12 month update

This is the first update post iv'e shared but iv'e always loved reading other peoples update posts so i figured 12 months was as good a place as any to start. We've also seen some huge changes in Reuben the past month or so and he's really transitioned from baby to full blown toddler.

Motor skills

I suppose the main big change is that Reuben is fully walking. He very rarely crawls now and is walking all over inside and outside the house with confidence. He took his first steps unaided at 10.5 months and has been walking well for a couple of weeks now.

Another big motor skill that he's mastered the past week or so is getting himself to standing, unaided in the middle of the room and walking, squatting down to pick up a toy before standing up to carry on walking.

Reuben has also started building blocks and putting certain shapes in the correct holes. He has a brilliant pincer grip and loves picking up individual peas as well as taking the lid off a bottle and putting it back on.

Communication

A huge development we've seen in Reuben is that despite only saying two real words he can now communicate what he wants effectively with us by showing. For example if he's hungry he will point at the fridge, if he wants to go outside he'll grab my hand and lead me to the door and if he wants to go to bed he'll point at the stairs. For me this change is enormous and helps eradicate a bit of frustration/guess work.

Eating

Reuben has always been a brilliant eater and would eat pretty much anything we gave him. He has recently become a little "fussy" though. He has been going through a phase of throwing food on the floor and as much as we don't give him a reaction he still has a tendency to carry on at times. He's also started deciding what food he likes and dislikes and food that he would once gobble up he now turns his nose up at. I do keep offering him the food though as i know it's most likely a phase opposed to disliking the taste.

In terms of breastfeeding Reuben only feeds morning and night now and I will be looking to try and switch his morning feed to a cup of milk in the next month or so.

Sleeping

Reuben was a terrible sleeper up until about 9 months. he had his first sleep through at 9.5 months and he's been quite good ever since. Some nights Reuben will not call out for me at all until he gets up for the day at approximately 7am. Other nights i will need to go into him anywhere between 3am and 5.30am. I have been giving him a breastfeed as it's the quickest and easiest way to get him back to sleep but going forward i'm going to try and with hold this as the last option as he doesn't physically NEED the milk and i worry that it's not good for his teeth.

I cant believe my tiny baby is now a full blown toddler with his own personality who knows exactly what he wants and when he wants it. Time really does fly by so fast!

Here's to the next month of learning and having fun and hopefully not to many tantrums.