So I know I haven’t blogged in like 2 years, but my toddler has been keeping me on my toes. Yes, that’s right, Berkeley is going to be 3 (!) in a little over a month and he is the cutest, funniest, smartest little boy around. I’d love to do an update on him and life in general, but I just want to write down this birth story before I forget it!

Yep, that’s right, I have a new son…

Hawthorn 1 wk ~ elephanteats.com

Hawthorn is actually not very new anymore as he just had his 4 month birthday so I thought it was high time I get this documented. 

My pregnancy this time around was a lot more uneventful than Berkeley’s (thank god). I only went to the ER one time because I was worried about having so many contractions starting so early on in pregnancy. Apparently my body just loves to have Braxton Hicks contractions and it was nothing to worry about. They started pretty much around the second trimester I think. I had them consistently, often only 10-15 min apart. They were uncomfortable but not painful really. 

Hawthorn 1 month ~ elephanteats.com
I was pretty convinced that since Berkeley was 10 days early, that this baby would be too. Nate insisted otherwise but I went with my motherly intuition- I was sure it would be in my 38th week. This was partly due to my enormous size. I swear I was bigger than I had been with Berkeley. 

The pregnancy progressed normally, baby actually dropped this time (unlike with Berk), and the doc told me I was 1 cm dilated at my 38 wk appointment. That was music to my ears.

Around my 37-38th week (honestly the details are already getting foggy!), I started to feel a little crampier. I told Nate numerous times that I thought I was in labor but wasn’t sure. It’s really hard to tell when you’re having contractions ALL the time. We had planned for Nate’s mom to come up and stay with us the week before my due date since I was sure I’d be early- I was due on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th. There was a small snow storm predicted for Saturday March 11th when Nate’s mom was supposed to drive and she hates driving in the snow. I just had a really bad feeling that the baby was gonna possibly make his appearance that day so I begged for her to come a day earlier, which she did. 

Hawthorn labor 1 ~ Elephanteats.com

She arrived on Friday, and everything went normally. Then on Saturday night while we were all eating dinner I was having those crampy contractions again. I told Nate (again) that I thought I was in labor, which he pretty much ignored at this point. After dinner we sat on the couch to watch tv and around 9pm I was sure these contractions seemed slightly more regular, though still not really more painful than the ones I’d been having all along. I decided to start timing them and sure enough they were about 8 minutes apart I think. 

Hawthorn labor 2 ~ Elephanteats.com

I remember the doc said not to call until I was having them 5 minutes apart for an hour, so I waited. Around 10 they started to seem slightly more painful and I decided if this was indeed labor, I should shower and get some sleep. Normally I’d be in bed at this point but I was waiting to see what was going on. I called the doula to make sure she was around this time, since last pregnancy she took a vacation when I was in labor, and she said to just try to get some sleep if this was the real thing. 

I took a shower and the contractions definitely felt better under the hot water but I was anal about timing them because I was really worried we wouldn’t get to the hospital in time- a completely unfounded fear. After my shower I decided to get into bed and try to get some sleep though the contractions were definitely painful enough at this point that I had to breathe through them. I think I checked in with my doula again a couple times throughout the night and finally around 2am I decided we needed to go. I had been trying to sleep but kept waking up to time the contractions and they seemed to be 5 min apart, regular and very painful. 

Hawthorn labor 3 ~ Elephanteats.com

I called my OBGYN’s after hours line and apparently all of the doctors in my practice were off duty and some other doctor was on call so they patched me to him. He was totally rude and basically was just like “yeah if you’re having contractions you’re in labor and should go to the hospital.” But didn’t even ask me anything about them! Anyway, I called the doula and explained my progress, pausing to have contractions, and she agreed that I sounded like I needed to leave. We had plans to meet at the hospital. 

Nate went upstairs to tell his mom, who was sleeping by now, that we were leaving. This time around I actually had a hospital bag packed (of which I used NONE of the items I brought) and we headed out the back door. The moon was so bright that Nate said something about not needing to turn on the outside light because we could see our way to the car. It was a full moon.

Hawthorn labor 4 ~ Elephanteats.com

I had Nate drive pretty speedily to the hospital which was thankfully only about 10 minutes away. It was now Sunday early morning and actually was also Daylight Savings so although it was felt like 3am, it was actually 4am DST. I hobbled through the front doors and made me way into the elevator and up to the Maternity floor while Nate parked the car around 4:30am according to our parking ticket. I was the only one in the waiting area and got seen pretty quickly. By this point my contractions were very painful and I was moaning very very loudly through them. Nate joined me in the exam room. Every time I had a contraction I had to get on all fours and just do whatever I could to get through them- they hurt SO badly.

Hawthorn labor 5 ~ Elephanteats.com

A doctor came in and checked my progress pretty soon after we arrived, although I don’t think I had any concept of time at this point, and I was already 7 cm dilated! Our doula had arrived by then and only one person was allowed with me since we weren’t in the Labor room yet, so Nate went to the lobby and let the doula come back with me. She tried to help me get through the contractions but honestly I didn’t want anyone touching me. I was so hot and she did help by getting me ice. I threw up a couple times and was just generally feeling horrible. 

