Rhett Turns Uno!
I think this was the fastest year ever. I feel like it was yesterday that I cradled this little boy in my arms for the first time.
What we did:
As a tradition for all the kids’ birthday, I made a special breakfast. Rhett enjoyed confetti pancakes for the first time! I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of the pancakes because it was quite a CRAZY morning with everyone being excited for Rhett. However, Rhett did enjoy them!
We visited the doctor this week! His developments are on point, but he is still struggling to gain weight. We started seeing a decrease in his weight around 8 months. We are not sure why he has suddenly started losing weight versus gaining, but it has been one of our top concerns about him. He has been my biggest baby born (he weighed 7lbs 6oz), yet he has turned into one of my smallest babies at one year.
The only thing different we have done with him compared to the girls has been giving him a different formula. I breastfed him for 6 months then switched to formula. We started giving him cow’s milk formula, but after struggling with eczema our doctor recommended to try a hypoallergenic formula. The eczema went away which was great, however, now we are stumped on why he is underweight.
We have placed him on a high fat diet. Currently we are feeding him nut butters, high fat non-dairy yogurts, foods cooked in coconut oil and anything else that is high in fat and calories but is healthy. We have been told that it could be due to his constant activity (because he is a very busy boy), but not quite sure if that is the main factor. So, right now we are continuing the diet and consistently monitoring his weight. If we notice any concerns we plan on taking him back to the doctor or a specialist.
Rhett at twelve months
Milestones
- He isn’t officially walking but is taking about 5 steps before falling. We are continuing to try, but I know he will walk when he is ready.
- Still takes 2 naps a day. One in the morning followed by one in the afternoon. The naps are about 3-4 hours apart and he sleeps for about 1-2 hours for each one.
- Rhett wears size 12/18 month clothing and just recently upgraded to size 4 diapers.
- We have been working on getting rid of the bottle, but he really shows no interest in the sippy cup. It gets thrown straight to the floor during meal times-ha ha!
- We are trying to teach him the sign language symbols for “all done”, and “more” at meal times. He tries to do “all done”, but at times it looks like he is waving with one hand.
- He knows when it is bedtime/nap time. We are still using the Zipadee Swaddle with him. I absolutely LOVE this thing. It keeps him comforted and he is able to stay warm at night without using a blanket. The swaddle is made to allow him to crawl and pick up things too, so he rolls around in the crib just fine. I wish they had this thing around when the girls were babies.
Play
- Rhett loves anything with wheels. I know. It sounds so cliche to say, but everything that rolls he has his hands on. Barbie cars, trains, and trucks are his thing.
- He has started to mimic the use of everyday items. He is obsessed with headphones and chargers. The headphones will be placed around his head and he’ll carry around chargers-its actually quite comical.
- He loves to pull everything out of the recycling bin or better yet push it down and let it pour out. I finally resulted to putting the recycling bin underneath the sink to avoid this 3x a day event.
- Diaper changes are the worst ever. He HATES them. He will thrust his body in all different directions and will throw is legs at you. Sometimes it takes two people just to wipe him down. I try to keep toys handy or an object for him to be distracted by during diaper changes…sometimes it works.
- He finally has started to enjoy baths. He hated this for the longest time. Before he would scream and try to get out of the water as soon as possible, but now we are able to play with the faucet (not the toys-ha ha!).
- He LOVES his sisters. Each morning they wake up his face fills with smiles and giggles. He crawls over to them for some loving and attention. Throughout the day, he will crawl to their bedroom doors and bang his head on it to get them to come out. He really enjoys being around them and they do too.
EAT
Rhett is continuing to try new foods. His favorite foods are graham crackers and peanut butter. If the pantry cabinet is open he will pull the crackers off the shelf, open them up and eat them. Give him ANYTHING with peanut butter and he is gonna eat it.
Rhett’s Daily Schedule:
- 7:30 am: wake up time
- 9:00 am: breakfast. Cheerios, yogurt w/a banana or waffles, peanut butter with strawberries.
- 10:30 am: 6 oz of milk and nap time until 12:00 pm.
- 12:30 pm: lunch. peanut butter and jelly sandwich + blueberries and yogurt.
- 2:30 pm: 6 oz of milk and nap time until 4:00 pm.
- 4:00 pm: snack. Graham crackers and applesauce.
- 6:00 pm: dinner. He will usually have what we have which contains a source of protein, vegetable and starch.
Development:
- This boy wears me out. We started barricading him in areas of the house to keep him contained, such as in the kitchen when I am making dinner. However, that is no longer the case. He has found ways to escape from these barriers, roam the house and get into EVERYTHING.
- Rhett is continuing to pull up on all things! He does not like to be held too long especially if he sees something the wants to play with…which is usually the girls’ toys.
- Rhett is clapping, waving high, putting hats and sunglasses on his head, and brushing his hair. He has very recently started to dance and shake his booty…sometimes trying to do this hands free.
- His vocabulary is pretty much “dada” and “baba” at the moment…sometimes I will hear a “mama”.
- Rhett really enjoys books. I keep a lot of board books in the living room for him to look through. The girls and I will read them to him and he will just sit there staring at the pictures and listening to the words-it’s soo sweet!
- We are working with him on puzzles. His sisters started completing puzzles around 12 months, but right now he is currently interested in dumping the pieces and leaving them on the floor.
