The Lang Family: Reed is 11 Months Old!

Last year at this time, Jeff and I had completed our prenatal classes and taken the tour of Shady Grove Hospital. The pack 'n play, swing, and bouncers were assembled and waiting in their various rooms. The nursery was finished, save for his name above the crib. We were less than a month away from the due date, and given the early arrivals of two of our friends' babies (we love you, Eli and Jack!), we were prepped and ready to go, should our little one make an early appearance as well. Of course, Reed was anything but early, but it's amazing to think of where we were last March and compare it to our lives today.

We are just amazed that Reed is already 11 months! He's more fun now than ever before. More and more of his sweet personality emerges every day, and it's amazing to watch the little wheels in his head turn, as he figures things out and puts things together. Reed continues to be an observant little guy, watching and taking it in before trying things out. While quiet and thoughtful at first, Reed is easy with strangers; he'll let anyone hold him, which means he makes friends wherever he goes!

Here are some other things we want to remember about our sweet Reed Alexander at 11 months:

He's leaning out! Weighing in at 21 lbs, 11.5 ounces, and 29.75 inches long, Reed is in the 42nd percentile for weight and 58th percentile for height. Jeff and I aren't surprised, as we've commented recently that he doesn't look as round as in earlier months. He's wearing all 12-month clothing. While he still has the adorable chubby cheeks and thighs, he's much leaner all over now. All that crawling helps!
Reed's sleep patterns have remained pretty much the same. He sleeps from approximately 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., with one nap in the morning (usually 9:15 - 10 or 10:30) and a longer one in the afternoon (usually 1:30ish to 3:15 or 3:30).
His milk intake has drastically decreased this month. He still takes around 7 or 8 ounces from me in the morning, but now only has two 6 1/2 ounce bottles during the day, one at around 10:30 and half of one at lunch and the other half at around 4 or 4:30. He takes between 2 and 4 ounces at bedtime.
While his solid intake has increased significantly, Reed is definitely a bit of a finnicky eater. Some days he eats like a champ, but most of the time he's pretty choosey. Ground beef, cheese, and yogurt are still sure things, and we can usually count on turkey (deli meat), chicken, and bread going over well. He also discovered bananas this month and loves eating them straight out of the peel (see video below). The squeezable fruit purees are better now than the jarred kinds, since spoons can be challenging. But we're often surprised when he won't even try something before disdainfully throwing it into his highchair seat. He won't even take a bit of a scrambled egg!
We've had a bit more luck with water this month, since we finally found a sippy cup that Reed can figure out. Turns out he can suck through a straw!
Reed really loves to wave now. While it's sometimes a delayed reaction, he responds about 90% of the time, and often initiates the action.
He understands "no" and *usually* minds us when we say it, although it sometimes takes a few tries. The funny part is that he now shakes his head when we say no. We're not sure how he made the connection, as we don't think that we shake our heads when we say the word, but he definitely associates "no" with shaking his head.
He enjoys "sharing" his food these days, although he also likes the fake-out - he offers a morsel, and then changes his mind and eats it himself!
Reed learned how to sign "more" - in about two minutes! Because meal times have been challenging in just getting Reed to eat, we really haven't focused much on sign language. But just for the fun of it, I tried teaching him "more" last weekend, and he picked it up immediately. Granted, it looks a lot like a clap, but he definitely knows to associate the movement with the word "more."
Speaking of clapping, Reed has gotten really into this in the last week or so, especially when playing with his musical toys. Jeff and I laugh because he has started clapping at points in the songs when we often clap, so it's clear he's really internalizing things.
He's quite adept at cruising these days, and can move easily along the couch, ottoman, and his crib. But no steps on his own yet - crawling is just so much easier!
In addition to regular crawling, every now and then he'll do this funny spider monkey walk/crawl, where he gets on his hands and feet and starts moving forward. He doesn't do it all the time (it certainly doesn't look very easy!), but we crack up when he starts going.
No huge leaps on the language front, although he has started copying us when we say "uh oh" and today he even said it on his own after dropping a piece of food.
More on the mimicking front - he loves to copy me when I make an elongated "k" sound in the back of my throat. It's a sound he often makes on his own, but he really loves when I do it, and always falls suit with his own version.
We discovered yesterday that Reed can roll his tongue. Jeff was pretty excited - apparently not everyone has this oh-so-special skill, but both of his parents can do it, so maybe it's genetic!
Reed is really into opening and closing doors these days. Obviously, he can't reach the handles, but he thoroughly enjoys pushing them shut, or pulling them open when they're slightly ajar.
Mornings are a busy time, since I have to get both Reed and myself ready, but Reed is my little morning buddy. He loves watching me blow dry my hair (especially when I let my hair fall over his face) and he crawls after me everywhere I go, often pulling up on my leg, just to remind me he's there. It's a little heartbreaking - I'd rather be playing with him than getting ready for work!
His favorite toys are his two pianos (which he prefers to both be on at the same time!), his Fisher Price dog, his VTech alphabet train, and his Fisher Price train.
Favorite books continue to be All of Baby, Nose to Toes, Goodnight Moon, and the Going to Bed Book.