Eleanor | 12 Months

My baby girl is ONE! 

O.N.E.

This year has flown by so quickly. It seems like just last week I was holding my 7lb 12oz baby girl. I still remember how surprised I was by all her dark hair (I was expecting another blonde baby like her brother) and her sweet, sweet temperament (what?!? no witching hour?? No crying every evening before it's time for bed?!?) She was sooo perfect, and still is just the happiest, most playful, content baby girl. What a blessing she has been to us this past year!!

 12 Month old Eleanor likes...

being chased

climbing on EVERYTHING

going outside

Huck and Herschel

big brother, Jack

her binky

mommy and daddy

reading books

dancing

 12 Month Eleanor dislikes...

diaper and outfit changes

being told "no"

people (especially Jack) taking something from her

Health: At one year old, Eleanor weighs 20lbs 12oz (40%) and is 30 1/4in (80%). Pretty petite compared to her brother at this age! She has 8 teeth (4 on top and 4 on bottom). Wears size 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers. We still are dairy free due to her intolerance and her doctor recently recommended we go gluten free to see if some of her sleep issues are resolved. She is a healthy, happy little girl though and we are so thankful!

Nursing: Eleanor usually only nurses 3 times during the day (before naps and bedtime) and 1 - 4 times at night. Trust me, that was painful to type out and admit... :)

Solids: She is a pretty good eater most days! Loves all fruit, peas, carrots, avocado, spaghetti, chicken, ground beef... Hates eggs. She always seems to have some sort of food in her mouth though and is constantly signing for more food. I feel like she is continually snacking in between meals!

Sleeping: Eleanor has actually slept through the night on a handful of occasions. But that is still not the norm for around here. She usually takes 2 naps a day (around an hour for each nap) and goes down between 6:30 and 7 for bedtime and waking up around 6-6:30 for the day. When Eleanor does have bad nights where she is up every 2 hours or so her behavior just isn't normal. She is extremely fussy and oftentimes can't even be comforted by Steven or myself. Her sleep is very restless and oftentimes she wants to sleep completely upright on my chest for those bad nights. It isn't uncommon for me to be nursing her 4 (possibly more? I'm so tired I really can't keep track) times a night if she is having one of her uncomfortable nights.

I honestly don't believe Eleanor has a sleep association... she can sleep through the night and is able to self-soothe. My gut is telling me that she simply doesn't feel well on those bad nights. After much discussion with my pediatrician (thank God for her, btw, she is seriously awesome) over the past year we both feel like it simply boils down to tummy issues! Cutting dairy from mine and Eleanor's diet made a huge difference (she quit throwing up after every meal, started gaining weight, and her eczema almost completely disappeared!), but she still has terribly inconsistent sleep. Moving forward we plan to remove gluten from our diet for at least 4 weeks and monitor Eleanor's sleep during that time. The good news is she doesn't have an allergy (her symptoms would be much more severe), just some intolerances that she will hopefully outgrow.

Also, I breed non-sleepers. The end.

New this Month: Eleanor went on her second airplane ride when we took a little family vacation to San Diego. She was such a good sport the entire time! She is seriously the easiest baby to take anywhere because she is so happy! The airplane ride, all the stroller sitting at the zoo, car rides, eating out, different bedtime routines at the hotel...you name it, she is just a trooper through it all! Eleanor added two new words to her vocabulary this month: Jack Jack and tickle tickle. I feel like that couldn't sum up her personality any better! She is so playful and adores her big brother. Every morning she gets up and says, "Jack Jack," and then takes off running to his bedroom door. I have to swoop her up before she starts banging on it and wakes him up! She loves music and dancing, being chased and playing outside. She is super interested in any new animal she sees and so far hasn't show any fear (or caution!) to them. She has started to point at objects and is following simple commands. I feel like she understands so much of what we're saying now! She is such a big girl! What of my favorite new things that she does is shake her head no. Her entire body moves with her head like a dog wagging it's tail. It is the cutest! Also, we have discovered very quickly that Eleanor is a bit of a daredevil. She loves to climb on everything and unfortunately has had quite a few accidents! She's bleed more in her first year of life that Jack has in three years! I definitely wouldn't describe this little lady as a caution one...

