Evan 12 months, Caroline 12 months, Lincoln 12 months

I started this on August 29th. I thought I finished it, but I went to look for my photos this week and realized even though I took them, I never edited them or posted them. Oops?

The good/bad news is, even if I didn’t document it in a timely manner, Finnegan still turned one. He insists on growing even when I don’t remember it’s happening or write about it on the internet. Although I can’t let that happen without at least a quick post, so luckily this was still hanging out in my drafts.

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This is my last monthday update. The very last one ever. My last baby is now counted in years instead of months, because today he turns one. One year ago I was giving birth for the last time, on the maternity floor where all four of my babies were born.

Finnegan continues to be a doll baby. He’s so cute and funny and snuggly. He makes a great shopping buddy. He likes his stroller and falls asleep both in it and on my back. He likes to go places and do things, see new stuff, loud noises and all foods. He often forgets that he needs me until I walk into a room and then he desperately needs to be picked up. He doesn’t mind being left with friends for a little while, but still needs lots and lots of nursies so I wouldn’t leave him overnight.

Speaking of overnight, he sleeps from 9 pm to 7 am about 2/3rds of the time. The other 1/3rd, he wakes up once or twice or four times or won’t go to bed until midnight or gets up at 4 am. It’s unpredictable, is what I’m saying. But since MOST nights I am getting 8 hours of sleep without too much work I am a happy mama.

Finnegan is wearing 24 month or 2T clothes, although I am buying him nothing because there are at least 6 bins of hand-me-downs from his brothers I need to sort. I finally started making him wear soft-soled baby shoes but they aren’t slowing him down at all. He is in size 5 diapers (the same as his 3-year-old brother) and his thighs are still fantastic.

Likes include yogurt, squeeze pouches of baby food, cereal, apples, grapes, juice, water, snuggles, nursies, rocking, his blankie, his siblings, his dog, his cat, climbing things, trying to stand on his head, rolling around on the floor, playgrounds, being worn, water, baths, tickles, and smiling.

Dislikes include being tired, being hungry, diaper changes, having his face cleaned, and smacking his face on things (although he does it so much maybe he actually does like it).

12 Month Milestones (originally from BabyCenter)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Imitates others’ activities – He thinks he’s a big kid, so he tries to do big kid stuff, like reading books and climbing.
Indicates wants with gestures – His two moves are grabbing and throwing.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Takes a few steps – Hahahahaha
Says one word besides “mama” or “daddy” – No. And doesn’t say mama either. I think it’s likely we’ll be doing speech with him too, if only to get super on top of it.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Walks alone – I feel like if there’s one thing that applies to all children I give birth to, it’s their advanced walking skills. (I didn’t even change this from Lincoln’s post)
Scribbles with a crayon – Yes! Mostly on non-writing surfaces.
Says two words besides “mama” or “dada” – Nope.

Evan 10 months, Caroline 10 months, Lincoln 10 months

This is almost 2 full weeks late, but at least I’m getting it done before he officially starts walking, which I am pretty sure is going to happen in the next week. Maybe once that happens he’ll thin out a little bit, because right now he’s one big solid chunk and carrying him with my arms is terrible. I HAVE to wear him in the Tula even if we’re just running into Target because he can climb out of carts and I’m too weak to haul him around. It’s a real problem. Being an enormous squish is adorable though, so it’s hard to complain.

The fact that he eats ANYTHING is definitely contributing to his size. Meat, vegetables, snacks, seafood, cheese, dessert, anything he can put in his mouth he will eat. He’s got a whole mouthful of teeth too, so he can handle even crunchy stuff (he loves Cheetos) or chewy stuff (today he ate clam strips). I’m not super worried about keeping him away from junk food or sugar because, well, fourth baby. I’m more worried about keeping him from eating the soot in the fireplace or bird seed (both things he tried to eat today).

He’s in 12-18 month clothes at the smallest and 24 months/2T for coming months. I have no idea what size his feet are because he never wears shoes. He still does this funny half-crawl half-scoot thing to get around super fast, but he’s getting quicker with cruising. I’m hoping by the time it’s cold enough for shoes he can walk for real and I can just buy him some tiny Bogs, since those have been perfect for Lincoln.

After we got home from vacation, we moved Finnegan down to his own room. Well, Linc’s room, which Linc doesn’t use and it has the crib so now it’s Finn’s room. After just a couple nights he got the hang of it and now he’s sleeping through the night. He also lets E put him down for the night or for naps. It’s delightful. I love my baby 10x more now that I am getting sleep in blocks greater than 3 hours at a time. He likes napping too, although that’s less reliable with our summer schedules. Luckily he also likes being worn still, so I’ve been practicing my baby-as-a-backpack skills and hopefully he starts napping that way.

