Aubrey Says

At Aubrey's 12 month well check up, she had no words.  She babbled a lot, and even alternated sounds in her babble, just no words.  I was told to keep an eye on her speech and if she did not develop any real words soon she would need to be evaluated.  YIKES!

Luckily for me I have a few good friends who are speech pathologists so I called one of them to ask for advice.  I was aware that Aubrey did not have any words, but I didn't realize it was a concern.  My friend calmed me down, she wouldn't evaluate a child until at least 18 months so we had time.

Aubrey made some progress by her 15 month appointment, speaking 3 unusual words; shoe, jump, and doggy.  We were on the right track and I began keeping a list.  Any spontaneous word she spoke was written down.

When I was asked about her speech at her 18 month appointment, imagine the look I got when I told the doctor Aubrey has 75 words not including names and characters...  Wait, you mean everyone doesn't keep a list?

I have stopped keeping a list, but its been so much fun watching her language develop.  Now with stringing words and phrases together.  Aubrey began putting words together by saying a name and a demand.  Phrases have just begun now at 21 months.  Miss Independent told me while I was trying to brush her teeth the other morning "I do it".
And her cutest phrase she says with an evil face and wiggling her fingers "I get you" and chases you to catch and tickle.

This is the best age :)

Aubrey {17 months}

As I was sitting in the car rider line to pick up Liam last week, it hit me; Aubrey is 17 months old. For some reason I was waiting for December 16th for her to turn 17 months, probably because she was 16 months the 16th was on my mind.

This is the part I miss about blogging regularly- I haven't kept updates on Aubs in months.

As I reflect on the last few months, I remember a conversation I had with one of Liam's doctors when he was this age. She was telling me about her children, she would come to work each month, talking with the other doctors and nurses, announcing "this is the BEST age". It truly does keep getting better and better!

At Aubrey's 12 month appointment, she was babbling but had no real words. I was aware of this but didn't think it was a concern. So when the pediatrician recommended getting her evaluated, I was quite surprised. But luckily I have a few speech pathologist friends who told me to wait. By her 15 month appointment she had 3 words {doggy, shoe, jump}. They were odd words, no mama or dada, but they were words! By 16 months Aubrey had over 20 words! Little girl just needed some time. She continues to surprise me each day with new words.

Personality is no big shock, she was born with personality to the extreme! It's still fun to see the little quirks develop. Aubrey has never been my cuddly child- sure she will sit on your lap to read a book and wants to be picked up for attention, but she doesn't just cuddle and hug, there is no rocking her to sleep at night. This month she had began hugging. Not just laying her head into you, but wraps her arms around you and pulls you into her for a hug! The feeling really does warm my heart!

Even if it isn't on command.

Her enthusiasm is contagious.  When you say something she wants and she nods her head uncontrollably I can't help but smile.

 

 

This is the best age!!!

Aubrey 9 months

Well we survived another month!  Honestly not much has changed, we have just loved on this little one and enjoyed each day with her.


At Aubrey's 9 month appointment she weighed in at 18 pounds 7 oz (42%).  28 inches (63%)  it looks like one of our children will get Dad's height. 

She has still been waking up once at night, but luckily its around 5am so we are getting up for work around that time anyway.

She gets around so fast!  Usually she is darting for something to pull herself up on to walk around.  She is able to stand independently as long as she doesn't know she is going it.  When she figures out that she is standing alone she immediately sits down.

Aubrey also crawls after her brother as fast as she can!  We are in so much trouble with those two!

8 months

Wow! A bit late in this one aren't we?!

Aubrey is growing so fast. I fully expect her to start walking anytime I am not looking.

She is so much happier now that she can go anywhere she wants, and she goes fast!

Aubrey loves all things Liam. Liam's toys- yum. Watches his every move.

She continues to eat everything. It's going to cost us a fortune to feed this child!

As soon as she started sleeping through the entire night she stopped.  Nights are so miserable.

Aubrey: 7 months

Sleep: naps have been horrid! She is tired, we rock, I puts her down in her crib, she lays, I walk out and get the monitor only to see her sitting up in her crib. great trick Houdini now lay back down and go to sleep.  nights have gotten better, Aubrey wakes up only once or sleeps through the night.  HALLELUJAH!

Activity:  So many new tricks this month.  She can go from laying down to sitting up on her own.  She is crawling, like hands and knees belly off the floor.  She is pulling herself up on all the furniture.  GIRL IS INTO EVERYTHING!

Eating:  I am becoming more and more convinced each day this child is not mine!  She will eat anything you give her, she does not turn down food.  One day I was making her black beans (a suggestion from a friend)  the smell in the house made me nauseous, but she devoured them!