Hawthorn labor 6 ~ Elephanteats.com

I think after they checked my progress we had to wait for a room to open up and they wheeled me over there since I was in no shape to walk. I don’t remember much of this because I was in so much pain. At this point the idea of an epidural floated around in my mind but the doula assured me that I had come so far already and really didn’t need it because everything was going so fast and she didnt’ think it would be much longer. I think it was like 5-6 am by this point. 

They hooked me up to the machines in the labor room but I had to stay on all fours and scream every time the contractions came. In addition I kept feeling like I had to push- I also felt like I had to use the bathroom (#2) so it was really hard to tell what was going on down there. I was sure I was going to end up going to the bathroom on the table since you’re really not in control of the pushing that happens when the contractions come (spoiler alert- I did and it was something Nate will never ever let me forget ).

Hawthorn labor 7 ~ Elephanteats.com

I told the doula several times that I felt like i needed to push and they checked me a couple times. The first time they said I wasn’t quite ready yet but the next time they said I was fully dilated. They wanted me to lay down on the bed and open my legs but I literally could not get off of my hands and knees because I was in so much pain and the contractions were happening so quickly. I finally laid on my side with my legs together and couldn’t move, but Nate told me the doctor said something to me about how I’d crush the baby’s skull if I didn’t open my legs. I don’t remember any of this, only how badly I wanted to push and how much pain I was in. 

I have no idea who was in the room at this point. My eyes were closed and I was fully focused on getting through the contractions and not pushing until they said. It’s SO much different than when you’ve had an epidural. My body HAD to push, like I had no choice in the matter. 

Hawthorn Going Home 1 ~ Elephanteats.com

Finally, they held my legs back since I couldn’t even focus on lifting them up, and told me to push on the next contraction. I noticed that a different doctor was there than the rude one I spoke to on the phone. I’m not sure if he was a resident or something but he was so so nice. I think it took all of 2-3 pushes and little (or actually BIG) Hawthorn Marlow made his debut at 7:11am on March 12th at a whopping 8 lb 9 oz! I could not believe he was over a pound bigger than Berkeley…and that I had him without any pain meds. 

I couldn’t even open my eyes to look at him when they first handed him to me because I was panting from the exertion of birthing. My mom said, based on pics she saw, that I looked like I had just run a marathon…which I basically had. 

They did their initial exams and everything looked pretty normal, except the doctor said that his testicle sack (not sure of the term) was very filled with fluid and they needed to do an emergency ultrasound to make sure his testicles were actually inside it and receiving blood flow. This condition is called Hydrocele. The doc said it was one of the most severe cases he’d ever seen.

Hawthorn Going Home 2 ~ Elephanteats.com

They got the ultrasound and confirmed everything inside looked ok and told me I needed to make a urologist appointment for the baby. Apparently the fluid should dissipate and dissappear by age 1 but they were a bit concerned due to the amount of swelling he had. Of course Nate and I were a bit freaked out, but the pediatrician reassured us when he stopped by later in the morning. At 4 months old the swelling has already gone down quite a bit but is still there. I have to bring him back to the urologist at 6 months. 

The last bit of drama is that it was now Sunday and a MAJOR blizzard was due to arrive on Tuesday. Berkeley was home without mama for the first time EVER (aside from a brief overnight babymoon we took to NYC) for more than one day. He was starting to get a little upset and I knew that if I couldn’t get home until after the blizzard (2 days later) that it would be traumatic for him (and mama!). This was compounded by the fact that the Maternity Ward wasn’t allowing any children under the age of 12 to visit, due to a flu that was going around. So i couldn’t even see my little boy. We facetimed with him once or twice but honestly I think it made everything worse.

Berkeley isn't sure what to think...

Berkeley isn’t sure what to think…

I begged the nurses to let me go the next day (Monday) and they told me that if everything looked ok with both me and baby that it shouldn’t be a problem. They did everything they could to rush us out of there and we ended up getting home Monday late afternoon. There was indeed a giant blizzard Tuesday, so we made it out just in the nick of time.

Hawthorn's First Month 2 ~ Elephanteats.com

Hawthorn was a great baby and nursed like a champ for the first month. But then around 1 month old he started screaming through his feedings. Like sometimes I couldn’t even get him to eat. After cutting dairy and soy out of my diet without it making any difference, we finally decided that I should stop breastfeeding. I didn’t want my baby to starve so I agreed though it made me really sad. It took him a week or so but we finally got him to start drinking a special formula (Elecare) and after several weeks he started to eat without any crying. I wasn’t too happy about having to switch to bottles but I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. I do have some breastmilk that I pumped and stored in the freezer but I’m not sure if he’ll be able to drink it before it expires. 

