Compromise is What Big Boys Do

Compromise. I told Jax he could bring his book if he tried to go potty in the toilet. It worked and he is such a big boy. :)

Weaned

My goal over the summer was to slowly wean Jaxon by his second birthday in August. I was hoping to have him weaned before our trip to Key West. I succeeded. In June, when school ended, Jaxon was still at 3-4 nursing sessions a day. One first thing in the morning, one after work, one for bedtime, and one around 12 or 1 in the morning occasionally. On weekends he also still nursed for naps. To start off, the first week of summer I eliminated the afternoon/after work session and did not offer nap time any longer. The afternoon was easy as he was distracted by whatever we were doing. Nap time took about 2 or 3 days for him to stop crying about it even though he didn't get nap time nursing most days when I was at work. I think because I was there he thought he should get it. I introduced "the cuddle" at that time which is what helped me wean him completely in the end. I told him I would cuddle him until he fell asleep. It worked. :)

Around the middle of July I started to say no to the middle of the night nurse session. That went pretty smoothly most nights. Occasionally he would cry but he got over it quickly. At the end of July I eliminated the morning session or rather Jaxon did. He just stopped waking up for it. Easy.

The hardest one to eliminate was the bedtime nurse session. It was the one he asked for most and was most attached to. Around the first week of August I started to say no and offered "the cuddle" in its place. There were some tears. Overall though he adapted pretty quickly to the transition. For about a week he asked for it when I said it was bedtime but I held to my position even though it was hard for me. Jaxon was officially weaned about 4 days before his second birthday. His last nursing session was on August 7th at his bedtime. He woke up the next day to his birthday party.

The two weeks that followed were harder for me than for him. When you wean, even slowly apparently, your hormones take a dive. I had a few tears and some sad days. I wondered if making him wean, even at two, was the right choice if it wasn't his choice. In the end I had to just allow myself to say it was ok and that he had had two years of the best nutrition and bonding time with Mommy. He was getting a really good start. It was hard but also liberating.

Now that I have had my body back to myself for the first time in almost three years it is nice. My shirts are fitting again as my body adjusts back to its normal size and I am getting to sleep through the night. Those are the things I am loving most. Jaxon has finally accepted a milk substitute in the form of coconut milk and almond milk. Now that Mommy's Milk Shop is closed he loves the stuff. I am happy he is finally drinking it so I don't feel bad that he isn't getting milk to drink.

It is crazy to me to think that I nursed him for two years. It was never my plan or intent going into it. It just happened. I planned on 6 months tops but it worked for Jaxon. It was what he needed and I loved it. As a working mom, it was one of the many ways that I was able to stay connected to him. I am sad that it is over but excited to see where we go from here. I miss my baby but I love my toddler. He is learning so much at such an amazing rate that I can't help but be happy that we had that time together as we move into uncharted territory.

At two years...we are weaned.

I Think He is Potty Trained!!!

It has been 3 days since my last post and in those three days Jaxon has had 0, yes 0, accidents. That is for both day and night. He has been wearing a pull-up all three days but always tells us when he needs to potty (no matter how small it is) and we take him and he goes. He will do this no matter where he is or what he is doing. We took an hour car ride to Grandma Cindy's house yesterday and he held it until we got there and then asked to go. Then he did the same thing on the way home. I was so impressed. He also does not pee in his sleep. When he gets up in the morning and after his nap he is dry and asks to go to the potty. He has figured out the sensation and can hold it until we get him to a toilet. It is so exciting. I even reintroduced underwear for the morning yesterday and he loved them. AND still no accidents. I am still a little nervous (though he gives me no reason at this point) to go undies all the time. I may wait a week or two for that just to be sure he can do it on a regular basis first but while we are at home he can sure rock them.

I don't know what else to say but WE DID IT! I was hoping to have him potty trained by September but it looks like we did it by August. YAY!

Did I say I am proud and excited? Well I am. No more diapers!!!



Way to go Jaxon!

Potty Training Update

Yesterday was the best day yet in our adventures in potty training. Jaxon had a near perfect 24 hours without an accident. I am SO proud of my little man. Here is the synopsis of our near perfect potty day:

My mom and I went shopping in the morning and took Jaxon. He had already got up dry and went to the bathroom on his own upon waking. Then while I was getting ready and he was playing in his room...he ran in and told me he had to go. AND he did plus not a single drop in his pull-up so he kept it on. Then we left for the mall. While my mom is trying on clothes he tells me AGAIN that he has to go potty. I run out to the cashier and ask where a restroom is and of course it is on the complete opposite corner of the store. I ask Jax to hold on and we run to the bathroom. I am expecting to change his pull-up but HE DIDN"T PEE IN IT!!! I put him on the toilet and he goes pee and poop right there. I was so happy that we did a happy dance right there in the bathroom (people probably thought we were nuts...or at least me).

