13 Months In

Not only has a whole year passed since Archie's entrance into the world that cold February morning, but another month as well.  Archie is leaving behind the baby days and hurtling towards toddlerhood at a level I am not altogether happy with!  Being a second child, he seems desperate to be running around like his big brother, and he watches the toddlers playing with envy, trying to join in at every possiblity.

This month Archie has been doing more steps unaided and can do around 8 before falling on his bum.  He keeps letting go of things and practising and I don't think it will be long until he is walking properly now.  He has been getting up the stairs with no problems for several months, but recently he has been climbing down as well (supervised of course), and loves sliding on his belly.

Archie is finally clapping, something he seemed to choose not to do rather than being unable, but once he discovered the praise and attention it caused, he has been clapping all the time (mostly when I am playing with Dylan, just to remind me that he is still there!)  He has also been loving peekabo and will spend ages pulling a blanket on and off his head and squealing in delight when you pretend to be surprised.  

Archie has always been a bit of a monkey, learning to scale the sofa and climb onto our bed at an early age, but his favourite climbing frame at the moment is his buggy.  He will crawl up to it, and climb up onto the seat, and then attempt to get up and over the back of it.  We are also having to use the straps on highchairs for the first time, as left to be he will climb out the top of the highchair and over the table!

Archie loves his food and eats huge portions.  He eats much more than Dylan, and can finish bowls and bowls of pasta.  I thought Dylan was an eater, but I have no clue how Archie shovels so much down, often eating a portion similar sized to mine! He is clearly using all the energy though as he is still long and very slim.

Sleep is still not consistent, but Archie can usually sleep until around 5am before having a feed and then goes back down until 8.  He still has one nap in the day but doesn't get tired until nearer 4pm some days.  The only way to get him to nap at a reasonable time is with milk, and although I had cut down to just first thing in the morning, 5am and last thing at night, the lunchtime feed seems to be slowly creeping back in.  If we are out though, I don't feed him milk in the day, it is reserved only for his and my bedroom now and he understands that.  Breastfeeding is still going well though.

Archie is cheeky, he has the biggest blue eyes and a smile that lets you know he is up to mischief.  He is strong, challenging and a stereotypical boy, drawn to anything with wheels and anything dirty, but he is also so cuddly and affectionate, and a real mummy's boy still.  At 13 months he is on the cusp of so many big changes -  we are seeing the first signs of the walking, talking toddler he will soon become, but when he curls up in my lap for a sleepy feed, I remember the tiny baby he was not so long ago.