Hawthorn's First Month 1 ~ Elephanteats.com

In addition, he also has reflux so he’s on medication. He often spits up what seems like an entire bottle. He also doesn’t nap very well since he always has a burp/spit up that’s making him uncomfortable, so he wakes after 30-40 min a lot of the time. I’m praying that he outgrows this quickly. Berkeley was colicky so i think it’s still way better than that but it sure hasn’t been an easy road. 

Hawthorn's First Month 3 ~ Elephanteats.com

As of Monday I’m officially back in the office. I got 14 wks off and then worked from home for 2 weeks which was really nice. I tried to spend as much time with Berkeley as I could so he didn’t feel neglected. We definitely had some nice days together :) Nate also took a week of paternity leave and took Berkeley on special trips. I think that he’s adjusting pretty well. Honestly, he really just doesn’t have much interest in the baby.

I will try to update again in the near future!

Hawthorn's First Month 4 ~ Elephanteats.com

If you want to see more up-to-date pics, you can follow me on instagram :)

17 months:

Berkeley 17 months ~ ElephantEats.com

Berkeley is definitely more of a toddler than a baby now. He looks so big and is outgrowing his clothes so quickly- tho all pants that fit in length are too big in the waist for our “scrawny beanpole” as we like to call him :) 

As usual, he overwhelmed us with the cute things he did this month. He’s been trying to say new sounds and is constantly blabbering gibberish in between the actual words he says. He can also blow real kisses now, with the smack sound and everything! He also likes to imitate a fire truck which consists of him making like a little high pitched squeal sound. If you didn’t know that that’s what he was trying to do, you’d have no clue.  

17 month apple ~ ElephantEats.com

eating an apple like a big boy!

He has this book and there’s a page that says “bad dinosaurs” so I always wag my finger and say “no no, dino, no no” which he thinks is absolutely hysterical. And now he wags his finger to refer to it, with or without the book around. Speaking of finding things funny, Berkeley will throw his head back when he laughs which is too cute :)

We started going to a Gymboree class with him on the weekend for ages 16-22 months. He loves running around but he doesn’t really pay attention to the activity they’re focused on, or the other kids. Most of the kids are just doing their own thing tho. He especially loves the basketball hoop there (so we bought him one for home too) and going thru the tunnels. He LOVEs when they do the parachute and bubbles at the end. He loves grabbing the bubbles. And he also loves the creepy Gym-bo the Clown doll they have. 

17 month track suit ~ ElephantEats.com

He’s constantly imitating things we do and I caught him pulling out the kitchen trashcan and putting things (that were NOT garbage ) in it . We gotta watch that boy! Speaking of imitating, I finally got him to wear his little sunglasses. I don’t know if it’s because he knows Nate and I wear them also, or if it’s because he realized that it’s much more comfortable to be in the sun with them, but he no longer tries to pull them off after 30 seconds of wear. 

17 months sunglasses ~ ElephantEats.com

Oh and speaking of watching him… he also figured out that if you tell him he can’t do something, then he should just pull you by your finger into a different room and tell you to sit down (pat the couch) and then go back into the room he was in to finish doing the illicit act. 

Ever since receiving a flyer in the mail, he’s been obsessed with Shen Yun (it’s some acrobatic act). Below is him perusing the brochure for probably the 90th time or so. We like to imitate the poses they do together. I even showed him the trailer for it online – he was mesmerized.

17 months Shen Yun ~ ELephantEats.com

We can definitely see his little brain thinking things through now- we got a new couch and he can’t quite reach up to get on it, so he went into the other room, emptied a toy bin, brought it into the living room, turned it upside down and used it as a stool. Every day this boy continues to impress and surprise (and scare!) me. 

He has preferences now and will point go over to the refrigerator and point to things that he wants. It’s kind of cute that he knows what he wants, though I can see how it will become a battle at times now. 

18 months:

Berkeley 18 months ~ ElephantEats.com

Be prepared to photo overload this month, thanks to a trip we took, plus holidays.

18 months walk with Grandpa ~ ElephantEats.com

Berkeley started saying some new words this month. A favorite is “bubba” which is bubble. It started from seeing the bubbles at Gymboree, which is his favorite part of class. Now he insists we bring bubbles with us when we go to the park too. I also think he said “day” but haven’t heard it much again. He also loves getting stamps on his hand at the end of class (also his music class) and will point to his hand after to tell us or to indicate he wants one.

18 months airport travel ~ ElephantEats.com

our Lillebaby carrier- best way to travel thru the airport with a million bags and a car seat!

We had our first real bloody experience this month when he smacked his lip into the dresser. He was gushing blood but I’m still not sure where exactly it was coming from. I only started to worry a bit when the bleeding didn’t let up. Finally it did tho…I’m really not looking forward to something worse than that, which I know is bound to come.