Then we went to lunch at Red Robin and after eating on our way out to the car I ask him if he has to go. He says YES. AND he went again and still a DRY pull-up (yep that is the same pull-up from 7:30 in the morning at 1:00 in the afternoon). We took him home for a nap and he woke up DRY again and went on the potty upon waking. Then he played with my mom while I cleaned and went potty a few times in that period on his training toilet but he was wearing his pull-up the whole time. He ate dinner at 6:30 still wearing the same pull-up from the morning that was COMPLETELY DRY. I was so impressed. He finally had a small accident in his pull-up around 7:30 right before his bath. It doesn't matter because that was the best day and the hugest progress he has made yet. I think he may get this by September. YAY!

Just had to share my joy. It's working. It's really working!

New Underwear!

Toddler Teaser Games

For about the past few weeks Jaxon occasionally plays this game, Toddler Teasers, on my iPhone called Toddler Teasers: Shapes. It was a free App that he really seemed to like so I would give it to him to play with when we in a place where he was getting bored or frustrated (i.e. waiting for the bill at a restaurant or on long walk with mommy). He gets to pick stickers and keep them on a sticker page as he completes a certain number of rounds. For the most part at the time he knew basic shapes like circles, squares, and triangles. He would play with this game and get some right but mostly get them wrong. Then this week he started playing it right. He would go for 10-20 minutes playing it with barely any errors at all. I thought I gotta record this for his blog. Well he gets all camera aware while I am filming but I got some decent footage of him playing.

Now when he plays it he tries to eliminate all the shapes that aren't the one the guy is asking for and he leaves the requested shape until last. He thinks it is funny when the guy says "Try Again" and he shakes his head no and smiles. I bought him the rest of the game for $1.99 and it has numbers, letters, and colors in the same format. He is really into numbers right now. He can count to 10 when he wants to though it is a rare event right now but every now and then he goes the full number line to 10. This game makes sure he can also identify which number is which and not that he can just count them out loud. He does pretty well at it too. Colors are hit and miss. He has little interest in letters at this point except for H, J, and X. J and X because they are in his name and H because it was on Sesame Street one time and it stuck for some reason. I think my guy is much more mathematical and linear in his thought. He loves numbers, shapes, and building. He loves reading books but I think it is a sequences or order of events interest as he gets caught up in the plot and details which is also a linear/logical thinking habit. It is so cool how you can see their learning styles so early in their life.

Anyway...I thought this was really cool so I tried to record it. He has a hard time with the touch screen sometimes and gets frustrated that it isn't responding the way he wants but for the most part he loves it.


Shapes Part 1


Shapes Part 2



Shapes He Knows:
Circle
Square
Rectangle
Oval
Heart
Crescent
Hexagon
Diamond
Star

We are still working on (not in the game) octagon and trapezoid which are on his clock.

Let the Potty Training Begin!

Jaxon has been showing some signs that he is interested in potty training and I thought that while I have the summer off we could give it a solid try and see what happens. Well Jaxon is never one to disappoint. He really understands the concept of what the toilet is for. Every time we put him on a real one or his potty training toilet he makes something happen. We went a week straight with no poop in his diaper and only in the toilet which I thought was really impressive. He is still struggling to tell me before he goes but now lets me know during or right after that he needs to go to the potty, which is a huge new development. I think it will be only a few weeks before he starts to understand and tell me before. For now I am putting him on the potty at regular intervals including when he wakes up from sleeping, about 10-15 minutes after each meal or large drink, and about every hour on average. He is already starting to get the routine down and asks to go potty first thing in the morning. I think in the next week we will try some of Dr. Sears tips for PT including "bare-bottom drills".

We are also reading about potty training with an interactive Elmo book and by watching the Elmo Potty Training video. He seems to make the connection that Elmo is telling him about going in the potty.




Another thing I want to do is get him some big boy underwear so he can try them out. They have these really cute Yo Gabba Gabba undies that I think he will love.


I think the most important thing is to make it positive. There will be many mistakes and oopsies but I am just so excited that he is understanding and enjoying it so far. I am so proud of him. He is getting to be such a big boy. Where did my baby go?

