baby?

well this was a big weekend for our "baby." last week i noticed we were just about out of formula so i would either need to buy another can or dive into a bottle-less world. i decided it was time to move on from bottle and formula so i called dr. eddings and talked with the nurse about it. i remembered at fin's 9 month appt she said we could start whole milk anytime after 11 months, but i wanted to double check. the nurse said she was ready and to go cold turkey, which is what i wanted to do anyways so i'm glad we were on the same page. so friday night i gave fin her last bottle. i gave my baby her last bottle. i had to "fight" brandon for it, but i think he knew what a big deal it was for me so he caved pretty easily. it's bittersweet b/c i'm super glad to not be washing bottles and spending big bucks on formula, but that was a huge part of her first year. that was really the only time she'd let us snuggle her. that was when she was the calmest, getting ready for bed. that was calmest part of the night for everyone (usually). that was when i could just stare at her b/c she was completely still. so now i'll have to find another time to snuggle with her and stare at her.

saturday was the first day with no bottles and while it was a little rough, it certainly wasn't horrible. once again i'm amazed at what an easy going baby we have. she did pretty well throughout the day, but i was DREADING nighttime. while she stopped falling asleep with her nighttime bottle, it was certainly part of the bedtime routine. a huge part she came to expect. so after her bath and jammies i read "goodnight gorilla" (one of her favorites) and put her down. i didn't sit in the rocker to read to her b/c that's where she gets a bottle and i didn't want to tease her. it took her an hour to fall asleep, which is a long time for her. there was crying involved (only on her part. i sat outside), but she finally fell asleep. it made me so sad b/c i knew what she wanted and could fix it easily, but we had done such a good job all day and i certainly didn't want to backtrack. i just didn't want her thinking we forgot to give her bottle. of course b kept telling me she was ok, i KNEW that, i just didn't like hearing her so upset. once the first night was over with and she still slept till 7 i felt much better. she's been doing great since! she gets milk in her sippy at breakfast, lunch and dinner. if she didn't drink very much during her meals i offer it to her at snack times too to make sure she's still getting what she needs.

in case that wasn't enough she decided to say "baby." i was changing her diaper and b brought her baby to her and she grabbed it and said "baby." i guess we kinda thought it was a fluke, but it was so clear and then she just kept saying it all day and hasn't stopped since.

plus she's been a walking fool. i'd say she walk 40% of the time, which i think is a great start. when she falls she gets right back up (most of the time) and keeps trying. b and i get frustrated for her! she doesn't seem to mind though.

she's also quite the smarty pants. she handed me a book today to read and was pointing to her nose. i looked at the book and sure enough it was the nose book. she's so funny, and not such a baby anymore.