I decided to stop doing monthly updates after 1 year of age for Lucy because, well, it just seemed like a good time to stop and I didn't know how sustainable monthly updates will be once we have 2, 3 maybe even 4 little ones running around here! Heck... maybe the blog won't even be around by then. But I did want to do an update about the past couple months because they have brought tons of new changes as Lucy moves into full swing toddler-hood. I want to make sure to remember what 13/14 months is like so that way when future babies come along I won't be thinking, "well, Lucy never did this" or "Lucy always slept so well, what's wrong with this new baby" - I want to remember that things weren't always perfect, by the book, or on schedule!
So these past two months the biggest change (that has then affected every other area of my life) has been Lucy's sleep schedule. I started noticing that when we got back from the cruise (and right before), Lucy was being a little finicky about going down for 2 naps, sometimes just playing in her crib until I would get her after 45 minutes or so. She also started playing for about an hour every night when we laid her down for bed. So finally about 3 weeks ago I decided we'd move to one nap even though I wasn't ready for it and I don't think Lucy was really ready for it, I was thinking we'd have two naps for at least another couple months.
The great thing about moving to one nap is that we are able to do a lot more of the fun kid stuff, like go to the library, make play dates, go to the pool, etc. because I'm not rushing from one nap to the next. Lucy also takes a solid 2 hour nap and typically goes down pretty good at night instead of having 2 shorter naps and a rough bed time. Unfortunately, I'm just not used to this new schedule - so while I'm excited to do some of the fun new stuff we are able to do, we haven't really yet because I've been so used to having to be at home for 4 hours of the day. I also can't quite figure out when to get anything done, especially because not only did I lose a good chunk of mommy-alone time by getting rid of a nap, Lucy also wants to be held almost the entire time she is awake (part of why I don't think she was fully ready to give up the second nap). The days are getting better, and I've found certain things that keep her happy (like being outside, going on walks, reading), but all of those things involve me and don't allow me to get things done around the house.
Some days are ok, but it seems most days, this is the face I usually see...
Lucy seems frustrated about most things, and I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what it is she wants to make her stop crying (i.e. she wants a cracker, but I can't find which one she wants so she throws a "tantrum" until we get the right one, and oh yeah I can't hand her the cracker, she needs to be able to get it out of the box herself, I figured that out after another "tantrum".) These days most of her communication involves, crying, whining, hitting, and pushing.
And it seems as long as I'm around, nobody else is as good as mom. I'll leave to volunteer on Saturday mornings and Ben says she won't cry at all. But as soon as I get home, the crying (or should I call it whining because most often it's a fake cry) begins...
It seems, around everyone else Lucy is a completely happy baby, who doesn't cry. But around me she is only happy if I'm holding her.
I haven't quite figured out this new schedule either - some days Lucy is exhausted by 11:30 and passes out in the car (I never mind this though, mostly because its so precious, but also because she usually transitions to her crib no problem)
But some days I lay her down at 12:30 (her usual nap time and she plays for a while). Same with night time, some nights she goes down at 7:30 no problem, some nights she plays for an hour. It's nice that it's playing and not crying - but I just wish I could figure out when this girl is supposed to be sleeping!
So that's what I've been busy doing lately - fortunately, I know in time, this phase too shall pass, and we'll get back into a routine and things will be grand... I just need to survive until then!
Ok, how about some fun updates... Lucy talks up a storm these days - "momma, dada, cracker (this is her favorite word), bapala (or something like that, she says the same phrase every time she wants a banana), baby, quack, dog, grandpa, JJ (jadyn), ball, paci, no, hi, bye"... and maybe some others I can't think of now. She also knows where her nose, ears, head, belly and toes are. She's able to go up and down the stairs on her own, and loves climbing on top of and standing on top of just about anything. As I've mentioned before she LOVES being outside. We spend most of our days swinging, walking, pushing things and playing in our sandbox. We also spend a good amount of the day reading books, so I try to take a trip to the library about once a week to refresh our collection. She's super, super outgoing and waves at literally every person she sees when we go out (expect if they wave at her first, it's funny, she has to initiate the wave, otherwise she gets shy), and loves playing with other children. I've enjoyed having my niece and nephew over to play because that is one time Lucy seems to stop caring about me and wants to be off and playing with the kids.
A couple fun pictures from the past two months...
Playing in the sandbox with dad...
Brushing her teeth...