18 months Georgia Aquarium 1 ~ ElephantEats.com

He’s definitely observing and learning all the time. I’ve never showed him how to open a door but I guess he watches what I do with my keys. The other day he went into my purse, pulled out my keys, and took them to our laundry room door (that doesn’t actually lock but does have a spot where a key would go) and tried to put the key up to the lock. 

18 months Georgia Aquarium 2 ~ ElephantEats.com

at the Georgia Aquarium- We think this should be their new ad campaign pic ;)

18 months Berk and dad ~ ElephantEats.com

Berkeley is developing quite the little sense of humor. He likes to laugh at his own jokes too…i think he got that one from mama ;) While he was eating one time, he kept trying to put his straw in his nose because we stupidly laughed the first time he did it. Then after we told him not to do it he would pretend to put it in his mouth and then with a big grin, slip the straw up and into his nose, like he was faking us out, and then start laughing hysterically!

18 months Atlanta playground ~ ElephantEats.com

Another favorite thing he does now while he’s eating is he very forcefully points to his tray when he wants something he sees on it. I think it’s really cute but our nanny says he’s being bossy, haha.

18 months Atlanta bath ~ ElephantEats.com

A major thing to happen this month was taking a trip to Atlanta to visit my brother, and go to one of his restaurants, Grindhouse Killer Burgers!. The food is awesome, so definitely visit if you’re in the area. He has several locations with more opening up, and also has a place called Hi-Five Diner which is equally delicious.

18 months Grindhouse ~ ElephantEats.com

Berkeley LOVED his burger and fries and milkshake, but really who wouldn’t. We also planned the trip so that Nate could run in the Atlanta Half marathon. 

18 months half marathon ~ ElephantEats.com

Berkeley did fairly well on the plane. The ride there he whined a bunch and managed to take a short nap. The way home was much better and he fell asleep before takeoff. Unfortunately the lady in front of him coughed and woke him up after about an hour.

18 months plane ride ~ ElephantEats.com

While in Atlanta, he got to go out to eat several times (we never take him out at home), went to the aquarium, loved my brother’s dog Biggie and continued to talk about him long after we were home. He also loves planes even more than he did before.

18 months diner ~ ElephantEats.com

Month 18 also unfortunately brought his first fever and then his first ear infection. I know many babies go through that long before Berk, but it was so heartbreaking to see him screaming and in pain for days. He wouldn’t eat much and then when the ear pain started he kept banging his head on things. He also was trying to tell us what was wrong and just ran through his entire repertoire of sign language that he knows in an attempt to communicate. It was so sad :(

18 months doctor visit ~ ElephantEats.com

After two days of inconsolable crying he was diagnosed and put on meds. I knew something was wrong after the first day of non-stop crying and took him to the doc but she said nothing was wrong. Good thing I listened to my mommy instincts and took him back the next day, where he thankfully saw a different doctor. Sadly, his ear infection interfered with his first Easter egg hunt and trip to the zoo. He didn’t take much enjoyment in either. 

18 months doctor visit ~ ElephantEats.com

We still got out there and did stuff though. This was actually when he just had a fever and we didn’t know yet that it was an ear infection. Poor baby.

18 months Easter 2 ~ ElephantEats.com

18 months Easter 3 ~ ElephantEats.com

Oh and I got him this set of colorform type stickers that have a pad but our nanny stuck them on the window and now he’s OBSESSED. He plays with them for like 30 minutes at a time, just arranging and rearranging:

18 months colorforms ~ ElephantEats.com

Can’t wait to see what the next month brings!

Stats: 25.4 lbs (at his 18 month appt), 33ish inches tall, Size 4 Pampers Swaddlers diapers (Size 5 Huggies Overnite with a booster pad for nighttime). Size 18 month pants (though they’re too big in waist, and 24M to 2T size tops)

Teeth: 8 on top and 8 on bottom! He has his first year molars now.

Likes:

blowing kisses, bubbles, trucks/buses, imitating everyone, laughing, making people laugh, making a fart sound with his mouth, truck stickers on the window, hand stamps in class, planes, dogs,  

Dislikes:

not much besides being told “no”

Schedule (18 months- same as 16 months):

between 5-6 am: wake up. Thankfully he’s been waking up closer to 6 now! I get him out of his crib around 6-6:15.

6:30 am: breakfast- baby oatmeal (made with milk and prune juice), fruit, waffle/pancake, variations of this recipe or this recipe, plus a smoothie (we make double and save for later)

9:30 am: snack (some cheese and fruit, etc)

11:30: lunch (usually some protein, some fat, some veggies/carbs/fruit)

12:30: 1 hr-2+ hr nap. He’s down to one nap and it’s usually a good one! (except on the weekends of course). We do a similar routine to bedtime. Change diaper, quietly play, turn down lights and read some books, then bed. Wake by 3 if he’s still sleeping.

2-3ish (when he wakes): He has the rest of his smoothie for a snack. We’ve found if we give him any more he won’t eat dinner.

5- dinner (sometimes our leftovers, or some veggies and mini homemade meatballs, etc). It’s a littler earlier if he had a bad nap and needs an earlier bedtime.

