I can’t believe this is my second to last of these monthly updates!!! What the heck!!
I guess the biggest update this month is that Arlo almost entirely dropped bottles/formula. He only gets maybe two a day now and only if he “asks” for it. I mentioned it several times that he has always been a challenge to get to take a bottle but it got REALLY bad last month (Like, it took two of us to hold him down to take a bottle. Not good.) and so our doctor was just like “Why don’t you just stop?” So we did. Which was so scary because that’s how he got so many nutrients and calories but he was so much happier. Now he actually LOVES taking the one or two he gets. LOL Babies, man. What weirdos.
As a result, he’s eating a lot more! He especially loves chicken, cheese, avocado and his favorite thing on this earth is strawberries. He’d eat an entire container if I let him.
As many of you already know, he had his first stomach bug which was so intense. WOW. But can I tell you something weird? The last two things he ate before he got sick were Bambas and sweet potato. Both of which he loved and would GULP down, like couldn’t get it down fast enough. But ever since he got sick, he won’t go near either. Screams bloody murder if we try, actually. Has anyone experienced this!?!? It’s so odd.
Possibly the BEST news of the month is that he finally his a little tiny twinge of cuddly-ness in him. I thought it was just because he was sick but it’s stuck around a bit and I am on CLOUD NINE! Even if it means that his sleep has gotten de-railed and he wants a lot more holding/snuggling around 1am.
Still not walking but getting more and more confident with standing up on things and occasionally letting go for five seconds. He’s recently started crawling while carrying a toy though, refusing to put it down, which I think is so adorable. He especially loves these Old & Carol rubber toys lately. He now has eight teeth and seems to be teething still so he likes to chew on those too!
Speaking of toys, his birthday is coming up and I’m feeling like we need a major refresh on our toys we have. A lot of them don’t seem to hold his interest at all. I’m curious for those who have been through the one-year old stage, what toys did your babe LOVE?? Anything in particular?? Did you start doing any art projects around this age? What kind of supplies did you use/did they like?? Please let me know below!!
And that is Arlo, 11 months!
Joy says
Love Arlo updates! My baby boy turns one in April and I’m also starting to think about what new toys to buy for him. I’d love a post on what you plan to get for Arlo. You always find the cutest things for him that are bright and fun! I’m also happy to read that he is transitioning well to being “off” the bottle. My son will only take milk from me or from a sippy cup at this point and his demand has tanked. I’m pretty sure he could go without, but there is such a push to keep breastfeeding until he turns one. I applaud you for sharing your story. People are so judgmental about these things and it is refreshing to hear your success story about weaning on your baby’s schedule and not, what seems, some arbitrary date. Thanks for being so open and honest!
Holly says
My kids always loved pretty much all Melissa and Doug toys at that age. They have a really nice variety and their favorite was the latch puzzle, which had all different types of latches and locks on it. We are also big fans of play kitchens at one year, it’s nice because it’s an easy way to start fostering imaginative play. I also made a little market in our old playroom and my daughter loved that. We had a little grocery cart and everything ( which she loved since she was a late walker and it helped stabilize her.
Meaghan says
Second the play kitchen. Our one year old doesn’t “cook” yet but he loves playing with the pots and pans (ikea has a great set) and moving them in and out of the cabinets. Also, anything with wheels that he can push around. (Small cars and busses are easy to play with, and he has a radio flyer push cart that he loves to carry his toys in and it helped stabilized him walking). And anything that plays music – we have toys that play all kinds of music that he loves to dance to and a pop pop piano that he loves to “play”. He also loves his ball drop (a ramp where he puts balls on the top and pushes them to go down the ramp). There are ones with cars too but I think the balls are easier for little hands. We just bought crayons and paper and he’s enjoying that. And he finally is showing a lot of interest in his stuffed animals (so cute!!).
Kristina B says
And look at all that HAIR!
I caught a bug that was going around my school one year and got REALLY sick in college and I couldn’t look at the sandwich I used to love at Panera, that I had had the night before, like EVER AGAIN. Because I had seen it *ahem* one too many times the next day. So. That’s my 2 cents on the sweet potato dismissal HAHA
Laura says
We started painting around 1 with our daughter. We would collect rocks from the backyard, wash them, then let them dry, and paint them. We also used those paint with water books, found some on Amazon. It gets messy, but I would put down freezer paper and then she would paint that too. And herself 🙂 I also would get those little wood/plastic paint sets that cost about a dollar that you can get at target/michaels/Joann’s. She loved them and still does 🙂
Ruby says
We did the same thing with my niece! Spread out a couple feet of butcher paper, squeeze out a couple different colors of paint and let them go to town. My sister saved some of the prettier ones and used them for wrapping paper for gifts to the grandparents!
Sara says
Hi guys! My sons almost 14 months and the biggest hit lately has been Schleich animals- be careful some of them are tiny but the tiger, lion, elephants etc. have been a super surprising hit! He makes them walk and tries to make the sounds! It took a little for him to get into him but now he gets so pumped when we bring them out!
