It feels like in the last month Noah has really changed from baby to almost toddler. Traces of babyhood remain but he's growing up so fast! He also seems to be doing things a lot quicker than Isla did and I guess that must be the influence of having an older sibling and wanting to do everything that she does.
In the past few weeks he has been practising his standing up on his own skills. He stands up hands free and looks around for appreciation, which of course he gets. Yesterday he was even standing up lifting a ride on toy up in the air, I'm wondering if it's too late to enter him into Olympic weight lifting?
He's also understanding so much of what we say to him now. If you ask him to clap he'll do it. He'll also give kisses too! The one development that I'm not so keen on is the shaking his head 'no'. I seem to remember 'no' becoming Isla's favourite word so I'm not looking forward to that phase starting again. He also whistles, it started with him blowing and then it became a whistle, so funny because I can't even whistle, neither can Isla and reminds me of an episode of Peppa Pig where she desparately wants to whistle and can't but even George can do it. He's also a pro at playing the harmonica....
He is a climber in a way that Isla never was, he wants to climb on chairs, Isla's bed and if we accidentally leave the downstairs stair gate open he's up like a shot. Needless to say it's staying shut a lot now, even though this then proves tricky when Isla wants to make a dash for the loo - why do kids always wait till the last minute?!
What else is he up to? Well he eats really well, doesn't refuse very much (yet), his sleep has improved slightly, there are fewer 5am starts than say 2 months ago but still more than I'd like! He has recently started to like some characters on TV - In the Night Garden has become a favourite since we went to see the show - when it comes on TV he points to the photo that we had taken with Iggle Piggle! He also loves Thomas the Tank Engine. Gets really excited when he hears the music for it. Bedtime reading is also one of his favourite times and he loves books with sounds, but his favourite one is the same as Isla's was at his age - a book called Peepo Sun. He's also got a favourite toy/comforter called Doggy the Bob. I swore after Big Sheepy that we wouldn't go down that route again but I find myself in a similar situation again where he loves this toy and gets upset when either someone else has taken it or he's not ready to give it up when he's woken up. He sleeps cuddling it - it really is too bloody cute!
Oh and he's also very nearly got 6 teeth and its so obvious that he finds them a bit strange as he pulls all kinds of faces and is constantly rolling his tongue over them, I guess it must be weird all of a sudden these sharp little things spring up in your gummy mouth.
He's still totally devoted to me and cries blue murder if I have to walk away from him for anything. He's settled at nursery though now and is comfortable with the girls there and recognises where he's going when we show up there.
So he's almost 1 years old and I can't quite believe it, it has to be the fastest year of my life. I'm so enjoying watching him grow and become the most gorgeous little boy. MY little boy.
The kind peeps at Peter Rabbit Organics' Juices sent us some of their delicious juices (Apple & Grape, Apple & Blackcurrant and Pear Juice) to try recently and I have to say that I'm very impressed with them and they're one of the few ready to drink juices that I would feel happy to give to Isla. Isla loves it when she is given a drink that comes in a carton or a bottle - I think it makes her feel grown up, and she likes drinking from straws too. So when the box came through the post and I opened it up, she wanted one immediately, 'Juicey', 'Juicey', was the demand, so I let her have one. She guzzled it all (the pear juice), so on that occasion I didn't get to try any!
The next time she had one I was determined that I would get some, so I opened it secretly myself, had a swig and was impressed immediately by how the drink was not 'strong' - the flavour was light and not in the least bit sugary, which is my main worry with these drinks. I worry about her teeth (as she's not always that co-operative when it comes to brushing them!) and so when she is allowed anything like squash or juice, I like to have a certain amount of control over how strong it is made. I now feel after trying this that I don't have any worries on that score with Peter Rabbit juices.
They're so useful for out and about occasions and I also tend to use these drinks as a kind of reward or treat as Isla really enjoys the experience of drinking from a vessel other than her baby cups!
Peter Rabbit Organics are a small, privately owned company who are passionate about providing parents with healthy, organic children's drinks and snacks with no added salt, sugar or artificial ingredients and I'm sure that this will appeal to most of us mums. They are available in the baby aisles from Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Asda and are priced at 55p each. I Heart Motherhood recommends!
In order to write this post we were sent a box of 3 small cartons of Peter Rabbit Organics Juice Drinks - my opinions are my own.
My daughters eating habits are my current bugbear/ worry. I worry about the lack of variety in her diet and wonder when we will start eating the same things together as a family? I just wrote down in black and white all the things she eats to see if I really should be worried at all. Here goes:
Bread/ Toast
Pasta
Fruit - likes all that she's tried so far
Yoghurt
Jelly
Tinned Spaghetti - with toast
Baked Beans - with toast
Cucumber
Spread Cheese
Porridge
Rice Crispies
Tomato Pasta sauce
Bolognese with beef mince
Biscuits - of course!!
You can see from this list that vegetables are pretty thin on the ground, they are mainly hidden in pasta sauce. Potatoes are also absent from the list, and in my quest to get her to like potatoes I've even offered her chips, but still they get sampled and then chucked on the floor or handed back. I thought, I know I'll try a bit of tomato ketchup on the side to entice her to eat things, but then all she does is eat a spoonful of the yummy red stuff!
When I worry too much about it I only have to look at her to realise that she is not underweight and certainly not malnourished, but I'd just love a meal time to go smoothly without refusal after refusal. At the moment I put a lot of her issues with food down to the fact that at 18 months old she still only has 9 teeth and I'm so eager for the rest to appear so that at least I know she has the nashers to cope with all manner of foods.
What are your tips for getting your little darlings to eat their greens? Is it normal at her age to be so limited in the range of foods she will eat? I'd love to hear your views and tips, it might stop me from worrying and just accept the status quo as it is.
