Sidney Loyd - 11 months

Eleven months old. Hard to believe. As much as I've tried to stop Sid from growing, it just isn't working. I know it's a fact of life, but gosh it's tough. He's turning into such a little boy! (and a joyous one at that!)

Sid is getting super fun to play with. He is starting to understand the idea of playing games. He likes to roll the ball back and forth and knock down blocks that Sean and I have stacked in front of him. Lately, his game is to hand us something and then we hand it back to him. Or helping put a lid on something, or making sure daddy's hat is placed back on his head ;)

Speaking of being full of energy - this guy is on the move! He isn't crawling and at this point I think it's safe to say he's going to skip it. His new favorite activity is holding someones fingers and walking all around. His balance is getting better every day and sometimes he even wants to totally let go, but mommy isn't quite ready for that yet. No really, his balance isn't THAT good yet ;) It's really fun, but we are all paying for it with aching backs by the end of the day. He will go and go and go until we finally force him to sit.

Sid's fine motor skills have blown us away. He can push the tiniest of buttons, and hammer small pegs into his favorite toy with ease. He will sit and study something for a long time and you can see his wheels turning, wanting to understand how it works. He is good at focusing for a while on one thing. 

If there is one thing my son and I have in common it's not liking silence! This boy babbles all day long! When I wear him into a store, he immediately starts babbling and making silly noises with his tongue. It makes me laugh. He is starting to really sound things out. When he hears or sees birds (or birdies as we call them), he starts making the "b" sound. He also makes this same sound when reaching for a banana (which is quite possibly his favorite food!). 

I've noticed when he's tired, cranky, and just generally needing something and upset, he will say, "mmmmmaammmmugh" and it pretty much melts my heart. When he sees his daddy walk through the door or if I say, "Where's daddy?", he turns and says "dddugh" or "ddddaa". These are just the main things we've picked up on. I know he is really understanding me a lot more which is fun to see. He is good at getting what he wants by pointing and making a "da" sound. 

Sid loves drinking out of his new cup! It's so cute! He gets so excited when he has it and then he has to pound it on anything and everything in sight! He sometimes drowns himself while drinking out of it, but he's getting the hang of it. 

We had our first case of the sickies this past month. It hit, and then hit again. It was a double wammy for my sweet fella. 

It started on a Monday afternoon. I could tell he was hotter than normal. Sure enough, fever. Not much, only a degree, but still, fever. He really was ok and not extra fussy or anything. And he even slept ok that night. But then Tuesday afternoon his tummy got upset. It got upset and it stayed upset for nearly 2 weeks. Uck! Let me tell you, cloth diapering is no big deal. It's what we do and it works for us. But. When you have a baby with an upset tummy, cloth diapering is exhausting! We made it through. 

But then, the next week he came down with a loose cough and congestion with a runny nose. Oh man, that broke my heart. It was so tough hearing him trying to breathe while nursing. We ended up using the Nose Frida on him, and if you don't have one, get one. I mean it. Run, don't walk to the store! This thing cleared him up so fast! Thankfully with the help of the Nose Frida, the right foods, and essential oils, our little guy made it through a rough 2 weeks.  

The other tough part about his being sick was his sleep. All sleep training went out the window. Poor guy was waking up in the middle of the night with a messy diaper, and then I would nurse him to get him from getting dehydrated. 

I love everything about this picture. Except that Sid is sick, of course.

Naps were scarce, and nighttime was a lot of up and down. Here we are two weeks later and I think finally back on track. It took a few nights of letting him cry, but it worked and I know we are all happier because of it (but from all of this exhaustion, mama got a fever blister - ugh!). 

In other news, Sid still loves going for strolls. We go for walks often and he just kicks his little feet and smiles up at me from the stroller :)

He still loves his bookshelf in his room. That little rainbow stacker toy is probably one of his favorites that lives on his shelf. He can do it by himself!

Sid takes after his Grampa in a lot of ways, but most recently, it's the way he can stretch his leg up and put his foot in his mouth. Yes, what I'm trying to say is that his Grampa could do (& did do) this exact same thing! I get the biggest giggle out of seeing this from my rear view mirror!

Daddy is his number one person these days! I seriously can not compete with this bond (nor would I want to). Sid sees him and his eyes light up! You see, there are things he does with mommy, and there are LOTS of things he does with daddy. As in, lots of things that mommy says no to. There is absolutely NOTHING off limits to him when he plays with daddy. Le Sigh. I can't compete. And it's ok - as long as daddy lets me pull my hair literally out when Sid turns 2 and doesn't understand why he can't play with the electrical wires coming out of the wall. No but really, they have so much fun and Sean can get a good laugh out of Sid almost always. One day, Sean had to run and grab a phone call and he handed Sid back to me. Sid had a complete meltdown (it was 2 hours after I made him cry it out for a nap). So I guess this past month was a first for something else for Sid - his first grudge! Against ME! Wahhhhh!!!

In just one more short month he will be one! I mean it when I say I can't believe it! He's the best ever and I can't imagine doing life without him :)

Weight: He lost some weight when he was sick, but we think he's back in the 19lb range

Height: Not sure, but definitely long & lean

Medical Issues: None currently

Naps: 2 a day. He is typically awake 3-4 hrs in between. He occasionally only gets one, and he does ok.

Night Sleep: It's been a rough sleep month due to him being sick. But we are mostly back on track now and he's going down around 7 and wakes around 6.

Clothing Size: 12m & 18m

Diapers: BG 4.0 w/ cotton or bamboo inserts during the day / nighttime BG 4.0 w/ 3 bamboo inserts.

Diet: We are trying to feed him 3 meals a day now. We added black beans to his diet. Bananas are his absolute favorite! He eats them in pieces and mashed with avocado almost every morning. I am nursing him 4(ish) times per day. The only set time is when he wakes in the morning and when he goes to bed. The rest of the day is just whenever he wants it. 

Favorite Baby Gear: His books! His giraffe with the balls, jumparoo, hammer toy, rainbow stacker, anything that rattles

Personality: He loves grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. He wants to make sure everyone is watching him being silly. He loves imitating silly noises. 

Milestones/Firsts: Walking - nonstop! He constantly is grabbing our fingers to help him walk. He's really starting to sound out words. And he can direct me to what he wants through his pointing. We started music class and he loves it!

Likes: Bouncing! He thinks everything should be able to bounce him. He loves me to hold him and then bounce him on the birthing ball (exercise ball) while we play fun music in his room!, sucking his 2 fingers!

Dislikes: he has not been happy getting in the bathtub lately. He's ok once he's in there, but it takes work getting him happy.

Nicknames: Sid-Sid, bud

OUTTAKES