Development in the thirteenth month - 第十三個月的發展

Since I turned one, I am no longer a little baby. I made many improvements this month that have stunned my parents.

1) Walking - I was still holding on to Mommy and learning to walk a mere month ago, but now I can walk very well all by myself. I even dare to let go of Mommy's hand in public. I love the freedom! My poor Mommy has to put on better sneakers to chase after me.

2) Sleeping - Three days after my first birthday, Mommy started this hell-like sleep training where I needed to fall asleep on my own. (I used to fall asleep in Mommy or Daddy's arms after drinking juice from a bottle or nursing.) For the first couple of days, I wailed and cried so loud and long that the mayor of the town almost came to find out what happened! (Just kidding). But Mommy was persistent (and Daddy could not help because of Mommy's death threat), so I finally gave in and started to sleep on my own. I don't need the bottle nor the breasts now. Mommy would change my diaper, give me some water from a cup, sing one song to me, put me down and then leave the room. It usually takes me 10-20 minutes to fall asleep. Mommy finds that after this sleep training, I sleep longer and better than before both during the daytime naps and at night. Mommy said she should have done this long time ago!

3) Weaning - Mommy is starting to wean me. I still like nursing because I can stay close to Mommy, but I understand that it is something that we both have to do. To lessen the physical and emotional impacts on us, we are making only one change per week. We started off with nursing three times a day and now we are down to one time a day after dinner. The supply will probably go soon because of lack of demand. I am OK actually because I have other things to eat, but Mommy is feeling a bit emotional because it is a special bond between us and it will never come back again. Since I don't drink from a bottle anymore (I drink all fluids from a cup now), Mommy put away all my bottles and her breast pump the other day. It's amazing that one stage of my life passed by so fast.

4) Allergy - My eczema condition was bad when I was younger. Thank God it has been better but we were never sure what I was allergic to, even though milk has always been the suspect. Because I am being weaned and I don't like to drink soy/rice milk too much, Mommy had to find out other ways to give me calcium. Two weeks ago, she bought this "soy cheese alternatives", thinking that it's cheese made of soy and would be OK for me. Because of the confusing label, she did not realize there was casein (a milk product) in the cheese. I ate a tiny bit and hives broke out on my neck and one of my eyes was swollen almost immediately, and then my hands and feet were swollen as well. My stomach hurt too. The reaction was very fast. Thank God that because of my previous eczema condition, we had some allergy medicine at home. Mommy gave me the medicine right away and I was so tired that I skipped dinner and went to sleep. It was a very scary situation for my parents because a severe case of allergic reaction can be fatal. Thank God that everything was fine the next morning. Very painfully, it is finally confirmed that I am allergic to milk product and from now on, Mommy and Daddy are very careful in reading food labels and in offering new food to me.

5) Eating - I have been feeding myself since beginning of the month and I love it because I get to pick what I want to eat! Mommy usually serves me foods that are easy for the fingers because I don't have much patience for the utensils. My favorites are pastas and chicken nuggets. Lately, she has also started giving me utensils. She helps me put the food onto the spoon and I will put it into my mouth. It is a bit messier but not too bad. I usually can get most of the food into my mouth. I eat quite a bit also, usually I can finish a plate of food containing a carb, a vegetable and a protein. I also have dessert (fruits or prune jello or yogurt) after each meal. Yum!

6) Others - There are so many other little things that I have done this month. One thing for sure, my understanding and the ability to express myself have improved a lot. I can understand when Mommy says "Give me that" or "Put this back", but whether I comply or not depends on my mood.

Here's my daily routine:
6.45/7.00 Wake Up
7.00 Breakfast
9.30-11.30 Nap (usually 2 hours)
11.30/12.00 Lunch
13.00-14.30 Shopping with Mommy or going to the park
14.30-16.00 Nap (usually 1-1.5 hour)
16.00/16.30 Snack
19.00 Dinner (20.00 Breastmilk, which is ending soon)
20.45/21.00 Bedtime