Charlotte at Eleven Months

Listen, this is weird: this is my last baby-month blog update. Probably ever. Charlotte is eleven months old, which means in a few short weeks she will be one and then she'll soon be a toddler not a baby and she's my last one and this is all going too fast and nooooooooooooo.

Deep breaths.

So like I was saying (in the most logical, least emotional way possible), Charlotte is eleven months old. And doing so great.

shiny eyes and crazy hair and gappy grin = love

Since the hospital, she has stayed with her all-milk diet and we haven't re-introduced solid food yet. She's doing well on milk, and gaining weight, so why run the risk of fussing with her tummy again until she's completely caught up? (Also you don't hear me complaining. In case I haven't mentioned it once or a hundred times, baby food sucks.) She's sucking down about six bottles a day, plus nursing once or twice, and seems perfectly content with that.

She's also become (dare I say it?) kind of... mobile. I mean, she can't really crawl, but she can definitely drag herself and roll herself to where she wants to go. Yesterday that meant right out the back door and down the stoop in an attempt to go play with Nathan and Anneliese who were squirting each other with the hose. (I intervened too late. They got Charlotte too.) She's also sitting well, very consistently, and will gladly bear weight on her legs which continues to be the most shocking thing a Goettsch child can do.

We're also seeing a sensitive side of Charlotte come out now that she's moving around a little.  For months, firm words, while she certainly heard them, were really only directed at other people. But now that she's kind of into everything, we've had to do some quick yelps and grabs to save her from things like, say, power cords and electrical sockets.  And it just breaks her heart every time. The lip trembles and she cries a sad sad cry. We're trying to be as gentle as we can in our reprimands so we don't make her panic, while still also teaching her that some things really are scary. That chair! It will tip over! Really!

She's increasingly dependent on other people to entertain her. She has a high tolerance for stimulation, and a low tolerance for boredom. She doesn't ever seem exhausted of Nathan and Anneliese all up in her face with noisy toys and voices and silliness, but when they're ready for a break she's pissed. Never too much attention for this one! Did you know there's nothing more hilarious than a big brother showing how high he can jump, or a big sister blowing on your face over and over again?  True story.

I'm trying not to panic that before the next month passes, my last baby will be past her official babyhood (*sobs*) and suddenly I won't be a mom of little babies anymore. For the first time in five years. (Oh heavens. Five years. Also before the month is out, Nathan will be five. Speaking of panic. Post for another day.) For now I am going to make the most of another few weeks of her first year.

Happy eleven months, sweet growing girl.