Likes include water, sand, grass, his siblings, eating food, eating things that aren’t food, the dog, the cat, animals, nursing, sleeping, cruising, biting things, making a mess, trying to fall on his head, mommy, daddy, strangers, smiling, and hitting me.

Dislikes include being buckled into his car seat, being too hot, being too tired, being told no, and being hungry.

10 Month Milestones 

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Waves goodbye – He can clap. I’ve never seen any intentional waving.
Picks things up with pincer grasp – Yes.
Crawls well, with belly off the ground – Nope. He crawls like my other babies have, scooting on one leg.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Says “mama” or “dada” to the correct parent – Meh. He says both things, but never really to anyone.
Indicates wants with gestures – Mostly just by screeching.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Stands alone for a couple of seconds – Yes.
Puts objects into a container – Sometimes. If he wants to. Mostly he likes making a mess.

(Previously: Lincoln 9 months, Caroline 9 months, Evan 9 months – I think Finn definitely looks the most like Evan at 9 months)

Finnegan is now 9 months out in the world! That always feels like a big milestone, because now he’s more part of everything else than he is part of me. The good news is he’s still surviving mostly by nursing, so he’ll need me exclusively for at least a little while longer. I say that, but I did go out of town for 4 days this last month and everyone survived. But Finnegan still PREFERS me, which I am OK with, because he is my last baby.

Finn is enormous. I can’t wait for his next checkup so I can find out exactly what he weighs, but my guess is around 24 pounds. As Lincoln outgrows his t-shirts from last fall I am putting them directly in Finn’s wardrobe. Any pants smaller than 12 months won’t go past his knees. He is delightfully chubby and round and dimpled and squishy. It’s delicious. Being huge also means he’s finally gotten the hang of nursing sitting up or while in the baby carrier,  so taking him places is now 75% easier. It’s going to be PERFECT for our Disney trip and also very handy at the lake.

In other news, Finnegan now naps and sleeps in the crib, in what may someday be his shared room with Linc. Right now the 3 big kids are all choosing to sleep in one room, so Finn gets the nursery. We’ll figure out which room actually belongs to which kid some point in the future when they care. He still doesn’t quite sleep through the night reliably, but it does occasionally happen and he is taking at least one really good nap every day. For him. Not for me. I rarely get a nap, although I would really love one.

Likes include his siblings, his blankie, biting things, nursing, biting me while nursing, grabbing stuff, cruising, standing up, hitting things, crawling really fast, feet, naps, riding in the car, music, tickles, crackers, cheese, and splashing in the water.

Dislikes include being tired, falling on his face, the 10 seconds it takes to get buckled in his car seat, and teething.

He also dislikes sitting still long enough for his monthly photos, so these are a little…unposed.

9 Month Milestones (from Caroline’s 9 month post)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Stands while holding onto something – Excellent stander
Jabbers or combines syllables – Lots of jabbering, but not a ton of real sounds
Understands object permanence – A little bit, but he’s not that worried about it

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Cruises while holding onto furniture – All day, every day
Drinks from a sippy cup – He (like his siblings before him) prefers to drink milk straight from the tap
Eats with fingers – He can definitely get food into his face with his hands.
Bangs objects together – Yes

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo – He thinks peek-a-boo is hilarious but doesn’t actually participate
Says “mama” or “dada” to the correct parent – Can’t say either mama or dada at all, definitely not to the correct parent

{Lincoln 8 months, Caroline 8 months, Evan 8 months}

Finnegan had a rough day today. There was a lot of crying. Like, a lot. Way too much. He’s started crawling and pulling up on furniture, which is exhausting when you’re a super chunk. Then his sleep schedule got thrown off and it was too late for his nap but too early for bed, so it was time for lots and lots of crying. I’m hoping he might actually be tired enough tonight to sleep for more than 3 hours in a row. I would really, really love to sleep for more than 3 hours in a row.

USUALLY, Finn is a super cheerful baby. He loves people, he isn’t afraid of strangers and is happy to be carried around by anyone. He likes the stroller, he likes shopping carts, he likes when I wear him. He’s the fourth baby, he basically has no choice but to go with the flow. Except for now, when he’s working so hard to become a person that he forgets how to be chill.

The only thing he never forgets is eating. Finnegan eats so much he’s actually almost taking a bottle. That’s a huge accomplishment for one of my babies. He also eats: crackers, fruit, veggie sticks, rice, cheese, you know what, basically anything he can get into his face he will eat. Even if it’s not technically food. Paper is pretty high on his list of favorites. But all the solids haven’t slowed down the nursing at all, which is one of the reasons he’s up so many times a night and also why his thighs are so ridiculous. He wears 12-18 month clothes at minimum, and I’ve started taking stuff straight out of Linc’s drawers and put them on the baby.

Likes include food, nursing, standing up, crawling, knocking things over, the dog, the cat, his blankey, rolling, music, water, his feet, my feet, looking at new things, smiling, snuggles, dada, mama, his siblings, scratching me, pulling hair, laughing well you tell him not to bite.