Bathtime (45 min before bed)

7ish (4-4.5 hrs after waking from second nap): bedtime! I finally get to see him after work now, for the most part. Occasionally he’ll take a really bad nap and have an earlier bedtime, but it’s mainly only on weekends. 

Maybe one day I’ll get caught up on all these baby updates. As of now Berkeley has just entered his 18th month. Whoops! I guess it’s more important to enjoy him in real life than to find time write about it though, right? But here’s a little look back if you’re interested ;)

15 months:

Berkeley 15 months ~ ElephantEats.com

Well, I know I always say this, but Berkeley’s 15th month was a big one! I think we really saw him start to understand and become a little person so much.

15 month raincoat ~ ElephantEats.com

He started to get very animated when “talking,” and was obviously trying very hard to communicate (he was calling everything “bung” which confused us a bit, haha). This led us to believe that a language breakthrough was coming. And indeed it did! First he started saying dada a lot, then bird (he doens’t pronounce the d), nana (banana), boat. He finally started using mama and dada to actually refer to us, instead of just babbling the words for no reason. And most importantly, he finally knows his name! When we ask who he is, he says “Berk.” He’ll also say it when he sees himself (or actually any baby) in a picture or the mirror. 

Christmas 2015 pjs ~ ElephantEats.com

Nate bought him this Eric Carle book and he can immitate all of the animal actions. It’s pretty cute because he’ll do them even when the book isn’t around…like just run down the list and act them all out. It’s very cute :)

15 m stroller ~ ElephantEats.com

Berkeley had his 15 month appointment and while we all guessed that he surely had gained 3 lbs, he actually only gained 1. The doc assured us that this is normal because babies this age are very active and not great eaters…although Berkeley actually eats very well. He also grew 1-2 inches since his 12 month checkup.

15 m park ~ ElephantEats.com

In the past he hasn’t minded the doctor, but this time he cried when she tried to examine him and tried to squirm out of my grasp while I was holding him. I think it was partially due to the long wait time we had- he was just over being there. 

15 m stroller 2 ~ ElephantEats.com

His bottom first molars came in and he basically stopped eating for a couple weeks. This is when I introduced smoothies, which is one of his new fave foods. He doesn’t drink milk so we use the sign language for “milk” to refer to smoothie instead, and he’s constantly saying he wants one. Even once he started eating again, he has remained a little pickier than before and will not eat the roasted veggies I used to make him weekly :( He does, however, love these broccoli cheese patties that I make! I make a huge batch and freeze them and take out as needed weekly. 

xmas zoo ~ ElephantEats.com

This month he went to a petting zoo, where he paricularly liked the chickens.

xmas zoo 2 ~ ElephantEats.com

He also celebrated the first Christmas that he actually participated in, since last year he was too little. He enjoyed all of his presents from Santa! 

He did not, however, enjoy his first Santa photo:

2015 Santa photo ~ ElephantEats.com

So I reproduced a “Santa” photo with dada instead. Better than nothing!:

Santa dada photos ~ ElephantEats.com

He has some new things he does:

  • Pushes his Mickey train all around the house and can navigate really well! He likes to aim for LC’s food and water, haha.
  • Goes to pantry and opens door and pulls out food. He always wants to eat!
  • Kisses all animals, real and fake
  • Pets LC nicely and then kisses her
  • Lots of new words

Longwood Christmas 2015 ~ ElephantEats.com

16 months:

Berkeley 16 months ~ ElephantEats.com

Berkeley learned a lot of new words this month! He’s continuing his trend with “b” words- Berk, bowl, bath, bus…they all sound fairly similar, haha. He also can say cheese, egg and bye, which you probably wouldn’t understand if you didn’t spend a lot of time with him. 

16 month Mickey Train ~ ElephantEats.com

He loves to immitate things we do, and his new favorite is pretending to cook eggs (“deh!”) like mama does, in his play kitchen. It is SO cute. He also fake coughs…and also coughs when we say coffee because it sounds the same to him, even though he knows that coffee is a drink. Because Grandma is mainly the person he sees that drinks coffee (Nate and I don’t), he will now cough when he sees her. Haha, he’s such a little weirdo!

16 montn in basket ~ ElephantEats.com

He loves emptying his basket where we keep his stuffed animals, and climbing inside it.

He’s really into smoothies and will carry them around the house. I started giving them to him because he wouldn’t drink plain milk…and it worked! He went through some picky eating when he was teething but he’s mainly back to normal. This month he got his top canines.

16 months Arboretum ~ ElephantEats.com

Berkeley loves animals of all kinds. He has discovered birds outside and will get very excited and point them out. He can actually say Meow now but it’s more like “mow mow.” He loves LC and tries to pet her a lot.

