12 months - growing up so fast

And just like that, my squishy little newborn is now a big, beautiful one year old.

And I am left wondering just where the last 12 months have gone!?

   

Charlotte

Watching our baby turn into a little girl has been nothing short of fascinating!

Charlotte is an outgoing girl, who loves to be around people, and play with other babies. It is not unusual for her to wave and smile at people when we go shopping, or just basically stare at them smiling until they smile back, and it makes my heart melt every single time.
She still loves the kitties, and taking herself off on little adventures. She also loves giving people big wet kisses on demand, and sitting on my back and bouncing up and down like she is riding a horse!

Charlotte is not yet walking independently, but will happily walk her way around furniture (or people) while holding on. I have often found her standing at the microwave (banging on the door) or walking behind her little bike and walker too.

 
One thing I have noticed over the last month is that C will get into anything and everything. If it can be moved from one side of the room to the other, C is there. If it can be unpacked and spread around, C is there!

And another recent party trick? Poking her tongue out on demand. Cheeky? yes. but also very cute

She currently has four teeth on the top, four on the bottom, and a big molar on the bottom right. I suspect the matching molar on the other side is not too far away either?!

A snapshot:

Loves: crawling, swimming classes, the kitties, kisses, bouncing, poking her tongue out, waving. unpacking, going for rides on her new bike.

Loathes: having her face cleaned, being told “no”.

Feeding

Since last month, I dropped from two nursing sessions a day, to one. And, from her first birthday, to none.

That’s right, after a year of exclusively breastfeeding, Charlotte is now fully weaned.

She has 3 meals a day, with snacks in between, and although I offer her cows milk and formula in place of the nursing sessions, she is not really all that interested. So I have been sure to give her lots of other dairy as part of her meals (yoghurt and cheese in particular) and lots of water.

Favourite foods? Cheese, yoghurt, peaches, nectarines.

Her latest trick, which is a tad annoying, is taking bites of things then spitting them out or throwing them on the floor. Something we are trying to discourage, with limited success.

One thing she loves, however, is sharing her Daddy's breakfast. Even if I have fed her her whole breakfast, she loves to sit on his knee and take mouthfuls of his weetbix. So much so that if he is not quick enough she will throw quite the tanty!

Sleep

For so many months, I dreaded writing this part of her monthly update. For she was not the best of sleepers and was waking a lot throughout the evenings.

Since we weaned her from the overnight nursing   a few month back, though, she has turned into quite the wonderful sleeper. She still takes 2 naps a day (an hour at 9am, and close to 2 hours at 1pm) and will then sleep overnight from around 7pm to 6.30am.

Achievements and Milestones

Crawling, smiling, standing, eating, we are definitely moving into toddler-time!

We had quite a big month, with our first road trip to Melbourne, lots of parties and, of course, Charlotte's first birthday.

I really do think that she loved the attention, remaining in great spirits (mostly) even through the busiest times. She simply adores her grandparents, cousins, aunties and uncle, and will break into a big toothy smile whenever they are near.

Not so fun were the 12 month immunisations, but C surprised me by not shedding one single tear even though she needed to have 3 shots! My brave little girl :) 

Me – the physical and emotional

As I come to what will be my last monthly update for Charlotte, I cannot help but feel happy, sad, reflective, nostalgic, grateful and blessed. All at the same time.

The hardest thing for me over the last month, emotionally, has been weaning Charlotte from breastfeeding. I had heard that stopping breastfeeding can bring with it a whole range of emotions, but I was still surprised at how sad it has made me feel. Truthfully, I actually rather miss it.

But I know that the timing was right, and hopefully we will have other babies in the future and I will be able to share that special time with them also.

Clichéd as it may sound, it is hard to remember what life was like before this little girl turned our marriage into a "family" 1 year ago. All I know is that the last 12 months have brought with them many challenges, many ups, some downs, and a whole lotta life lessons.
Becoming a Mum has challenged me in ways I never expected, given me a few more grey hairs, seen me in tears and in fits of self doubt.

But, more importantly, it has seen me smile wider, laugh louder and love deeper than I ever thought possible. The pride I have for the beautiful girl of ours is immeasurable, and my heart has been close to bursting on so many occasions when I watch my husband become a truly wonderful father.