46 Weeks Old

Still late, but at least in the right week this time! It's progress :o) Anyway, Matthew is now 46 weeks old - 6 weeks away from being a whole year. I'm starting to have very mixed feelings that I'll try not to go into too much. I'm sure all of the parents out there understand the pride and sadness that both go along with milestones. Better than me if your kids are older. On one hand, it's wonderful to see your children growing and thriving, learning new things. It's a good reflection on both them as human beings and you as a parent. On the other hand, it means that they are getting older, less and less dependent on you, closer to that day when they won't need you at all and they'll be gone. Some may say it's silly for the mother of a not-quite-yet one year old child with plans to have at least one or two more to be worrying about any of that yet. But I say look how fast the first year has gone. Anyway, enough of that. I am enjoying the present and everything that goes along with it. Such as...



Your baby boy, Matthew, is 46 weeks (Approximately 10.8 months) old now.

Your baby's personality is really blossoming now. Her or his opinions are getting stronger and he or she isn't shy about expressing them. He or she can now understand and shake his or her head no when he or she doesn't want to do something. He or she will also become excited and clap for themselves when he or she has mastered a new skill or task. Now that your baby has gotten the hang of finger foods, the next step is learning to use utensils. Give him or her a toddler-sized spoon and some cut or mashed food and show your baby how to feed themselves. Be prepared for some (more) big messes - your kitchen has probably seen quite a bit of this flying-food action in the last few months! He or she will still use his or her fingers to eat for many months, but your baby is slowly becoming table-ready. If your baby isn't walking yet, don't worry - some babies may not start walking until 15 months, and that is as normal as babies who started walking at nine months. However, if you are noticing other developmental delays and think there may be a problem don't hesitate to notify your pediatrician.



"Personality" is an understatement for Matthew. That kid is going to be a handfull! He gets very angry about things, from having something taken away from him to throwing something out of reach himself. He screams like he's hurt but, in reality, he's just ticked off. He throws himself backwards, lashes out, etc. I'm not particularly worried, though, because at this age you can't expect a baby to have mastered self control yet. All you can do is be calm and try to distract him with something else. On the flip side of personality, he is such a ham! He loves to be entertained and to know that he is entertaining someone else. If he gets a laugh he'll repeat the behavior for sure. Sometimes he'll find something particulary funny and just giggle and giggle. I love baby giggles. If he thinks something is funny I'll do it over and over again until he won't laugh anymore. Mommy has no shame :o) Anyway, above is a picture of the cutest baby smile I've ever seen. You can clearly see his bottom 2 teeth that have come through. He also cut his upper front right tooth the other day, but it's still hardly through the gums. I'm sure the upper front left one is not far behind!