Dislikes include being tired, falling on his face, getting stuck under the furniture, waking up alone, not being allowed to eat things he found under the couch.

How do you get an 8-month-old to stay in a chair for pictures? Physically push him down every 3 seconds. These are not all in focus because he is strong and fast.

Look at his filthy baby feet from walking around out on the porch. My inside floors are clean, but the porch is FILTHY.

8 Month Milestones

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Says “mama” or “dada” to parents (isn’t specific) – Is this really a skill most kids have at 8 months? He can say “mama” and “dada” but they don’t mean anything yet.
Passes objects from hand to hand – Yes

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Stands while holding onto something – All the time now, and he can almost always sit back down again
Crawls – He can crawl. He mostly does a one legged monkey scoot, like his brothers before him. But he isn’t as fast or as adventurous as previous kids.
Points at objects – No pointing.
Searches for hidden objects – Sometimes

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Pulls self to standing, cruises – Yes, mostly successfully
Picks things up with thumb-finger pincer grasp – Does it fit in his mouth? Then he will pick it up.
Indicates wants with gestures – No, he mostly just cries

(For reference: Linc 3 months, Caroline 3 months)

I started this post at 9 am, and it is now 9:29 pm. Finn is an adorable, cuddly, happy baby but he also wants to nurse 90% of the time he is awake. It is hard to work on my computer while he is nursing, and impossible to do almost anything else either. I don’t mind sitting on the couch mostly. Sitting down is nice. I am starting to resent being forced to watch the shows Linc picks though. There are only 3 seasons of Octonauts on Netflix and I have seen them all.

Finnegan’s eating habits are strongly reflected in his thighs. He hasn’t had a checkup recently, but I’m guessing he’s about 18 lbs. He’s wearing 6-9 or 9-12 month clothes – anything that actually says “3 months” on it is too small.  Caroline really, really, really wants to carry him around and help with baby stuff, but I’m terrified she’s going to drop him just because he’s so chubby. As soon as he can sit up on his own we’ll both be much more comfortable. He’s like a big round lump of soft white squish. His rolls are getting rolls. It’s amazing.

Finn really loves his swing. He likes the bouncy seat too, and the play mat, and the rock-n-play. But he LOVES the swing. We actually burnt out the motor in the swing we had left over from Linc because we use it so much. Moving the swing up and down the stairs is annoying, so we take turns sleeping on the couch until he wakes up for his night feeding. Luckily that’s been getting later and later, so 4-5 hour chunks of sleep are possible. As soon as he hits 6 hours in a row consistently we’ll try to transition him to the rock-n-play in the bedroom, but honestly I don’t hate the couch. If he’s fussy or awake for a long time I get to watch stuff on Netflix (Yesterday, the final Jeopardy question was about someone who won an Oscar, a Grammy and an Emmy, and I knew the answer immediately because I had JUST watched the EGOT episode of 30 Rock. Being awake at 2 am is educational!)

I feel a little guilty that Finn doesn’t get out into the world nearly as much as the previous children did. I’ve had a cold for the past 6 weeks. I’m fighting off a touch of PPD. I’m still not fully over my election disappointment (TBH, I really doubt I ever will be). Linc is a fairly difficult 2-year-old and I have a limited number of hands to wrangle him when he throws himself on the floor because I also have to do something with the baby, whether it’s wear him or put him in a stroller or cart. Once Finn is big enough to throw on my back I think we’ll get out a lot more, but I have a few more months before that’s going to happen.

I realize that this monthday update is more about other children than Finnegan. I think it’s a 4th baby problem – right now, all he needs is to be kept alive and clean. His personality is “3-month-old baby”. He isn’t particularly hard or particularly easy. It’s going to take a little longer for me to think of him as a full person.

Likes: Swinging, nursies, throwing up, cuddles, his siblings, music, bath time, his blankie, mommy, daddy.

Dislikes: Being forced to sit up for photos, gas, cold feet.

That was a sneeze. It was hilarious.

3 Month Milestones 

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Recognizes your face and scent – Definitely. He totally likes me best.
Holds head steady – He’s almost got it.
Visually tracks moving objects – Yes, he really likes Evan’s lightsaber.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Squeals, gurgles, coos – Yes.
Blows bubbles – Sometimes. He can do it but I’m not sure it’s on purpose.
Recognizes your voice – Unsure. He probably recognizes the Octonauts theme song though.
Does mini-pushup – Sometimes. He’s not much of a tummy time fan.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Rolls over, from tummy to back – He can get about half way. Just enough that I should probably stop leaving him on the couch.
Turns toward loud sounds – It almost worked during photos.
Can bring hands together, bats at toys – He can hold his own hands but I’m not sure it’s intentional.