Month 1
Oh my gosh, I can't even remember him when he was this little. I also find this picture funny because Dutch was nearly 2 pounds heavier at this point. During month 1, Jude wore newborn sized clothes because 0-3 month clothes were too big. I had nothing of that size because Dutch was so big at birth, so I actually had to go out and buy newborn onesies. Jude liked to suck on his fingers and nap a ton during the day. He liked sleeping on his side and we often let him sleep in his bouncer placed on our bed most nights. He usually fell asleep more easily while being held, so we did whatever we had to do to ensure we got some sleep too! Jude was usually very uncomfortable after eating, especially at night. He would spit up a lot and was gassy. He was quite noisy with grunting when he was uncomfortable.
Month 2
Jude began growing out of his newborn clothes at this point. He experienced some growth spurts and we increased the frequency of his feedings. He would sometimes get frantic when he felt hungry. Sometimes the best way to get him to sleep was to hold him in the recliner in his room. That way we got a little sleep too! He liked to do a deep sleep in the morning from around 8am to 10am. He still spit up a ton and grunted a lot. He began focusing and looking at us more, and the smiling started.
Month 3
Jude got RSV and cradle cap this month and he was a sad sight. On the plus side, he began spitting up a little less and doing more cooing. He loved when Dutch interacted with him and he began reaching for things more often. He would immediately fall asleep when we got in the car and patting him on the back would help calm him down when he was upset. The first time he slept for 5 hours straight overnight was during this month, at about 12 weeks. (It happened while he was in his swing).
Month 4
This month, Jude started daycare. He would take short naps there, in a bouncer or on a playmat, and then would take a long nap after school, followed by a feeding session, and then another long nap. Apparently he played so hard all day up there that he wore himself out by evening! His sleep schedule overnight was awful though - he often woke up in the midnight, 3am, and 5am hours. Then he pretty much woke up hourly until 8 or 9am when we'd start the day. Sometimes his 5am wake up was just a cooing session. He started having lots of "conversations" with himself this month. When laid on the ground, he would roll to his side. He did his first roll from back to stomach this month, at 14 weeks.
Month 5
By this month, Jude had started sleeping in his crib a little bit, but only when on his belly. He still maintained a horrible sleep schedule overnight, with a 2-3 hour nap upon first being put to bed around 9pm, followed by waking every 1-2 hours after. His teachers at daycare often commented about how mellow he was and his lack of crying. He chewed on his fingers a lot and the drooling was excessive. He liked to grab his toes, play with the toys draped across his car seat, and maintain eye contact with us for a long time. He rolled from stomach to back at 19 weeks. He tried rice cereal for the first time this month, at 22 weeks. One time Dutch roared at him as a joke, and he made the saddest face and started wailing. He also cried a couple times upon hearing his older brother cry.
Month 6
This month had a lot of activity. He got his first and second tooth and started trying a lot of pureed foods. He liked to kick his legs a lot, especially when his diaper was being changed. He liked to hold his own bottle and could sit up without assistance. He finally started sleeping in longer periods, with a schedule that looked like this usually: sleep from 9pm-12am, feeding, sleep from 12:30am - 4am, feeding, sleep from 4:30am - 8am. One night he slept for 6 hours straight.
Month 7
This month he tried lots of new foods, but was quite fussy from teething. One night we gave him Tylenol for the discomfort and he ended up sleeping for 9 hours straight! Most nights he would sleep for 3-3.5 hours straight before waking up and wanting to be fed. While in his crib, he began pressing the button on his noisemaker to entertain himself. He learned that being unbuckled from his car seat meant he was getting out, so he started leaning forward and reaching for us every time the process started. He would typically have 5.5oz bottles every 3 hours during the day.
Month 8
This month we had a few nights in a row of 7-9 hour sleeps, but then he went back to his usual horrible sleep pattern. He started crawling this month and as you can see from the picture, loved to pull himself up to a standing position. One day when I picked him up from daycare, he recognized me from afar and smiled and started crawling quickly towards me. He liked scrunching up his face, grabbing for everything, babbling, blowing rasperries, curling his tongue, and saying "da da da." He showed signs of 4 top teeth coming in. He loved it when we'd hold his arms and let him practice walking.
Month 9
Lots of new foods were tried this month as he stopped nursing completely. He loved taking baths with his brother (still does) and took his first trip to the beach. He continued to pull himself up to a standing position on anything that would support him and preferred to be standing up whenever playing with toys. He loved to clap and was generally happy and smiling all the time. Chewing was his number one activity this month as he chewed on rubber bracelets, medicine dispensers, and Dutch's toy cars every opportunity he got.
Month 10
This month was when his mischievous side came out in full effect. He would love grabbing my necklace every time I held him, liked pulling clothes out of boxes in the closet, liked crawling towards the dog's water bowl, would crawl straight towards the tub if we left the bathroom door open, always tried to go after the TV and internet cables if we didn't block his access, and began to smile at us anytime we sternly told him NO. He occasionally would do spells of yelling just to hear his own voice and developed a fake laugh. This month he said what sounded like "ma-ma" for the first time. If he was tired and one of us left the room, he would begin to cry, and if I came into a room that he was in and didn't immediately go over to him, he would get upset.
Month 11
From the picture you can see that the big news this month was his first unassisted steps, at 47 weeks. His sleep schedule improved and he made it many nights without waking up for a bottle. Most mornings he wouldn't cry upon waking, but instead would just stand up in his crib, happy, waiting for us to come get him. If he was holding a toy while we were changing his outfit, he knew to switch it to the other hand while we put a sleeve over each arm. He constantly would try and steal my phone to chew on it. He also knew that throwing his sippy cup off his high chair or out of his car seat was annoying to us, but would do it anyway. He liked to lean over and put his head and hands on the ground and pretend to do head stands.
Month 12
His walking became more consistent this month and he transitioned to whole milk. He also tried eggs for the first time and liked them. His tongue was always out when he wasn't eating everything in sight. He learned to put things inside other things, like a toy into a bucket. He always woke up very hungry and didn't like wearing a bib. If someone left a door open, he made a beeline for it. He loved playing in his clothes hamper and pulling all the clothes out. He loved it when Dutch would act silly to make him laugh.
As little sleep as we got this year, we still had a SUPER year! Dutch loved being a big brother and it's only going to get better as Jude is able to play with him more. For Jude's first birthday, we brought out the ball pit that we had given Dutch on his first birthday. It went over quite well!
He also got to try a cake for the first time, and he was quite unsure about it. We basically had to force him to put some of the frosting in his mouth. We tried to show him that he was allowed to squeeze and play with the cake, but we ended up just doing it for him. I think he preferred the spoon over the actual dessert. Oh well! I guess he won't be a sweets boy.
Thanks for making our family complete, Jude. Cheers to many more wonderful years together.
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