A major change this month is that he has moved to one nap! We emailed the sleep lady again in order to transition him to one nap in the best possible way. We knew it was time because he had been boycotting his afternoon nap for a bout a month. To move to one nap, given his very early wakeup, we gradually moved his new ONE nap from 10:30am to 12:30pm. Each week it got moved 30 min later til it reached 12:30. Luckily, he falls right asleep now (knock on wood). And the best part of this is that he can stay up late enough to see me when i get home from work now!

16 months Arboretum 2 ~ ElephantEats.com

During his 16th month he got to experience his first real snowfall (that he could remember!).

16 month baby snowpants ~ ElephantEats.com

How cute are baby snowpants?!

He wasn’t a huge fan of walking in the snow, mainly because it was almost as tall as him.

2016 Blizzard ~ ElephantEats.com

Despite what it seems in the pictures, he actually did enjoy being pulled around in the sled…

2016 Blizzard 2~ ElephantEats.com

…and eating snow. Yum!

2016 Blizzard 3~ ElephantEats.com

He needed snow boots so went back to the shoe store that he had a MAJOR meltdown at for his first pair of shoes, and this time he did much much better. By the end of the trip, he let the salesman actually touch his foot, haha. 

16 month visit with Grandpa ~ ElephantEats.com

Playing with Grandpa

Unfortunately, temper tantrums have also started this month. He loves to cry and throw himself at the ground or bang his head on the wall (??). Luckily he’s a good boy and these are rare so far. Nate tells me I give in to him too much, but it’s honestly so he doesn’t have a tantrum. I know I need to learn to be a little more stern, I just feel like I wanna know that he understands what I’m saying first!

2016 Blizzard 4~ ElephantEats.com

Oh and lastly, I finally trimmed the hair that was hanging over his ears. He didn’t really want me touching his ears so I didn’t do a great job, but it’s a major improvement. 

Stats: 23 lb 4.5 oz (at his 15 month appt), 32ish inches tall, Size 4 Pampers Swaddlers diapers (moved to Size 5 Huggies Overnite with a booster pad for nighttime)

Teeth: 6 on top and 8 on bottom! He got his top canines (and molars are coming in) 

Likes:

Talking, using sign language to say “outside” and “smoothie,” reading books, doing “rocket” with dada (Nate runs around with him), looking at photos on computer, playing with water, animals, his Grandmas and Grandpas 

Dislikes:

Getting his diaper changed!!!, being told No, Santa Claus (or strange men in general)

Schedule (16 months):

between 5-6 am: wake up. Thankfully he’s been waking up closer to 6 now! I get him out of his crib around 6-6:15.

6:30 am: breakfast- baby oatmeal (made with milk and prune juice), fruit, waffle/pancake, variations of this recipe or this recipe, plus a smoothie (we make double and save for later)

9:30 am: snack (some cheese and fruit, etc)

11:30: lunch (usually some protein, some fat, some veggies/carbs/fruit)

12:30: 1 hr-2+ hr nap. He’s down to one nap and it’s usually a good one! (except on the weekends of course). We do a similar routine to bedtime. Change diaper, quietly play, turn down lights and read some books, then bed. Wake by 3 if he’s still sleeping.

2-3ish (when he wakes): He has the rest of his smoothie for a snack. We’ve found if we give him any more he won’t eat dinner.

5- dinner (sometimes our leftovers, or some veggies and mini homemade meatballs, etc). It’s a littler earlier if he had a bad nap and needs an earlier bedtime.

Bathtime (45 min before bed)

7ish (4-4.5 hrs after waking from second nap): bedtime! I finally get to see him after work now, for the most part. Occasionally he’ll take a really bad nap and have an earlier bedtime, but it’s mainly only on weekends. 

Berkeley 13 months ~ ElephantEats.com

In order to play catchup, I’m combining months 13 and 14, so be prepared for picture overload!

Winterthur Children's Garden ~ Elephant Eats.com

Some fun things Berkeley did during his 13th month:

  • Picked up fake fuzz from carpet and pretended to eat it (i think because when he picked up a real piece we told him not to eat it, so of course he wanted to defy us) and other similar things he knows we don’t want him to do

Winterthur Children's Garden 2~ Elephant Eats.com

  • Gave kisses (i.e. stuck out his tongue and touched it to the object of his affection)

Berk in Leaves ~ ElephantEats.com

  • Stayed still a little more and will sit in your lap

Pumpkin Picking 2016 ~ ElephantEats.com

  • Used his snack cup (while spilling cheerios everywhere)
  • Made his version of animal sounds (gurgles for growl, ah ah for monkey, mmmm for cow, oof (i.e. “woof”) for pretty much all other animals
  • He whined MA MA when anything made him upset, though I don’t actually think he knows I’M mama. 

Pumpkin Picking 2016 2~ ElephantEats.com

  • Said his first real word “Bamba” which is his favorite snack food.
  • Signed “all done” when was not all done, just so we give him Bamba (see above).
  • Developed a love of squirrels and insisted on chasing them.