We are in awe of this little girl, watching her grow and play each day.  She is a joy!

Aubrey: 6 months

Stats
At her appointment last week she weighed in at 14 pounds 11 ounces  and 25.75 inches long.  She is thankfully gaining weight, just on the small side, but hey, someone has to be in the 10th percentile.

Eat
Not exactly what I had planned, but we switched to formula this week.  Its been about 4 days now and I already see a huge change.  At her 6 month appointment last week I spoke with her doctor about her not sleeping, we had been trying to give her a bottle before bed but I was having trouble keeping up with how much she wanted to drink.  This lead to another concern; was she eating enough throughout the day?
I am finding more peace with the decision to switch to formula than I had expected.  It is obvious how much more hydrated she is now, and her sleep has been better the last few nights.  Andplusalso she loves it, the girl is crazy!

Sleep

Yup, that's all I have to say on the topic

Play
We have been on crawl watch in the Fudge house.  She has figured out how to move, just not crawling yet.  On New Years Eve she began pulling herself across the floor.  This is definitely when I start to enjoy having a baby, yes they are cute and cuddly when they are little, but I LOVE when they can sit up on their own and start to explore things.

I know we need to rethink childproofing for a baby, however childproofing with an almost 4 year old is an oxymoron.  I am continuously yelling at Liam to pick up his legos.

5 months

Miss Blue Eyes... Even Liam calls her that now, or Little Lady. 
Weighing in at a not so chunky 13 pounds 12 oz.

Activity: We were getting into a nice routine for tummy time. You were quite content to be rolling around on the floor, getting at whatever you wanted. Then you started sitting, all you want now is to be sitting upright.

Eating: This girl can eat! I am still breastfeeding, you can not wait 3-4 hours between feedings ( THANK YOU ). You are also LOVING any baby food you can get your hands on, except greens. I fear you will be an Oompa Loompa soon if you don't start eating other colors. You also try to grab anything we are eating out of our hands.

Aubrey grabbing Liam's grill cheese to eat

Sleep: This area still leaves a lot to be desired! You are so inconsistent. We have had 2 days EVER that you have slept until 6 am, a handful or so where you slept until 4 am. So many nights you just wake up and not to eat.


Thanksgiving you started rolling over at night and we had to stop swaddling you. We also had to put bumpers on your crib because you would stick your arms and legs out the sides, I was afraid of you breaking something.

Socially:  You are always ready to give someone a smile, as long as you are getting attention.  You have really became a happy baby.  You love your brother, watching everything he does.  Just don't pick up any bad habits from him (like eating).

4 months

Well in about a week I should have another post about Aubrey's 5th month, so I guess I should get this one up now...

Eating
I am still breast feeding Aubrey.  She is increasingly difficult to feed because she is so distracted, but she is growing slowly but surely.

Her weight does continue to be a concern, although she is growing her weight has gone down in percentile.  At 12 lbs 7 oz she is in the 17th percentile for weight ( down from the 27th).  24.3 inches puts her in to the 39th percentile for her length.  She is just going to be a skinny little peanut.

We do start our children on food earlier than some.  She is enjoying her cereal.  We have had some struggles with food.  She really enjoys eating, anything we have tried to give her, but along the way she has had a slight reaction in the form of a diaper rash.  We are being very cautious what  we give her and not introduce food too fast just in case.

Sleeping
Still not sleeping through the night.  Some nights are better than others, but overall her first stretch of sleep is about 6-7 hours, then up frequently for the rest of the night.

Playtime
Easily rolling from front to back and back to front.  Moves around the room, but still not crawling (THANKFULLY, I do think its still too early for how easily she does move).

Enjoys time in her exersaucer. And LOVES watching brother in whatever he does!

Mobile

If you liked the last photo sequence check this one out.

Only missing the initial photo I didn't know to take when I put her down!

I realize you should not compare children, but it is amazing to me how different she is from Liam. 

Between 4-5 months Liam began sitting up, Aubrey is no where close to that.

I commented on this picture on Facebook when it was posted that he had been sitting up for 3 weeks when I took this.  Not 100% of the time without fail, but he could definitely hold himself up for a period of time.

 

 

Liam never rolled or scooted at this age.  Of course we have no idea how much pain he was already in at this point, or how big the tumor was, if there was already a tumor.  So many factors about Liam's first few months we don't know how or when it began to effect him.

 

Is Aubrey crawling at 4 months?  No.

Is she consciously moving?  No.  She is not trying to move toward anything or for any reason, but I am sure it won't be long before she figures out what she is doing and we are in TROUBLE!