Jaxon's First Haircut

Before Shot

Dear Jaxon,

Tomorrow is your first birthday and as I sit here reflecting about the whirlwind year we have had, I can't help but smile when I think of all you have learned and accomplished in this first year. They aren't things that are new to mankind by any means. Billions and billions of babies have done these very things over the course of human history but none of those babies were/are you and you are are mine. Everything you do is new to me and I am so very proud of you. From the moment I met you one year ago today I was impressed with so many things. How you could pick your head up at one day old. How you stared so intently in my eyes for what seemed like hours on end. How you appeared to grab your daddy's finger and smile in one of your very first pictures. All of these things amazed me and you were only one day old. Little did I know I was in for a whole year of dazzling and amazing things. I didn't know I could get so excited about you rolling over (at 3 weeks old) or about you smiling for the first time. Who knew these events in a person's life were so highly anticipated by their parents? I didn't. And that, my baby boy, is what this year has been...the fruition of one highly anticipated event after another. It has been non-stop and I love it! And I know that there is more to come for the rest of your life.

So my little man I thought that I would keep a family tradition alive through you. When your daddy and I first started dating we would send emails back and forth sharing little everyday things that we loved about each other. They were unique things about us and not big things...just little ones that we noticed and wanted to share. It was sweet (and a little lovey dovey) but it made my day whenever I got one from him. I thought that in honor of your birthday I would share what your daddy and I love about you.

Jaxon, we love the way:

- you try everything that is way beyond your ability and keep trying until you get it. Your ambition and persistence amaze us.

-you have so many types of laughs. There is your giggle, your heart felt laugh, your fake-I'm laughing for you laugh, your that tickles laugh, your Nelson from the Simpsons laugh (HA Ha), and so many more I can't name them all.

-you learn words by saying them over and over and over and over, sounding out the first letter until you get it right. Example: ffffffffffffan ffff ffff fff fan.

-you try to get attention or be cute by trying tricks you have learned or mastered a long time ago.

-you wake up, smile, and give momma kisses and hugs every morning.

-you giggle and squeal with delight whenever I lay you down to breastfeed after a long time apart.

-you point to everything and say "that" as if it is a question, request, and label all at the same time.

-you stick your tongue out right between your teeth when you laugh.

-you crawl away real fast when you know/think we are chasing you.

-you sign all done after a few bites of food to see if we will stop feeding you but we know you are still hungry and just don't like the food.

-you stick out your bottom lip oh so far whenever something upsets you.

-your hair sticks straight out to the sides just over your ear. No matter what we do it won't stay down.

-your nose is just like daddy's nose and your mouth is just like mommy's mouth.

-your eyes are so deep blue they are piercing and remarkable.

-you get the biggest smile whenever you see mommy or daddy at the end of the day or hear our voices on the phone.

-you kiss pictures of us whenever we are away from you and then turn over the frame to see where the rest of us are.

-you say "stop" when we are smooching you or cuddling you for too long and you have something better to do. It cracks me up.

-you say "yes" with a big smile when I say "no" sometimes.

-you open up your eyes when the "Color Song" is on and it she sings that she opens up her eyes.

-you sometimes crawl over while you are playing and get into my lap for hug.

-play peek-a-boo with anything made of cloth that is around you. On the same topic...we love when you put your head down and close your eyes when you have no cloth to hide behind and you act like we can't see you when you close your eyes.

-have all the teeth you have at such a young age (8!) and how when you smile they take up your whole mouth. We also love the little gaps in between each of the upper teeth.

-how you blink at people to flirt. You also drop things on the ground in restaurants in front of strangers to get their attention.

-you relentlessly and tirelessly chase the dog and he gives you no love in return yet you are still fascinated with him.

-you sneak up behind mommy and try to hide behind her but are really bad at it. It is so funny.

-you say "baba" and sign milk for anything that is a drink even when it is a sippy cup of water most of the time. Apparently all liquid is the same to you.

-you walk right now. You look like a drunken sailor. You make it to your destination but you are lacking style points.

-you hold the iPhone up to your ear to talk and babble when no one is there but when someone actually wants to talk to you on the other end you become silent.

-you can't have anything not in its proper place. If I put a Cookie Monster driving your tractor you go over and remove him because he doesn't belong there. Clearly the farmer drives the tractor. Duh mommy.

-you go and grab a book for us to read to you. Then you crawl into our lap and listen intently as we go page by page. I love that you are a reader already!

-you attempt to do everything. You really are Evil Knievel reincarnated and it scares me to death sometimes.