Lindsey says
So my daughter just turned 13 months! She’s currently into her IKEA kitchen (PLEASE get one and personalize it because I know you’d do the most amazing job), her Baby Stella doll, any kind of ball and pretty much any musical instrument.
As far as art projects and crafts…”painting” with water on construction paper or paints on canvas board inside of a plastic bag have been the extent of our toddler led art. I’ve also been doing things like sensory bins with rice and lots of containers for her to dig and dump. This obviously needs to be a bit more supervised though! I want to get water beads and do some other more messy bins once it’s warm enough for us to do it outside. She also loves dropping things into holes. I took a diaper box yesterday and just let her drop all of her wooden puzzle pieces into the handle hole. Huge hit! I’ve been saving the plastic caps from squeeze pouches lately too and there’s so much you can do with them. Teaching colors, sorting, dropping into holes! We have an oatmeal tin and I cut a hole in the lid and she literally spent 30 minutes putting caps in, pulling them out and then putting them back in.
We also got her a Pewi Y bike from Amazon and she’s obsessed. She loves pushing it around the house and riding on it.
Oh and the IKEA tunnel has been a hit for a while as well. She’s also super into climbing these days so I love to put her IKEA foam tumbling mat down next to her Land of Nod chair, next to our ottoman and she’ll climb all over. Again, obviously an activity that requires a little more supervision.
Enjoy! It’s such a fun stage!!!
Gilanna says
He gets more and more handsome each month!!
Seriously, we didn’t need anything other than a ball to entertain our daughter for the first 2 years, but on her first birthday she got lots of instruments and she got a kick out of them for a while.
She’s always been really into art too, so she was definitely painting and colouring by that age and hasn’t stopped since. We actually put her into a baby art class and they did some great age appropriate projects with her: taping shapes into a paper and lifting them for a silhouette effect after being painted, sticking feathers, foam objects, and pompoms onto sticky paper and then they put a frame around etc etc
For markers we always got (and still do) the color wonder products from crayola so they can’t make a mess all over everything….oh and stickers for life! Lol
Summer says
My kids also loved play kitchen foods around that age. They liked putting them in grocery carts or boxes or purses. They also really liked Little People figurines and animals.
jen kessler says
I can’t believe he’s already 11 months! You’re gonna have so much fun with his first birthday!
Floral Collage Prints
Brittany says
The Melissa & Doug Alligator Walker!!!!
My one year old loved this gift from her first bday, and it was great for her before the walking phase. And bonus, it’s super cute ☺️
Love reading these posts! What are we all going to do when Arlo turns one 😱 I hope you still keep us updated in some way.
Noe says
Hi! Love the update! Arlo is the cutest! My daughter loved so much IKEA wooden Stacking Rings and their bathroom version as Stack& nest cups. They are so simple and cheap, but they are her favorite so far over all her toys…and good news! They are rainbow themed! 🙂
Erin Maree says
DUPLO!!! It’s made by Lego and is the bigger version of it, there are so many fun sets and you can add to it over the coming years. My Mum still has ours from when my sisters and I were little and some pieces are easily over 20 years old and you can’t tell.
Also a play kitchen with all the bits and pieces that would be such a fun DIY to do:)
anna says
He’s getting so big and look at all that hair!
Natalie Broulette says
Such a cutie! Tomy Hide & Squeak Eggs eggs were the biggest hit ever with both of my kids!
nole says
Oooh, one year old toys are so fun! This was the stage where we started to get into musical toys, including a hand-me-down baby piano that could play different songs by pushing different buttons. Sophie LOVED that toy – I think she just liked being able to push the buttons and see what it would do. Sophie also really loved magnets – Melissa & Doug makes some nice animal magnet sets. Definitely get yourself some play pots and pans and fake food. I also remember a lot of just putting different toys into things and taking them out. You can get a shape sorter, but really any basket or tupperware with a lid and some smaller toys or wood blocks will do. Oh, and wood firetrucks, dump trucks, airplanes, etc., with parts that move around and can be manipulated. One of our local play spaces has a bunch of those in their “baby” room, and Alice still loves playing with them at 3 years old.
Mindy says
I haven’t experienced the food aversion with my child, but I have an INTENSE hatred for bananas myself. My mom said that I gobbled them down as a baby, but when I got extremely ill after eating banana pudding, I wouldn’t go near them afterward. It must have been traumatic because it’s been a solid 40 years since I’ve touched one!
Annie says
What a beautiful boy 💗
When my daughter was 1 her favourite toys she got that lasted a good year were her fisher price piggy bank, literally her favourite she’d always press his nose and when old enough put the coins in, her leapfrog picnic basket and tea pot were also firm faves! She’s 3 now and still plays with the picnic basket and tea pot, we also got her the new ice cream cart they have for Christmas and she loves it, if they’d had it around when she turned one it would have been on her list of presents.
I’ve also just found out about a company called Grimms who make the most beautiful wooden toys that are all rainbow colours. We just got the stacking rainbow and it’s amazing and so veristile. All their toys are open ended play and can be used in so many ways which means they grow with your littles! I’d definitely recommend taking a look as they not only look amazing they are great fun.