in our room across the hall, weepy & sad. I know that it had to come to an end at some point and I will always be his mama, but it's sad to see that bonding time go away. Each day will make it a bit easier for both of us!

Some fun facts about how breastfeeding for a year has benefited William:

• stronger immune system
• more likely to have a better social adjustment
• lower risk of becoming overweight later in life 
• lower risk of heart disease
• more alert & brain/body development

Benefit for us:

• saved lots of moolah on 12 months of formula

Christmas 2016

Although this is actually William's second Christmas, this was the first Christmas he wasn't newborn sleeping through all the fun. He was aware of everything going on and liked to watch presents being opened and see the toys be received light up. Like any good baby/toddler, he was more interested in the paper & boxes than what was inside ;)

This was Christmas Day morning after Bret got home from work:

 

 

 

Mom & Dad's presents: new silicone wedding ring for Bret & a thin blue line bracelet with Bret's badge number stamped inside. And new high ball/wine glasses.

Here are some of our other Christmas celebrations this year:

Dinkel Family Christmas

Christmas Eve service at Olathe Bible Church

Saying goodnight to dada as he went to work on Christmas Eve

Family outing to KC's Union Station

A lil' snapchat fun

Celebrating Christmas at daycare (look how long his hair was!!)

Christmas with Nana & Papa

Christmas with Grandparents Brown

Twelve Month Dr Appt

Twelve Month Dr Appt

Today was William's twelve month appointment. He weighs 21lb 8oz (53%). He was measured at 20in long (52%).  His head measured at 18.25 around (58%). Will is comfy in the "normal/average" zone with all of his measurements!

She listened to his heart & lungs and looked in his eyes & ears, which are all great. Except that Will has an ear infection in his right ear. He hasn't shown any signs... or we just passed them off as teething fussiness. He's on antibiotics for the next ten days that should clear everything right up (going back Jan. 2 to check him again). Will was not excited to show Dr. Nash his teeth, but he loved the light she had. Crazy that he didn't have any teeth at his 9mo appt, but he has six teeth full in and three more poking through now! With his red hair, fair skin, & sensitive skin gene from his mama, William has patches of baby eczema all over. Dr. Nash told us to stop using his J&J after bath lotion and use Cetaphil instead. She also wrote him a prescription to help clear up the redness. The eczema does not seem to bother him, but I'm sure the dry skin can't be comfortable.

Because Will is a year now, no foods are off limits. He can have whole milk now (organic/non-hormone is recommended). He still needs dairy, but it doesn't have to all from breastmilk/formula. It can come from yogurt, cheeses, whole milk, etc. Will is enjoying eating table food with us and is right where he needs to be developmentally.

Count 'em: FOUR shots today! He has tree vaccines and his flu shot booster. Plus (this was the saddest of it all), they had to draw blood to check his levels and check for anemia. Two nurses and Bret & I had to work together to hold him still so they could get two vials from him. In true William fashion, he was upset while it happened & but was smiles again as soon as it was over. He has such a pleasant demeanor!

According to our doctor, what we need to be working on between now & his next appointment (15 month appointment)

-cuddles, love, and snuggling :)

-reading to William each day - language development!!

-encourage talking & praise William for trying to communicate

-start talking about and naming different body parts & animal sounds

-maintain a bedtime routine & putting baby to bed when they are awake so they can self-soothe

-encourage independent play for William as well as playing with others, promote sharing & kindness

-be consistent with discipline; most of the time distraction can be a discipline took; time-out (one minute for each year of age)

Upcoming milestones to watch for:

-respond to his name and possibly understanding a few words

-pick up, shake, throw, and bang objects together

-may show preference for one hand, but will usually try both hands on and off (Bret is still hoping for a lefty)

-starting to understand the meaning of "no", try not to overuse it (use redirection instead)

December: Christmas Craft Time

Here is William's Christmas craft for his grandparents & aunts/uncles :)

First Birthday Party!!

Because William is our Little Nemo, we decided that would be the perfect theme for his first birthday party! I started planning toward the end of the summer since I had time while not working & while Will napped. Pinterest and Google Images have SO MANY good ideas. We decided not to go too overboard since Will is only 1 & won't remember his party. Let's get real: this party was more for Bret & me, that we survived a year as parents!!

There was a snow/ice storm the day of Will's party, which is par for the course of our lives. Some people were unable to make the venture to our home, but those who did had yummy food to eat & good times with friends & family!

Instead of bringing gifts for William (who would rather have the empty boxes & plastic containers), we asked our guests to bring donations to a local charity, The Blue Door Project. This organization provides teens who are aging out of the foster care system some stability and support. William is so loved by his family, but not all children have this net around them. We wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. We were overwhelmed by the donations given! We cannot wait to drop them off to The Blue Door Project!