-you know your grandparents and want to be around them all the time. No one makes you laugh harder than Grandma Starr.

-you dance to the "Wiggle" song on Yo Gabba Gabba and try to hold still with your arm out like mommy does.

-your strong personality is already so apparent. Everyone tells us that we have the most curious, active, and smart little boy...and BOY will we be tired when you figure out walking/running on a regular basis. I can't help but smile when I hear that even though I know it is so true.

-you wake up sometimes and see me (mommy) and smile and go back to sleep. It makes me feel special like I make you happy and safe enough to sleep contently. It is the sweetest thing.

-you keep showing us all you can do and it never gets old.

-we can keep listing things but it would go on forever.

The point of the list Jaxon is for you to know that you are very loved and also appreciated for the unique person you are. I wouldn't change one little hair on your head. I am so excited to see what you will do and accomplish in our journey together called life.

Happy birthday my sweet boy. You are one and have done so much already!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

30 Day Countdown!

Yep, my baby Jax is 11 months old! Can you believe it? Seems like last week we were bringing him home for the first time and here we are almost a year later. It is crazy how fast time flies with a baby. Watching all of the milestones pass and seeing your little baby turn into a little boy. I can't believe that in a short 30 days we will celebrate his 1st birthday. It really just blows my mind. It seems he has hit a learning curve right now as every day he is changing and accomplishing more new things. It amazes me how rapidly the human brain grows and acquires new information at this point. It is like he is downloading everything he encounters and is processing it right back out at the world. He is signing to us often now as well as trying many words verbally. He can sign "milk", "all done", and "eat". He is attempting many words and sounds...too many to list. He is still crawling at lightning pace and cruises the furniture like he has done it for years. He is still not walking yet but does attempt to stand/balance for increasingly more extended periods of time. I swear he has grown about 2-3 inches and 3-5 pounds in the last month or so and his appetite has grown to match that increased growth. I am thinking it is time to move Jaxon to bigger people food soon. He eats a lot of what we eat off of our plates but still does a lot of purees which I think he has outgrown. I think it is time for me to start researching toddler diets since he can chew food very well and seems ready. He is also attempting to self feed using silverware but isn't very good at it at this point. I still do most of the feeding when a utensil is required but try to give him chances here and there to try it for himself.

Today I signed him up for daycare for the Fall when I return to work. He will be going 3 days a week to a Kindercare around the corner. I think I will have a harder time than him with this change. Jaxon has been taken care of by family since the day he was born. It seems strange to me that he will now be in the hands of strangers for his daytime care. I worry, as I am sure most mommies do, about putting him in daycare. Will they take good care of him? Will they understand his needs and wants? Will they care for him and show him a loving touch? It is so hard for me to even think about. I did my research and visited several places before I decided. I was looking for a safe, secure, and clean environment where his cognitive and social development would be nurtured with a caring approach. I think I found a good place but it still isn't me or our family. I just hope he adjusts well. I know we have some things to work towards to get him ready for the youngest toddler room. If he were going now he would be in the infant room but once they hit 12 months and are walking they are moved up to the 12-18 months room. I assume that he will be in this room at 13 months and he has a few things to learn by then. He needs to be able to sit at a table and eat big kid food, he needs to be able to sleep on a cot at nap time, and he needs to be able to drink from a sippy cup (no bottles). He can do some of this some of the time but not on a consistent basis yet. I am most worried about the napping on a cot as he is in a crib now and I think it will be a big adjustment for him. Also he is on a 2 nap a day schedule, which is very needed, and they will have him on a 1 nap a day in the afternoon schedule. Maybe he will be so tired by nap time that he won't try to crawl off of his cot at naptime, which is my biggest concern about him going into that room. I know that everything will be fine and he will adjust (and so will I) once we get used to the routine. I am just happy I found a place that makes me feel a little bit ok with this new change. :)

Ok...now for some 11 month photos courtesy of Grandma Shirley:

Walking: The First Phase

Technically he was pushing a toy but he was walking by himself around the room.

Yesterday Jaxon finally figured out how to use his Playskool Step Start Walk n' Ride toy to walk around the house. He was pushing it while walking across the living room back and forth. It took several attempts to get his pacing down but once he got into the groove he was on the move like he had been doing it forever. He had the biggest grin on his face and was so proud of himself. Today he became a little braver in his attempts to let go of the couch to cruise from place to place. I think he may be walking anytime soon. What a big boy!

I will try to upload a video this weekend when I find my camera cord.

