I have an easy baby

I have spent the last 10 months thinking that I had a difficult baby, or at least a very different baby. And I was right about the last part. My son IS different. I've yet to meet another baby like him. A few nights ago, when I couldn't sleep, I decided to read some threads on the May 2010 Birth Boards on Babycenter.com. I had made it a rule to stay away from Babycenter last summer, but I was curious as to how the other 10 month old babies were faring.

I saw countless threads about babies STILL not sleeping through the night. I saw moms distraught over Crying It Out, whether to use it or not. Moms discussing the fact their baby wasn't crawling yet. Some babies who were refusing to eat and needed to see a specialist. Some that just weren't gaining weight yet. Some babies that weren't clapping, pointing OR waving yet (Henry does all three and has been clapping for 3 months).

We have our moments, don't get me wrong. Henry is different in that he has been on the move since before he was born. He has the most active genes from his father and the most active genes from his mother (surprising I had any). I see the pictures of these other 10 month olds, meet babies only a few months younger than him, and there is a HUGE difference. Not only does Henry walk, he walks very well. He knows how to get over door framings, and he can get down from the porch to the ground without falling. He can even push his own wagon that weighs more than he does. He has pushed 40 lb boxes around his grandparents' living room!

When we brought him home from the hospital, it was rough at night. He wouldn't sleep in his pack n play. We tried putting him on his Boppy lounge pillow between us, and it worked for awhile, but we neither got any sleep too worried that Henry would roll off. So Henry slept in his swing from 2 weeks of age to 2 months. I am okay with this. Why? Because in that time frame he went from an hour or so of sleep at a time to EIGHT hours of sleep. And I was told by a family member "Oh you're going to regret that big time. You'll never get him out of there." At 2 months he woke up in the middle of the night, fussed, we put him in his packnplay, ON HIS TUMMY, and guess what? Sound asleep.

Same thing with the pacifer. He was DONE with it by 3 months. We brought it to Alaska, just in case, but all he'd do was chew on it. People told us not to put him in a walker, it would make him walk on his toes, teaching him not to walk properly, or retard his desire to walk. NONE of this was true with Henry. He started walking early, just before 9 months old, and I've only once caught him on his tip toes and the only reason was that he had just tripped over something and was trying to catch his balance. He walks just like he is supposed to.

So in this first year, I've learned a few things. One, don't listen to anyone but yourself and your own instincts about your baby. Well I shouldn't say it like that. I should say TRUST yourself. You will get so much advice as a new parent, a lot of times it is hard to weed through what you need to know and what you don't. I had so many people telling me what I should and shouldn't do that I didn't have a clue what was right anymore. We finally found our rhythm and Henry has grown into a beautiful, healthy little boy with more ambition and drive to learn than I've ever seen from another baby. Now this is probably because I've not been around a lot of babies, but still. :)

It amazes me how I already knew him in the womb. He came out exactly the way he was inside. Moving all day long, active and happy.

Nearly 10 months and walking

Well technically he started walking about a month ago. February 6th to be exact, one day before his 9 month birthday. It was Super Bowl Sunday, and while he had taken steps before, he had never just taken off. Things changed that day! He spent most of the evening walking around with his daddy's cell phone in his hand or guiding me by one finger (my one finger) around my in law's house.

Henry walking that day

This is a link to a video taken that day. He is growing up so fast. I never in a million years imagined that my son would be walking at 9 months. I remember when he was about 3 months old, we were at the mall with our moms group. We met a little girl there at the play area who had started walking at 10 months. I was astonished. I'd never heard of babies walking so early! Then Henry goes and beats that by a month.

I have been trying to make mental notes of everything I needed to blog about. First off, he started clapping around 7 months. He now does it all the time. He took his first steps at 8.5 months old. I started crying when he did. I knew he was probably close because he was doing a LOT of cruising around the furniture. I caught it out of the corner of my eye, let out a HUGE gasp, and Jason turned around from in the kitchen thinking something was wrong. Henry stopped, looked at me, and took another 4 steps or so. Jason got to see those steps! I am so proud of my little dude!

He was walking the day he turned 9 months old at his doctor's appointment. The doctor said since he was pointing (something else he started a week or so prior to the appt.), clapping, and walking, he was advanced in both his gross and fine motor skills. He weighted 20 lbs 5 oz (50%) and was 30 inches long (90%). So he's tall and skinny. Which we know because none of his shorts fit him properly.

We also got our first sign out of Henry this last week. We've been signing milk, eat, hungry, cat and more for awhile. He's sorta done the sign for milk, but the other day he signed ball! He even started saying what sounded like ball. Such a boy! It has motivated me to continue using the signs in hopes he starts using more back with us soon. We've also started using mom and dad as well as dog.

I feel like such a braggy mom saying all these things, but I think I have a right to be proud of my son just like any other parent. I don't think any of these things make him brighter than other kids, he's just developing at his own pace. A year from now, they'll all be on the same page and it won't matter anyway.

Well better get going, he'll be up from his nap soon!