My sister found these amazing invitations to use for Will's party:

Here are our delicious treats:

I baked Will a large cupcake (thank you, Amazon!) for his smash cake. He was completely unsure of what to do when we sang to him & put the cake in front of him and why he was shirtless in his highchair. Once he touched the frosting, he was instantly not a fan. The sticky consistency was not what Will had in mind. But Bret opened the cupcake up and gave him a taste of the cake part & Will changed his tune. 

Straight to the bathtub to get the frosting cleaned off!

Bret & I are so lucky to be William's parents, he is an awesome baby. He has made us not just husband & wife, but dad & mom. It's hard to comprehend that he's been in our lives for a year now, it seems like no time at all & an eternity at the same time. We waited a long time & cried many tears to become parents and William made it worth it all. Each moment is a cherished one & we are so happy to have amazing family & friends celebrate our little guy with us!!

Our family of three:

William: One Year Old!

Note: pics taken before first haircut, mullet alert!

12 Month Stats

Weight: ___ (dr appt Wed)

Length: ___ (dr appt Wed)

Eating: Schedule 7/11/3/7:30 milk/formula with 8:15/12:15/6 meal times

Will is eating what we eat full time now! He has had food with many spices and flavors. We do try to limit the amount of salt/sodium & sugar he eats, just with him being a little guy still. Most meals start with some puffs or veggie bites while we get his food ready. We dice up whatever our meal in and he feeds himself (usually in the messiest way possible!). He doesn't like us trying to help him, but sometimes it's necessary. We try to get in at least one fruit or veggie in each meal. We also give Will squeezy pouches of fruited & veggies. He's gotten good at squeezing them himself and/or sucking the puree out of the pouch. For dessert, yogurt drops!

I have moved Will to no bottles! He drinks his milk/formula from a 360 sippy cup and he's doing great. I hold him in the lap after his nap and give him his cup. I try to get him to drink about half while I am holding him so I'm sure he gets some nutrients down. But then, I let him take the cup with him and carry it around as he plays. He will stop & take a sip every little bit. Since he's transitioning to getting more nutrients from actual food instead of milk, I am okay with him not finishing every cup I give him. I also off him a sippy of water throughout the day so he becomes used to drinking from different types of cups.

Bedtime: still going down about 7:30-7:45 each night

Naps: At home, Will takes two naps (9:30-11 and 1:30-3:15). At daycare, he's far to busy for his morning nap, so he takes just his afternoon one. Many times, he falls asleep at daycare closer to 1pm and sleeps until 3/3:30. Hmmmmm, maybe because he's so exhausted?!?

Diapers: size 3

Clothes: 12mo clothing, but still wearing some 9mo pants (welcome to the world of being a short kid!)

Favorites: Being with mom! He likes me to be in the room with him & does not like when I leave, even if there are other adults in the room with him. He dives toward me when I walk by him, whether he's on the floor or in the arms of someone else. I love knowing he loves me so much. It makes up for the times he cries when I have to change his diaper or clean out his nose.

Food! He is excited for meals & lets you know if you are late in feeding him ;)

Dislikes: Being helped to do something he thinks he can do by himself. I think we've got an independent little man on our hands!

Development: Will is WALKING! He has gotten very good at walking and now prefers it to crawling. He can carry things as he walks and can stop, pick something up, and stand back up to continue walking. He is pretty big stuff! His walk looks a little like a cowboy getting off his horse after a few days' ride, but he love it. He smiles as he walks around, so proud of himself! It's as if he's always thinking/saying, "Look! Look at me! I'm doing this walking thing!"

William is getting better at playing on his own. Don't get me wrong here, he wants to have an adult in the room with him still! But he's getting better at entertaining himself and moving around to find something to play with on his own. And if we are in one room and he decides to leave us behind, no tears. I guess he likes to be the one making the decision on when he wants to be alone.

Looking Forward To: 

-Winter break for me to have time with William for two weeks! My goal is to conclude breastfeeding over winter break. I'm sure Will will be just fine with it, but the emotional toll it will take on me is another story.

-Christmas! I know it's technically William's second Christmas, but he pretty much slept through the whole thing last year as a newborn. He's much more aware of everything this year!

meals are messy!

First Haircut

Today, William had his first haircut. We decided he needed a fresh, grown up look for his first birthday party this weekend. His hair has grown over his ears and is getting dangerously close to being a mullet in the back ;)

We are very lucky that the lady who watches Will also has her cosmetology degree & cut hair for a living before opening her childcare center at home. Since Will knows & trusts Alisa, we figured it would go better than some of the stories you see/hear from friends. Will did great! It helped that he was tired from not really napping that day (too excited for his upcoming birthday??). He did want to look around at Alisa and see why she was touching his head a lot, but no tears!

Here's an after pic, looking like a big kid! Don't mind the shirt stain, it's just strawberries!