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Dear June: 12 Month Old Baby (Happy Birthday Baby Girl!)

By Dawn Sailors In Dear June

Dear June,

Yesterday was your first birthday. I’m not sure where to even begin. It was a normal day in most ways, but I felt like it was huge. You were just as happy as ever. We played music for you (your favorite thing ever), and took a family walk to get some ice cream (you loved it!). We’ll celebrate your birthday this weekend with a small family party, and I’m currently trying to get the house ready and very much looking forward to seeing you dive into your cake.

Vera told me that you look bigger now that you’re one. So apparently she sees something I don’t. You look exactly the same to me. :)

This past month, you have really gotten into table food. You eat it for every meal now, and although I’m officially done pumping, we still have two nursing sessions a day: before bed and first thing in the morning. I doubt they will last much longer though. You much prefer real food to bottles and seem to be using nursing more for comfort than nutrition. Although it makes me sad in a way, I think we’re both ready to move on, and I’m proud of myself for continuing to nurse for your whole first year. There were times when I was so over it, it wasn’t funny. Not knowing if this will be the last time I’ll ever nurse a baby though… that makes it more special and a little heartbreaking.

You love music more than almost anyone I know, and immediately start dancing no matter the song. If you’re upset, music calms you, and if you’re happy, music excites you. You wave your little arms and bounce up and down, and sway from left to right, and wiggle your legs and butt. It’s adorable.

You’ve developed a pretty strong stranger anxiety over the past month or two, and for some reason more-so with men than women. You cry at daycare when dads pick up their kids, and you would barely look at your uncle Cody the last time he came to visit. You don’t like anyone besides me and your dad to hold you, even though Vera tries all the time. I wish it wasn’t so darn endearing. I know I have to discourage your clingyness, but I also know I’ll always miss the days when you just wanted your mom to hold you.

You have been having some sleep regression lately, and I think it’s because your molars are starting to come in. I haven’t seen them yet, but your gums are swollen and red and your doctor said they’ll be here soon. Even still, you’re only up once a night if at all, so I shouldn’t complain too much.

You aren’t walking yet, but cruise around furniture and crawl like lightning. Your favorite game is pulling things out of baskets one by one. Whether it’s clothes, or shoes or toys. I have a small basket of toys just for this purpose and it’s quite effective at entertaining you for a good 10 minutes if I need to get something done.

Maybe the funniest quirk you have, and something I don’t want to forget, is that you have a strange obsession with narrow tubular objects. Pens, markers, spoons, toy wands, and your favorite, straws. Even a comb will work in a pinch. Anything you can grab and carry around makes you extremely happy and you’ll hold onto it for hours. If you see a straw you go crazy trying to get ahold of it. I’ve even gone so far as to request extra straws at restaurants or Starbucks just so you have something to cling to. Someday we’ll laugh about this.

You’re still the most content baby I know. A good example of your nature happened just this morning at your one year doctor’s checkup. They had to prick your finger for a blood test, and as expected you cried when it happened. You didn’t bleed very much though and about 30 seconds later, while the nurse was still trying to get enough blood for the test, you had stopped crying completely and just sat watching her squeeze your finger until she had what she needed… which took about  3-5 minutes. In the same visit, when the doctor asked me how we handle your tantrums, I was kind of caught off guard… because you don’t have tantrums. Really ever. You cry when you’re hungry or scared of a stranger or want to be picked up. Or when Vera does whatever big sisters do (pinches your cheeks, takes away your straw, tries to pick you up). And that’s pretty much it.

Well, that’s my one year old girl in a nutshell. You have no idea how special you are to us, and you have made the past year so unbelievably awesome. We all love you so much, baby girl!

Love, Mom