10 Months!!!

Baby Jax is turning into a little boy. He is slowly losing his baby face and is starting to become a toddler. He is cruising around the furniture like a madman and is testing his balance with short "look ma, no hands" stunts. He is babbling up a storm and is known on occasion to say mama, dada, up, yoda (we think), and baba. He understands all the signs we use with him and sometimes will use one back when he's really wanting something (mostly the sign for "all done" at meal time). He can play peekaboo with a blanket and is learning how to manipulate the sound coming out of his mouth with his hand (what is nostalgically referred to as the "Indian Call") in a call and response pattern. He is attempting real food at dinner time such as whole chicken pieces, bread, cheese, beans, and anything and everything mommy and daddy are having that is safe for him to have. He has 8 teeth! Yes 8! His hair is slowly but surely coming in and he is definitely gaining weight (I call him Buddha Baby). He loves to flip his toys over and throw his Oball around and fetch it. He loves bath time which makes me happy since I want him to be at home in the water like his mommy. He is growing up so fast and is just so much fun right now. He really is the happiest baby and just a complete ham. He makes me laugh all the time. I am so glad I get to spend the next two months with him during my summer vacation. :)

Here are some 10 month pictures:

Maybe the Best Thing Ever..Baby Kisses

I have a new favorite thing that Jaxon does. It melts my heart every time he does it. My little man has figured out how to kiss. Well sort of. His is more of an open mouth lip press with all the drool to go with it but it is still his way of showing love. He used to do it randomly every now and then but as of this week he does it either when I kiss him or when I ask for it (most of the time). It is the sweetest thing ever. And, every now and then, he just looks at me, grabs my face, and plants one on me of his own free will. It is the best thing ever.

What a little love bug I have. Just had to share

X-Treme Teething and Other Amazing Developments

For the past 3 weeks Jaxon has been teething to the max. He has been cutting 6 new teeth to make his grand total 8. 3 have already broken through (top 2 middle plus one on the side) and 3 more are just below the gums ready to come through at this point (one more on the side of the top 2 center and 2 more surrounding his first bottom 2 center teeth). It has been rough. While he is happy during the day, at night he is in pain and wakes frequently. That combined with his newly acquired ability to crawl and pull up leads to busy middle of the night interludes. He is just growing so much mentally and physically right now. My little baby is turning into a toddler slowly but surely. What a big boy!

At this rate, I think he may be walking in another month or so. Yikes!

Pulling Up

Jaxon has been pulling up from a crawling position for about a week or two now. Very exciting!

Crawling: Getting Places

While he isn't quite crawling like a pro, he is now able to get to places he wants pretty quickly. I think by next week he will be crawling around for real and of course getting into trouble. We are of course so excited and proud but worried at the same time. He is not a low energy kid and has a very curious nature which adds up to trouble in the very near future.

Here is an updated video of his progress:

Crawling: Another Step Closer

Today Jaxon moved one step closer to crawling. One very big step. He is now able to get on all fours from his belly. I think it is only a few more weeks until my little man is crawling everywhere. Yikes! We have found that the best motivation (i.e the thing he will crawl for no matter what) is the iPhone. Specifically the iPhone with the Whoopee Cushion Application in effect. Hence the farting sound in the videos over and over.

Here is a video of his progress toward crawiling:




Here is Jaxon playing with his sweet reward:



Here he is practicing his spin move:

Wordless Wednesday #16: Teeth!!--Part Two-The Picture

We finally got a picture of them--on accident of course--while trying to take his St. Patrick's Day photo.

So without further ado...

TEETH!!!

Jaxon has been getting his first pair (yes, that is two) of teeth. They are on the bottom, middle part of his gums. He has had some pain but mostly they are just a new thing to explore with his tongue. After a couple of nights of getting up once or twice crying this week, last night he went back to sleeping through for 8-9 hours so the worst may be behind us...UNTIL the top two come in.

I have tried over and over to get a picture of his new teeth but my little man won't let me near his mouth to get a snapshot. We will have to wait until they are visible in a smile picture I guess. I will keep trying though.

AND so far no biting of mommy. Phew! I was worried about teeth and breastfeeding him. I can't even tell the difference. I can tell when he is gnawing on my finger though. Ouch!

Jaxon Attempts Crawling...

...but ends up plowing the bed with his face. Either way it is time to baby proof the house soon. It won't be long now until he gets moving for real. I can't believe how fast this has gone and how much he has grown. My little baby is turning into a little boy so quickly. Note the frustration in his voice from not being able to actually do it like he wants.