William at 11 months: Doing my own thing

Good morning, William!

I've been thinking about what I wrote yesterday about William. Unfortunately, he didn't magically learn to feed himself over night. Despite what the Baby Center told me this morning "wordlike sounds" are not "spilling out" of my now 11-month old baby. And, as long as we're on the subject of what's not happening, he hasn't started running after his siblings, despite many predictions on the amazing skills of the third baby. So, natural momma reaction is to start fretting. Hard. What if he's, gasp, "slow"???

Deep breath time. Look at that face. Adorable, right? That is one happy baby. William is adept at communicating hunger, getting fed and eating well. He chatters all the time, including a well-placed "Da" a few days ago when I carried him into a room and he saw Daddy. He also seemed to be singing along with one of the hymns at church on Sunday if the looks from folks in the other pews are to be believed. He's been crawling and cruising well and now he's starting to stand independently here and there, so the walking will begin soon. Above all, William does not sit in the corner like a lump. There's a lot going on around him all the time and he is happily engaged in all of it. If he isn't feeding himself or talking in sentences yet, it's probably just because he hasn't needed to. The people around him, big and little, are apparently meeting his needs to his liking.

It's hard not to get antsy about baby milestones even when the process is old hat. Everyone wants to have bragging rights -- good sleeping, good eating, good walking, good talking -- and it would be nice to have those first before everyone else (because he is the best baby in the world, right?). Except babies, and bigger kids too, aren't learning their various skills to appease family egos. Sleeping, eating, riding a bike -- it all comes when the minds and bodies are ready, not because some checklist said it should be mastered by now or because all the other kids in the neighborhood are doing it.

So, here's what I'm learning from William: slow down, Mom. This is my baby who was induced two days after his due date. Odds are good that left up to him, he would have been one of those week or two "overdue" babies. He was happy in the womb; he was happy to look around when he got kicked out. He is learning and doing at his own pace. It may not be my pace, but it works for him. You know what he is best at? Love. He is a snuggler. He knows how to give big, delicious hugs and he knows how to receive them. Several times a day, he gets a bear hug and "I love you, William" from his sister. From his brother, he gets constant encouragement and a few well-placed hugs, too. So, do your own thing, William. No matter where you go in life, you are already a success.

Joy!

Love!

Dinner time blues

This adorable young man REFUSES to feed himself, despite totally mastery of the cup, a delight in mushing food all over the place, and no refusal to anything coming his way via spoon. He will happily crawl across dry grass to play in dirt and mulch, delights in the bathtub (and dog dishes) and grabs anything and everything he can find, so we're not looking at a tactile sensitivity issues near as I can tell. He can throw a ball with accuracy, so I'm pretty sure the fine motor skills are developing well. What I do know is he's the only baby his age -- 11 months -- who isn't feeding himself. Most likely, he's on his own timeline. He eats every meal with us, but the best way to get attention is, of course, refusing to feed himself. He's already learned how to push mom's buttons. (Side note, whoever came up with the parenting advice of not letting kids get a rise out of you, come up with something else. When the kids annoy me, I appear annoyed. Seems like the world could use a little more honesty about emotions, rather than less, but I digress.) Unfortunately, this refusal to put the food in his hands into his mouth is making his parents a little crazy because it just seems odd. We're considering putting a stack of Oreos on his tray, just to entice him, but he will probably just throw them on the floor, like he throws everything on the floor. Seems like a waste of a good cookie to me. So, chances are that this soon-to-be one year old will end up with very little birthday cake unless he gets this eating thing figured out soon. Feed yourself already, kid!