Week 45

Guess what happened this week? Hayden said his first word! I think.

Hayden's "vocabulary" has been growing. He says "Mama/Mumumumum", "Baba", "Bla", "LaLa", "Hu", "Vvvuh", "FFF", and a host of other growls and squeals. But even though he says "Mama" I don't think he quite says "Mama" to mean "Mommy" I think he's just babbling. But this week, I believe his first real word, where he knows what he is saying, is "OFF". You see, Hayden loves to flip the light switches on and off every time we enter and leave a room. In fact, if you are holding him and you walk past a light switch, he practically leaps out of your arms to reach at the light switch. He is so good at flipping them with just his thumb and index finger. And every time he flips it, I say "ON" or "OFF". And lately, when we are playing with the light switch, he says, "OFF". Plain as day. Repeatedly. I cheer at him. Then he claps and smiles. I know he knows he is saying it. Should I write it in the Baby Book as his first word? Hmmm...

Also this week:

On Monday, Hayden had his first dentist appointment. Most people say you don't need to take your baby to the dentist until they are about 3 years old. I've read in some resources that it doesn't hurt to take them by their first birthday. Then it's not such a scary experience as they get older. And since Hayden already has 8 teeth, and dental hygiene is important, we wanted to get started early. It's more about parent education than actually doing anything at this point. The dentist office was not really what I was expecting out of a Pediatric Dentist practice. It seemed basically the same as my dentist office, except it didn't even have fish tanks, which Hayden loves. So we were disappointed. The dentist examined his mouth (not very gently, surprisingly), the hygienist used an electric polisher/brush on his teeth, which he actually didn't mind, and said we need to be sure to brush well twice a day. Usually Hayden likes to chew on the toothbrush so brushing "well" might be a challenge. They even recommended using a TINY dab of baby-safe (fluoride-free) toothpaste, which actually helps if Hayden doesn't want his teeth brushed since he likes the taste of the toothpaste. The dentist also encouraged us to try to avoid night nursing, starting to transition from a bottle to a sippy cup for milk, and weaning the pacifier.

I tried milk in a sippy cup. He drinks water from a sippy cup just fine. But milk? No. He had a disgusted look on his face, threw the cup, and put his hands up over his mouth. I tried again later. Nope! I wonder if it's that he was expecting water so it startles him? Kind of like if we expect water and get 7Up. He drank the milk from a bottle just after I tried, so I know he wanted it. Weird. This will be interesting. On a side note, he drank water from a straw for the first time at Starbucks this week. But when I try to repeat it at home, he just chews on the straw.

On to the pacifier. For the past 2 months or so, he has only used a pacifier when he sleeps. I don't even bring one with me when I go out anymore, unless I know we will be out a long time like last week when we went to Easter church service in Enumclaw. He didn't seem reliant on the pacifier, we just gave it to him as part of the routine for naps and night sleep. So we tried not giving him the pacifier. Well I guess he's more stuck to the pacifier than we thought. He fought sleep for over half an hour and when I finally gave in and gave him the pacifier, he fell asleep almost instantly. Since he hasn't been napping that great this week anyway, I decided to give up the idea of weaning the pacifier until a little later. He's only 10 months old! It's not like he's a 5 year old walking around the mall with it in his mouth!

We've also been trying to get Hayden to drink some formula for the past couple weeks. We got a sample of a hypo-allergenic non-dairy kind from the pediatrician, and he hated the stuff. I have to say, I think it stinks too. But unfortunately my milk supply continues to seem low, and it would be good to have formula as a back-up or to transition to instead of Whole Milk. I've been offering him a bottle of a mix of breast milk and formula about once a day. He seems to be doing ok with a 50/50 blend, but any more than that and he refuses it. And usually I also have to turn the tv to a recording of "Super Why" or "Signing Time" so he is distracted and takes the bottle without question. So much for no tv until he's 2. ;)

He's also been picky with foods lately. He used to love just about anything we'd put in front of him, but lately he seems to prefer things he can crunch or chew. I think his 1-year molars are starting to make their way to the surface, so it probably feels better on his gums. He likes Cheerios, Teddy Puffs, Apple Wagon Wheels (a Gerber Graduates snack), Noodles, cooked carrots and green beans, and small fruit pieces of Mango or peaches. Too bad I have a freezer full of pureed fruits and vegetables! I'm just finding ways of sneaking them in, like adding noodles to the vegetables, etc. So funny that a month ago, he was gagging on anything not pureed to the smoothest texture! How quickly he grows and changes!

I hope none of this ever sounds like I'm complaining. Raising Hayden is such an exciting, amazing experience I wouldn't trade for anything. Even the challenges are the "good" kind of challenges, that help me grow as a parent and person. The thought of my life without Hayden seems empty and boring. Being a mom adds so much meaning and adventure to my life. He is absolutely the best thing that God could have ever given us.