Freddie's 11 Month Update

It just feels like yesterday that I was writing my first ever pregnancy update when I was 12 weeks pregnant. Now I'm writing Freddie's 11 month update. He'll be one years old next month, I'll still be telling people he's # months old instead of a year old, though, I'm sure! It's unbelievable how fast this year has gone. I try and think how life was before our baby boy, and I just can't remember what it was like without him, except the sleep. When I look back at old posts such as his first week update, it makes me so sad because I know I'll never experience that again and it just makes me realise how fast my baby boy has grown. He's in that inbetween stage now of a baby going into the early stages of a toddler. He's learned so many new things this past month, and I'm so incredibly proud of him. Each time he learns something new it makes me sad a little inside because I just know my baby is growing up and he's not going to be a baby for too long now. Someone even told me the other day that his baby looks in his face is going slowly. Slow down, Freddie!

Sleep
Seeing as sleep has been a huge struggle since having Freddie, I thought it would be best to talk about that first. I must say his sleep has improved - some nights and has definitely improved in the evenings. I've decided to combi-feed, and so he gets formula fed in the evenings either by myself or my partner. He will go to bed anytime between 7am and 8pm, depending on his day nap times. He will get fed, and he will dose off to sleep, that's when he will be put down to sleep into his cot. He then sleeps until anytime between 12 and 4am. I've noticed when he wakes up between 12 and 2 he will then wake up every 2 hours until wake up time. Some nights he has been sleeping until 3/4am which feels amazing. I don't mind waking up once or twice during the night but not every two hours as I always struggle throughout the day then. But, I must say I am so happy that I have my evenings back now. It's a nice feeling being able to relax once all kids are in bed. He will be soon moving into his own bedroom, once I get time to do it all up.

During the day he will have either 1 or 2 naps. Depending on how long his morning nap is. He will go down for his first nap around 10-11am, he will sleep for at least two hours most days, but I have noticed when the weekend comes he has shorter naps. If he has a nap in the afternoon, he will sleep for around 30 minutes to an hour, but that nap doesn't happen very often. I am so glad he's starting to have better naps during the day. Happy baby means happy Mum too!

Food / Breastfeeding / Combi Feeding
He still has his 3-4 meals a day. His fourth meal is his supper, and he will have that only if he has his tea at an earlier time. He still eats really well and has started to eat new things such as raisins, wholemeal bap, cucumber, strawberries not pureed/mashed and a few other bits. I'm really pleased with how he's eating, and his favourite is still bananas and pears.

He still breastfeeds during the night and sometimes during the day. If we are out and about, then he doesn't usually have a feed, but if we're at home then he will have a feed around 10am before his morning nap. I think it's more of a comfort thing as I know he can go down for his nap without boob, but I'm happy to give him. I'm not sure when I'm going to stop breastfeeding, but at the moment I am happy with how it's going. I will be writing a big update about it soon.

I decided to start Combi-feeding near the beginning of the month. I honestly think it's one of the best decisions I have made through our breastfeeding journey. I did try a couple of months back, but he just wasn't taking it. I had tried him with Cow & Gate, but I decided to try him with Aptamil, and he took it. He will have it warm, and he did start having it from a Minbie bottle. But all of a sudden he just stopped taking it, I think it was the teats - one was too slow, and the other came out too fast. He now just takes it from his beaker that I bought from Tesco for around £1.50. He will normally have around 2-4 oz, depends. If I take him to bed, then he will have formula and sometimes breastmilk too afterward.

Teeth / Teething
He still has eight teeth, but I'm sure he may be getting more. I haven't actually checked his mouth because he bites so much (and really hard too!). He's had a few teething symptoms recently but nothing major.

Size / Weight / Clothes Size
He's now getting into 12-18 months clothing. I've got the bags out but not wanting to mix them up with his 9-12 months, yet. I think he still has a little wear left of the 9-12 months, but he is more comfortable in 12-18 months trousers and dungarees. I don't know his weight, but the Health Visitor is due to come round sometime this month for his check-up. I bought some 5+ nappies over the weekend as saw the 4+ were getting a bit too tight for him. At the moment the 5+ seem better.

New Milestones
Freddie has learned so many new things this past month. It's amazing how much he is growing. He's learned how to do actions and say new words too. His new words are; 'Da' (which my partner is extremely happy about) and 'Ba.' He will also babble to himself and shout to himself. He's constantly babbling something. He's also learned how to wave when we say 'ta-ta' to him. He also has huge smiles when he does, as if he is super proud of himself.
He's still crawling everywhere, and he's super fast too. He doesn't crawl properly on all fours, he has this one leg which he pushes himself, but he's still as fast as a baby doing a normal crawl. He pulls himself up on anything and everything. He still bum shuffles around. He's not really got to the stage when he is trying to climb anything - yet!
He will walk with support, and he's very strong on his feet. We bought him new shoes from Clarks last month which he often wears to help him.

Things I want to remember;
- In the mornings when he is in bed with us after having his morning feed, he plays around, pulls himself up onto the headboard, bounces around, drops himself back on the mattress and then just puts his head on me to have a little rest. I absolutely love the fact that he is such a cuddly baby. He also just rests his head on me during the day too.
- He follows me everywhere. Even when someone else is in the room if he has the chance he will go wherever I go. He really is a Mammy's boy.
- He learned how to wave when we say bye or ta-ta
- He will pass something to you when you say 'Da' to him
- For some strange reason, he has a habit of hitting people's faces and laughs. I get scared when my friends' babies come over, and Freddie is on the floor with them because he constantly bum shuffles/crawls his way to them and hits them or grab their head. He's made a nearly-two year old cry before. It makes me feel so guilty, I say no, and that's all I can say and do at the moment! I'm sure it's a phase though.
- The hilarious faces he pulls when he tries new foods
- The way he still likes to hold my hand when he falls asleep on me and feeds
- His cheeky little laugh is just adorable and hilarious at the same time.

Things we have planned for his First Birthday
I've actually been planning his birthday for a good few months. We have booked a caravan at a Haven near us. It's around 25 minutes from our home, so not too far. We really enjoyed it last year, and we're all really looking forward to going again. My partner's parents are going to come and visit us on Freddie's birthday, and I'm planning to do a buffet food in the caravan and then have some cake afterward (yum!). But, I am also planning a little tea party at home the evening before we leave. So, friends and family can pop over if they wish to see him before we go. I've already got the decorations and the rest ready.