Pumpkin Picking 2016 3~ ElephantEats.com

  • Got bit by LC for smacking her in the face (but thank goodness he still loves her)
  • Learned to appreciated standing on the couch and looking out the front window at the neighborhood happenings.

Berkeley and LC ~ ElephantEats.com

  • Ate a ton of food and signed that he wants to eat even if he just finished eating.
  • Walked much more sturdy and quickly

Berkeley in park 3~ ElephantEats.com

  • Loved finding anything heavy he could lift and carried it around (that boy is strong!)
  • Pushed his toy ride-on train all around the house instead of riding on it (he only figured out how to go backwards while riding it so far)

Berkeley in park 3~ ElephantEats.com

  • Immitated actions we do with sound effects (yawning, saying aaaah after taking a sip of water, saying mmmm after eating a bite of food)
  • and MOST IMPORTANTLY, we got rid of bottles!!!

Delaware 2016 ~ ElephantEats.com

He definitely started to understand more. Apparently our nanny had taken him to the park and there were other kids their with their moms and the moms announced it was snack time, and Berkeley went running over :)

Berkeley 14 months ~ ElephantEats.com

Some fun things Berkeley did during his 14th month:

  • Started “dancing” by standing in one place and stomping feet and twirling around.
  • Went trick-or-treating! (he insisted on holding onto each piece of candy he got until I forced it out of his hand at the next house)

Halloween Where the Wild Things Are ~ ElephantEats.com

 

Halloween Where the Wild Things Are 2 ~ ElephantEats.com

 

Halloween Where the Wild Things Are 3 ~ ElephantEats.com

  • Blew kisses…sort of
  • Nodded “yes” (finally!)

Delaware 2016 2~ ElephantEats.com

  • Went on his first long distance trip with a hotel stay! Nate ran the Richmond marathon.

Richmond Children's Museum ~ ElephantEats.com

  • Ate out at a restaurant (when we were in Richmond)
  • Learned to sign “cheerio” after i decided to make an O shape with my hand to refer to them. I made this mistake of looking thru the “O” so now he always puts the O shape to his eyeball, haha.
  • Followed directions better

Berk and the cat ~ ElephantEats.com

  • Tried to say banana
  • Started signing “eat” for pretty much everything he wants to do. We’re a little confused what he’s trying to say.
  • Loved touching/looking for bellybuttons

Berkeley in park ~ ElephantEats.com

  • Did a weird winking thing while trying to immitate me raising one eyebrow. It’s SO CUTE. Now he does it when we say “eye” or “wink.” He winks at everthing! haha
  • Said “Bob” to refer to his many Spongebob dolls, but also everything else he points to.
  • Learned to sign “outside”

Berkeley in park 2~ ElephantEats.com

  • Boycotted his morning naps on more than one occassion. Thought it might be because he was starting to phase out morning naps, but it might just be because we had family visiting for almost 2 weeks and he was all excited. 

Stats: no weight/heigh measurements taken, Size 3 Pampers Swaddlers diapers (Size 4 Huggies Overnite with a booster pad for nighttime)

Teeth: 4 on top and 4 on bottom (where are you, Molars?!) 

Likes:

Moving nonstop, trying to talk, using sign language to communicate, eating

Schedule:

between 5-6 am: wake up. I don’t go get him until 6am though.

6:30 am: breakfast- baby oatmeal (made with milk and prune juice), fruit, waffle/pancake, etc

8 am: 1 hr-1.5 hr nap

9:30 am: wake up (if still sleeping) and have a snack (some cheese and fruit, etc)

11:45: lunch (usually some protein, some fat, some veggies/carbs/fruit)

12:30: 1 hr-1.5 hr nap. He has boycotted this several times due to teething i think.

1:30-2:15ish (when he wakes): snack, same type as morning snack 

3-4:30ish- dinner (sometimes our leftovers, or some veggies and mini homemade meatballs, etc)

Bathtime (45 min before bed)

5-6:30ish (3.5-4 hrs after waking from second nap): bedtime! He’s had a 6-6:15ish bedtime several times and if I rush home I can see him for a bit. He’s always SO surprised and happy to see me :)

Berkeley 12 months ~ ElephantEats.com

As usual, I’m really behind on this update. Little Berkeley is no longer a baby, and is officially a Toddler (tho really, who makes those rules?). 

1st birthday cake ~ ElephantEats.comFor his first birthday, we were down at my parents’ shore house. I don’t really give him much sugar, so I used my mom’s recipe for Apple Zucchini Muffins (i need to share that, btw), baked it into cake pans and then just cut it out with a bowl to make small circles. The frosting is just whipped cream with a little maple syrup and vanilla. And of course, blueberries to garnish (Berkeley’s favorite fruit!)

1st bday Smash cake ~ ElephantEats.com

My little toddler is definitely toddling, and with his first pair of shoes (!) he’s pretty fast outside. Our nanny says that when she takes him to the park, he runs around nonstop. Indoors he’s still always on the go as well, walking between the living room and dining-room-turned-playroom with his little water cup in hand. He also decided he likes to go into the kitchen and open a few cabinets and drawers…one in particular has spatulas, etc. in it and he carries them around. 

