Baby Vices

Since Cole is now a toddler, we felt that it was important to get rid of his bottles and pacifier. I am absolutely amazed at how easy this has been. I know for some children it isn't so easy, but Cole doesn't seem to miss his bottle or paci at all and I'm feeling pretty fortunate about how well this is going. I am by no means an expert on taking away the bottle and paci, and am pretty sure it was pure luck, but here is what I did.
Weaning off the bottle:
I decided way back in February to start cutting bottles out gradually. I first introduced the sippy cup with a little water in it. (I recommend the Nuby Soft Spout Sippies because the spout is similar to a bottle nipple). Once Cole got the hang of the sippy, I starting putting his formula in it. I replaced all his bottles of formula with a sippy of formula expect for the 1st feeding of the day and the bedtime feeding. We also switched Cole from the soft spout to a regular sippy cup around this time.

A few weeks later I switched the morning bottle to a sippy as well. At some point we cut back to 3 formula feedings a day (1 with breakfast, 1 with lunch, water with dinner, and 1 at bedtime). I switched Cole to whole milk about 2 weeks before he turned one, which went off without a hitch also.

The day he turned one, we stopped the bedtime feeding all together. He gets his last sippy of milk with dinner and after his bath and story he goes right to bed without liquids. Cole went right to sleep and has since (with the exception of 1 night).

Taking away the paci
I had intended to wait until tomorrow to take Cole's paci away. My reasoning behind tomorrow was Brady's (5 month old I watch) last day was today. Brady takes a paci and I thought it would be too hard to not let Cole have one while Brady sucked away on his. Apparently I was wrong about that! This past weekend we decided to do a trial run. It went well, so I decided not to give it back on Monday. He took Brady's paci a few times these past two days, but only actually got it in his mouth once or twice (quick reacting mommy). He's been napping and riding in the car fine without it.

Tomorrow I will be packing away bottles and pacifiers!

We have a walker!!

Cole is walking!! He still prefers crawling as his main mode of transport, but can walk on his own, as of yesterday!

Fun in the Sun!

Yesterday we took Cole to the pool in our neighborhood. Just like during swimming lessons, he was pretty clingy and a little afraid in the big pool. However, he absolutely loved the baby pool. He was able to stand in it and even crawl in the more shallow parts. He spent most of the day cruising around the perimeter. Here are a few pictures of Cole at the pool:

Cole's 1st Birthday Party!

Cole's 1st birthday party was a huge success. We did a bug theme using the colors lime, royal blue, and yellow. I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked, because I was busy running around doing other things, so if you have some please send them to me! The birthday boy with his Grandma and Grammy!

"Are these all for me??"
Cole playing with his 2nd cousin Leah"Happy Birthday to you""I think I'll try some of this"
Shoveling it in
Cole laughs at his friend Anthony Mommy helps Cole open his gifts...Go Terps!Cole plays with Grandpa

Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate!

Happy 1st Birthday Cole!

Cole's 1st birthday was Friday. I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. I will write more later about that. Here are few pictures from his birthday weekend Pictures from his party will be posted later today or tomorrow (I promise).

Baby Products Quiz!

If you are a new mom this quiz should be a breeze. If not, check it out and see how much you know about baby products!