I have many drafts that have not made it to "posts", because every time I go to finish a post, Violets norms, are no longer normal. So here I got for round 4...
Violet is so much fun. Sometimes I have "a moment" and realize that although Benjamin is louder, and that 2 yr old silliness is easier to recognize, we have another comedy act rising up from the woodwork. They often have "laughing matches" in the car, and at the table. When Benjamin wakes up before Violet, he gets so excited to hear her cry, and starts to pull me to her doorway saying, "Violet! happy to see you?! Happy to see you!" There are probably positives about every space amount between siblings, but I wouldn't have their 19 month gap, any other way!
When I began this post a few days before her actual birthday Violet had just started walking super well, and decided that she was in love with meat. I thought that she was getting old so fast. I had no idea the aging escalator we were about to jump on. My stomach has that "rushed elevation change" feeling just thinking about it. Here's whats new...
- Violet started walking the week of her birthday party (1 1/2 weeks before her birthday), and is now pretty sure footed and wouldn't fall down if it weren't for a bruit of a brother, slippery pants or an out of control sprint!
- Violet has 6 teeth. 4 super visible, and 2 more that have descended half way and stopped!
- Violet has at least 1 word and possibly 1 phrase. "Ju" aka juice = any beverage. "Hold You" = Hold me...this one is a little less clear, and I think only Joel and I would recognize it, but were both pretty confident that she is taking her best shot at talking!
- She has recently fell in love with books...specifically "That's not my dolly". We read it before every nap and bedtime!
- Violet gets a little claustrophobic sometimes...mostly because Benjamin has a very small personal bubble...actually Benjamin's bubble popped sometime in the womb and is no where to be found..."Benjamin, give Violet space!" is frequently heard.
- Her dance moves are stellar! She frequently bounces with the beat :)
- She is obsessed with phones. She likes play ones, but is unhealthily in love with the real deal...She holds them both up to her cute little ear, usually with the ear piece pointed out. Other than sleep protests, taking away a phone brings the biggest tears, the largest pout, and sometimes the sharpest shrill screams.
- She loves pretending to drink either from empty cups, or her new tea set from aunt Lora
- Yogurt Melts are her favorite snacks(she squeals when you get the bag out!), and she has recently discovered sugar cookies. She also devours hot dogs (don't worry, we buy the all beef kind), pulled pork, pulled chicken, and has an egg every morning for breakfast. More on her eating habits in another paragraph...
- Bedtime is between 7 & 8. Nap #1 is around 2 hours after she wakes up, and Nap #2 is around 1:00. I try not to let her sleep longer than 1 1/2 hrs in the morning. Even then, she wouldn't mind being done with taking two naps, but she is WAY too crabby if I let her skip!
- Her favorite game with daddy is a form of peek-a-boo where they don't hide behind anything, but turn away from each other, and then she slyly creeps her little head back around and sticks it right in Daddy's face. Its adorable!
- Violet is in some 6 month skirts, 12 month outfits and dresses, and 12-18 month one piece jammies
So another "big" piece of news is, that as of the 26th, 3 days after her first birthday, Violet is done nursing. This will probably be a very long story, but in the weeks approaching her first birthday I new that a change of some sort was about to take place. I have nursed Violet to sleep since birth. She began nursing and not falling asleep, and bouncing and rocking were failed attempts, 90% of the time for daddy...and 100% of the time for momma. And because tired babies are not fun babies, I needed to change something. I contemplated stopping nursing Violet to sleep, and only nursing when she woke up, or in the middle of "play time" but I didn't want her waking up early to nurse, and because I had yet to get Violet to take more than 1 oz of milk a day, from a sippy cup or bottle, I had a feeling that she would continue implementing her strong preferences, and bypass the sippy cup and hold out for nursing time. So I went "cold turkey". After an embarrassing night of looking like an idiot of a parent at a friends house, with a baby who wouldn't eat or sleep, I had motivation to make a dramatic change. (this was FAR from the first time I have felt stupid around people for not getting my baby to sleep, but as she gets older, the embarrassment grows. And even more than my own pride, I am sad because people see such a poor side of my baby girl, and I fear that she will be known as "the difficult child". I continued to ask things of Violet that I had no intention of following through on, and that is no place for a parent, and no future for a 1 yr old!) I nursed her Saturday night, being mostly sure it was my last time nursing, and when she ate for 2 minutes, and conked out, I knew she didn't need me for nutrition any more, and she couldn't keep waking up multiple times a night for "a pacifier". Momma was getting tired, Violet was sleep deprived, and so change ensued! She woke up for 2 hours that night, I instinctively brought her to bed with me and nursed her. Joel, in a sleepy and only half alert state, freaked out and shouted, "what are you doing?" I woke up from my habitual state, and brought her to her room. I rocked her for a while, and close to 2 hours later, out of frustration, I nursed her again. Surprise -Violet didn't fall asleep. I was at a loss for ideas, and again, it clarified what must be done...The end of a nursing era. Since then we have a new habit: our blanket, our bear, one or two books, white noise (at night) and songs (during naps) on the sound machine, one song, and lay her down. She has done remarkably well. Not overly consistent, but impressive none-the-less. She has slept through the night over 50% of the time, and does much better, if I don't go in the room at all, when she cries out. Settle down people...I'm not as cold hearted as you think. Having her cry alone for 15 minutes, is really a loving thing to do, when the alternative is crying in my arms for 2 hours. (I'm not exaggerating, this was becoming a habit) The most exciting thing to me, is she has went down well for Joel twice! once for a nap and once at bedtime. The freedom is selfish but loved! I was housebound for a year...In hindsight I don't regret a day of it, but I don't regret being done with it either. :)
On to Violet's stats...
Height: 28 inches
Weight: 17 lbs 8.5 oz
The doctor said "developmentally Violet is perfect", which we already knew :), but then the doctor shared concern for Violets weight. Violet was 17 lbs at 6 months, and also 9 months, and the graph that they look at to chart her progress has kinda flat lined. I can honestly say that I'm not that worried about it, but our doctor put Violet on a super fatty diet for 6 weeks. They need to make sure her body is properly handling fats. This could be affected by a metabolic disorder, thyroid issues, or lots of other things that could effect brain growth. Again, I'm not too worried. Her activity is off the charts, she hasn't nursed for a substantial amount of food for a couple months, and she wasn't interested in table food until lately, and today was the first day she drank more than one glass of milk. With the amount of butter and olive oil we pumped in her, today alone, I think she is going to be one plump little lady in a few weeks!
Well that's about all for now! We go back to the foot doctor soon to check if she has straightened out. Meantime, I'll be trying to balance Violets strong personality, with necessary obedience (despite her manipulative eyes and adorable pouty lip). Also helping her develop healthy habits and getting good sleep, with lots of comfort and cuddles. Those two sentences made me tired just thinking about it! Good Night!