Playground ~ ElephantEats.com

I mentioned before that he was saying “uh-oh” tho not consistently. But the day after he turned one he started saying mama! He says it really clearly and I love hearing his little voice :) He doesn’t necessarily know what he’s saying, though. He also started saying baba a day or two after that. Now he says yaya and wawa, but again just as sounds.

bday wknd ~ ElephantEats.com

He may not be talking much, but he’s understanding a ton more! When i say bird, he points up at his bird mobile (i didn’t even know he knew what a bird was!), he’ll bring you a book if you ask, and understands some other basic commands. It’s so fun to see him understanding things :) He also pulls on your hand to take you somewhere…so cute!!

Governor's Island 2 ~ ElephantEats.com

He LOVES to wave at everyone and everything. It’s so funny because when it first started I was pushing him in teh stroller and kept seeing people waving at him, and i was like…what the heck? Then I realized they were waving BACk at him, haha. And it’s like a real wave with his hand now, not a whole-arm movement like before. He can also really clap now, as opposed to putting his partially closed hands together. 

ElephantEats

He does this game now where he runs over to his crib and hides behind it (it’s about 1 ft away from the wall) and then we say “where’s berkeley???” and he pokes his head out and laughs hysterically and runs towards us. Repeat to infinity. He does this same game whenever you tell him not to do something…he’ll pretend he’s about to do it and when you say “noooo,” he laughs hysterically and runs away. Something tells me this boy is gonna be t.r.o.u.b.l.e.

Governor's Island 3 ~ ElephantEats.com

He actually gives kisses now when asked, although he really just sticks his tongue out and touches it to your face. He’s also become more gentle with LC and has redeveloped a love/interest in her, although we still have to get him to pet her side instead of her face.

I thought Berkeley was having separation anxiety before, but it was nothing compared to this month. He cries whenever I leave for work (like full blown tears) and pretty much whenever I leave the room. It makes me so sad. For a week or two he would cry when his nanny showed up because he knew I was leaving.

Governor's Island 4 ~ ElephantEats.com

Berkeley is usually a really happy, easy-going boy, but he started to get really cranky. On the weekend he had his last swim class for the season, he cried during the class and I ended up having to leave. Then he bawled while getting his new pair of shoes (I don’t think he liked the strange man touching his feet). I think maybe he’s teething?

First pair of shoes part 1 ~ ElephantEats.com

 

First pair of shoes part 2 ~ ElephantEats.com

I talked to the lady we used for Sleep Consulting due to his bad second nap, and she got him on a nap schedule. He usually takes two 1-1.5 hr naps, which isn’t bad. 

Along with the new schedule, we’ve begun weaning from bottles. This was actually a blessing since it is SO hard to get that boy to sit still for a bottle. It was becoming a fight for every one but the morning one. I’d have to simultaneously hold the bottle while rotating thru toys/books with the other hand to keep him occupied and sitting still.

Apple Picking 2015 ~ ElephantEats.com

Pardon Berkeley’s face…this was the best of all the choices

Since he never sits still and is now walking, we like to take him out onto the sidewalk and let him stroll on his own (under very careful supervision, obv). He loves it. 

Trader Joes ~ ElephantEats.com

Stats: 22 lb 5 oz, Size 3 Pampers Swaddlers diapers (Size 4 Huggies Overnite with a booster pad for nighttime)

Teeth: 4 on top and 4 on bottom. 

Apple Picking 2015_2 ~ ElephantEats.com

Likes:

Walking!, drinking water from his straw cup,babbling, climing on his chair and getting books from his bookshelf, hiding behind his crib, NOT SITTING STILL, woofing at any animal, waving at anything and anyone.

Dislikes:

Bottles, mama and papa leaving for work, falling when he walks, the shoe store salesman.

Schedule (same as 11 months):

between 5-6 am: wake up. I don’t go get him until 6am though.

6:15 am: 6 oz bottle of formula followed by baby oatmeal (made with half prune juice/water) and some fruit pieces

8 am: 1 hr-1.5 hr nap

9:30 am: wake up (if still sleeping) and have a snack (some cheese and fruit, etc)

12:00: lunch (usually some protein, some fat, some veggies/carbs/fruit)

12:30: 1 hr-1.5 hr nap. He has boycotted this several times due to teething i think.

1:30-2:15ish (when he wakes): 6 oz bottle of formula

3-4:30ish- more solids (technically his dinner since he goes to bed so early). I usually make this 1.5 hrs before his bedtime bottle.

Bathtime

4:30-5:30ish (1/2 hr before bedtime): 7 oz bottle of formula

5-6:30ish (4 hrs after waking from second nap): bedtime! He’s had a 6-6:15ish bedtime several times and if I rush home I can see him for a bit. He’s always SO surprised and happy to see me :)

BerkeleyCollage12month