Eleanor Joy, you are the silliest, sweetest, happiest little girl I have ever known! You have stolen my heart and changed me forever. I couldn't image my life without you. You have completed our family and turned our worlds upside down in the most special way. We simply adore you and your sweet, contagious smile. Thank you for bringing so much joy into our lives. We love you so much, baby girl. Happy Birthday!

Eleanor | 11 Months

I can't even believe that I am writing this 11 month update and that tomorrow morning my baby girl will be ONE... this year has gone by wicked fast and I'm feeling super emotional!! 

 11 month Eleanor likes...

touch and feel books

being rocked to sleep

her binky

being outside

walking everywhere

big brother, Jack

eating 

giving kisses

 11 month Eleanor dislikes...

having anything taken from her

outfit / diaper changes

sleeping ;)

Health: Thank God all the cold and flu viruses we experienced last month were absent this month! Eleanor is a healthy, happy babe. In all 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers. Now that she's walking everywhere I've tried to find her shoes, but she has narrow feet for a baby girl and I find nothing fits her but her brother's old Nike's (his first pair of shoes)...so she's stuck with his hand-me-downs for now!

Nursing: Nursing hasn't really changed much during the day. She nurses before her two naps and before bed...other than that maybe one random nursing session if she's upset. At night, I honestly have no idea because I'm too tired to keep track these days...but I do know it HAS gotten better!

Solids: Eleanor LOVES to eat. Within minutes of waking up in the morning she is signing "more" to me and walking towards the refrigerator to look inside. She loves fruit (strawberries and bananas the most) and meat! Chicken, ground beef, sausage, steak... you name the protein and she'll eat it. I'm actually surprised she doesn't weigh more than she did last month with all the eating she's been doing!

Sleeping: I think the majority of Eleanor's sleep issues last month were due to teething, but Steven and I decided we had to make some changes in the sleeping department nonetheless. I needed a little bit of a break from suppling Eleanor's all you can eat buffet! So now, I nurse Eleanor before bed then Steven takes her and puts her to sleep. If she wakes up anytime before 11 Steven goes back in and puts her down again. After 11 I'm back on duty. And let's face it....I miss her by then and want to snuggle! I'm deranged.. I know. In just a few days of doing this she was sleeping 6:30 - 11:30. Then she just magically knows it's after 11 and she can wake up and mommy will come to her! She's a smart cookie! It has seemed to improve her sleeping though. She is waking less and going down pretty easily for Steven. I've even seen her wake on the monitor and self sooth all on her own. Night time sleep is 6:30 - 6ish and she still takes 2 naps a day.

New this Month: Last month Ellie was just toddling and still preferred crawling most of the time, but this month she is walking everywhere!! It's rare that I see her crawling at all! She is growing up way too quickly.. it's painful. She also loves to climb on everything. Especially chairs she's too small for giving me a mini heart attack on a daily basis. She now signs the word "book" and asks us to read to her at night (although I think she enjoys taking the books on and off the shelf more than reading them). And although "book and "more" are her only signs she is very communicative! She is constantly jabbering and trying to repeat the words were saying. My new favorite thing she does this month is definitely giving kisses. Whenever you make the "mmmm" sound she runs over and gives you a big kiss on the lips and then turns to the next person to do the same to them! Steven, Jack, and I get multiple sweet kisses from her everyday. She is still just my sweet, happy, happy girl. And even when she is fussy and having a bad day I feel like only me and Steven are able to tell. She is simply such a sweet natured little girl!

Happy 11 months, Eleanor Joy! 

You never cease to bring a smile to my face with your happy smile and sweet giggles. 

You make our lives so fun! We love you!!