Rooney, 11 Months

Has mastered the fake laugh (and fake cry)
Eats so fast, she may have been born for eating contests
Proudly shows off her two new teeth
Favorite game is peek-a-boo under the blankets
Is able to chew and swallow some table foods
Had her first big fall when she flipped off the end of the couch
Can unfold laundry and empty Kleenex boxes like a pro

Growth

Weight: 24pounds, 0 ounces

I weighed Roo at my parents' house last weekend and was excited to see her reach the 24-pound mark! We love our big girl! We've both noticed her cheeks getting chubbier lately -- she must be gearing up for walking!

Clothing: 18 months

Roo wears mostly 18-month tops, bottoms, onesies and pajamas, and size 4 diapers. I think we could even size up to 24M or 2T soon. She has a very long torso!

Currently, these are our two favorite outfits:

Eating

Bottles: Four per day, ranging from 6-8 oz.

We usually prepare 8 oz. for her, but sometimes she doesn't take it all. Which is a normal, desired part of weaning. She also found this crazy position to drink her bottle last week.

I should mention that for each the past three days, she has had only three 8 oz. bottles, so I think we are moving in that direction! What a big girl!

Food: Three meals a day and one snack

Breakfast: 7:00 am
Lunch: 11:30 am
Snack: 3:00 pm
Dinner: 5:00 pm

Rooney is a pro with purees. It's crazy to think back five-ish months ago when she could barely do it, and now she knows exactly what to do and eats VERY fast. We can hardly keep up with her. She can usually eat a jar or pouch of stage 2 food before we completely lose her attention span.

This past month we started adding combination fruits and veggies, which she seems to love(!), as well as pureed chicken (in sweet potatoes). The combination fruits are pears + blueberries, apples + strawberries, bananas + peaches + raspberries, etc.

Something also just clicked for her this month and she can now chew and swallow some table foods. We've given her banana (she will take bites off ours), O's, soft pieces of popcorn, and small pieces of fruit (strawberries, melon, peeled grapes).

The saying is "Under 1, just for fun," but I was feeling a lot of pressure to get her eating more table foods. I know her gums can mash food well, but until this month, she would gag when we tried. I feel good about where we are.

Sleeping

Bedtime: 5:30-6:30 pm

We've wanted to shift her bedtime later (7:00 pm), so we tried it for a week or so, and Eric tracked it with an app on his phone. We found that the earlier she goes to bed, the longer she will sleep. So, we're no longer trying to push her to stay up later, since she doesn't replace that sleep.

Last month we were having an issue with her waking up at 5:00 am, so we've sort of put our feet down about that and don't get her up til 6:00 am (still early, but she goes to bed early). And, she actually goes right back down for a nap if she gets up before 7:00 am. She usually gets up around 6:30 am.

Night sleep:Usually 12 hours

Her night sleep is usually 12 hours, but it has ranged from 11.5-14.5 hours. Yep, she set a new Rooney Record this month with 14.5 hours, and even then she only woke up because her papa went into her room.

Naps per day:1 or 2

You read that right. We're only doing one nap some days (especially if she's slept 14 hours at night). In that case, she will typically take one 1.5-hour nap at day care in the early afternoon. She does go to bed earlier if she only has one nap. She is very tired when she comes home from day care so we do dinner quick and then put her down.

I thought she was showing signs of dropping the second nap -- she had been napping well, but then suddenly either her morning nap would be good and her afternoon nap would be terrible (or nonexistent), or both naps would be short. I wonder if that was due to teething and not a sign of dropping naps. There are still days on the weekend where she will take two 2-hour naps.

Development & Playing

Walking? Not yet

She can stand on her own - and LOVES to be up on her feet, but she doesn't try to take steps. She likes to walk with her walker, but she knows she can can be faster if she pushes it while on her knees.

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She is a very fast crawler, and loves it when we chase her around the house. She usually wins because it hurts our knees too much!

Teeth: 4 total - 2 on the top and 2 on the bottom

Her top two teeth poked through at the same time on her 11-month birthday. These are the first teeth she's gotten since we got her teething necklace, and I have to say I really think it works. (We keep it on her all the time, even during bath and sleeping, which I think is key.)

When Roo is teething, we can tell because there is a lot of snot and coughing. She also does not nap too well. But she is generally not very fussy (although I hear those molars can be tough!).

Words: mama, baba, ba, yaya

She has started talking a lot more - including laughing and squealing nonstop! She usually says mama when she cries. I can't wait til she says it because she means it! We're also eagerly awaiting for her to say dada for the first time!

Day Care

We made some great strides at day care this month. I think we have officially transitioned and settled in. On the three-month mark since switching day cares, Roo gave a HUGE smile to Shannon (her teacher) when we walked into the room. She also gets really excited when she sees her friends. I love that she gets this interaction with other kids. We are very happy with the day care. Yesterday they went to Mommy & Me Music class and the day care director emailed me a photo of Roo playing the tambourine!

Personality

Rooney is definitely a "thinker." Even the gals at day care commented on it. She will study new people and new toys before getting too close, and is very cautious before acting. She is slow to warm up to new activities and new people. She cries at the sight of my dad when we visit, but then the next day she will be totally fine. I can definitely tell now that we've been at the new day care three months that she is feeling more comfortable there and remembering the people and toys.

Parenting

If you can't tell by our faces, we love being her parents. I can't even count the number of times each day we say "She is so cool!" "She is so cute!" "Look at her!" "She is so awesome!" "We have the best baby!" "She is so smart!" "I love her!" :) I'm sure every parents says those things!

I feel like we're really settling into our parenting style/philosophy. I'm working on a post about it. I got a lot of mom books for Christmas and decided to start with Babywise. I am reading it to gain knowledge on babies' macro and micro needs, and am hoping to decide whether or not the BW system is for us (though I will say that so far I am agreeing with a lot of it and think it will give me more confidence in my mothering).

Just one more month til you're 1, Roo!