Look how much he's grown!

In one year Liam has gained twenty pounds, ten inches of length, and five inches around his head.  Look at how much he's grown!

At Birth
Weight: 7 pounds
Length: 21 inches
Head circumference: 14 inches round

One week old
Weight: 7 pounds 5 ounces
Length: 21 3/4 inches

One month old
Weight: 8 pounds 5 ounces
Length: 21 3/4 inches

Two months old
Weight: 10 pounds 7 ounces
Length: 23 inches

Four months old
Weight: 14 pounds 4.5 ounces
Length: 24 3/4 inches
Head circumference: 16 inches round

Six months old
Weight: 17 pounds 5 ounces
Length: 27 1/2 inches
Head circumference: 17 inches round

Nine months old
Weight: 23 pounds 2 ounces
Length: 29 inches
Head circumference: 18 inches round

And now...

Twelve months old
Weight: 27 pounds
Lenth: 31 inches
Head circumference: 19 inches round

I was worried that Liam would be over on the growth charts this time around, but all is fine. Here's what babycenter has to say about Liam's height, weight, and head circumference on the "charts"...

Based on the data you submitted, your child falls into the following percentiles:

Length 31 inches long = between percentile 75 and 90 

Weight 27 pounds = between percentile 90 and 95 

Head Circumference 19 inches around = in percentile 90

If you would like to read more about what growth charts mean, click here.

Everything went pretty well at Liam's one year well child check up.  Though, Liam's pediatrician did inform us that he has a very high palate in his mouth.  Once she checked mine, we realized where he inherited this trait.  And once I saw my father's this past weekend, I knew as well.  Obviously, it is not clef but she did mention it could affect his speech in the future.  It is also possible this could affect how his teeth come in, which means he may have to have braces at some point.

As I was trying to process this news I couldn't help but freak out a little.  As we left the appointment, my head was spinning with thoughts: "Something is wrong with my baby!", "Is he going to be OK?!".  I know what we were told was minor, but I was bothered by it anyway.  Must be a mother thing.  Or maybe I'm just crazy?  My husband and mother assured me that it would all be okay.

This picture was taken as Liam was being weighed.  If he only knew the worse was yet to come!

Liam, on the other hand was not okay when he had to tolerate four different needles being shoved into both of his legs- one right after the other with no break in between.  It was the most brutal of the immunizations he has had have so far.  Maybe it was because you could tell he sensed something bad was coming even before the needles were out.  My husband and I had to hold him down, Brandon at his legs and me at his hands while he screamed and flailed in pain.  We might as well have strapped him to the table.  

A day after the appointment I noticed a small knot surrounded by red irritation in Liam's leg where he had received one of the vaccines.  The knot and irritation went away for almost a whole week while we were on vacation, but then came back larger than before and even more red.  It didn't seem to phase Liam when we put pressure on it and he did not have a fever.  Even so, I was still worried he may have an infection or an allergy to one of the vaccines.  We gave it a day and proceeded to call the pediatrician who instructed us to put hydro-cortisone cream on it four times throughout the day.  An appointment was made for the following day (today), but we could cancel if things got better.

Though the hydro-cortisone cream did help, we ended up following through with the appointment because the knot was still there.  The doctor informed us that Liam must have had a local reaction to the varicella vaccine.  We are to continue putting hydro-cortisone cream on the affected area and applying a warm compress.  If the bump gets bigger we are to fill a prescription for a steroid.  Though Liam is not in any pain, hopefully his leg starts to heal up soon.  

Developmental

I guess I can now call my baby a toddler!  That sounds so weird to say.  Do I have a baby anymore?  Liam is walking around like crazy, crawling almost never.  He walks very well, though he still trips and falls every once in a while.  Sometimes he even gets going at a little run, which is entirely too cute to watch.

Dada is still the most popular word around here, though he does say Mama more often these days.  He tends to use the words appropriately, though he does call many other things Dada that are not his father.  Liam will repeat words when you say them, but I'm not sure if he knows exactly what they mean.  While we were vacationing at the beach a seagull was walking in the sand.  Liam noticed it, pointed and said "duck".  Pretty close!  Car, house, grass, and door are a few other words he repeats after me (I guess we need to start watching our mouths around here!).  I work with him often on sounding out words.  It's so cute to hear him repeat "ta" or "ca" after I have been talking with him.   I find it very amusing to have a little conversation with him nowadays.    

Though he may not always communicate verbally with us, he finds other ways to tell us what he wants or needs.  He points allll the time.  Liam seems to use the word "yes" appropriately and will shake his head or smack something away instead of saying "no".

Liam has been working on his backwards walk (cue Frightened Rabbit's "Backwards Walk"), which apparently is a milestone.  He will walk backwards and fall right onto his butt, giggling as he plops down.  It's a new game for him!


Eating

I recently blogged about Liam's new eating habits, which you can read up on here.  Other than that, he eats three meals a day along with one to two snacks in between meals.  Snacks may consist of cinnamon graham crackers or vegetable puffs with about three ounces of juice (the only time we give him juice during the day).  Liam drinks water or whole milk with his meals and also gets two bottles of toddler formula (six ounces) before nap time and (seven ounces) before bedtime.  He drinks milk or water throughout the day when he is thirsty.  We usually allow him to carry the water around with him so that he can drink it as he needs to.

We did have problems transitioning Liam to a sippy cup, but THANKFULLY my friend helped us out by suggesting this transition cup..

These are AMAZING and have really turned the tables for us.  I actually thought they were bottles at first, especially because of the appearance.  The spout is so soft and actually feels a lot like a nipple, so it's easier to go from drinking out of a bottle to this.  Liam LOVES them and I highly recommend them!  We have bought ours at Target and Walmart.

Sleeping

Liam is finally sleeping in his own room again!  I blogged about this recently and I'm happy to say that we still have this set schedule.  Even after going on vacation and having him sleep in the same room with us in his pack-n-play, he was able to come back home and do it all again.

Right now he is doing well with one two hour nap a day around 11:30-1:30 pm.  Sometimes it may be longer or shorter.  If it is shorter, Liam may take a quick nap before dinner as well.  Naps are also in the crib.  

Since Liam is going to sleep at 7:30/8:00 pm now I have more free time in the evenings to get things done.  Before he was back to sleeping in his crib I would feed him a bottle and let him fall asleep on me.  Then, I take him up to our bed and lay down with him.  I did not want him to sleep in our bed on his own for fear of him falling off.  Now, I take him up and give him a bottle in his crib.   He drinks it, plays around a bit, and then falls right to sleep.  I am so grateful that we have such a good little sleeper.  Liam never really struggled with the difference between night and day and we've never had one of those "up every hour" nights.  He's such a great baby!



I seriously said to my husband the other day "How is is possible to love someone more and more each day?"

I really don't know how it works.  I already thought my heart was full enough to burst.  But, somehow I keep on lovin' him more and more and more each and every day!