Size: 20 pounds and 30 inches. He has gained weight in the last couple months but hasn't gotten longer since his 9 month appointment. (We could have kept the infant car seat those extra 3 months!!)
Clothes: Still firmly in 12 months. Of all the sizes, we have the least amount of 12 month clothes because the girl who generously handed down her kids' wardrobe gave the 12 month bag to another appreciative girl at school, and I bought a couple variety packs of onesies and some pants and called it a day. Luckily it will start getting warmer soon and he'll get to wear the cute short sleeve 12 month ones too. I was worried that if he grew too fast he'd miss those, and he has some great ones!
Eating: We experienced 8 glorious days of having a downright normal kid when it came to food. Starting on Feb 28 (3 days pre birthday) we got the all clear to challenge dairy using a baby serving of yogurt a day as well as allowing him to eat foods that have hidden dairy. We didn't have a complete free for all - no cheese, ice cream, milk, or true hard core dairy things other than yogurt, but it was a whole new world! About 10 days before that, he finally was able to keep whole food down without the gagging and vomiting which is what gave us the all clear to try. Since vomiting and stomach bug style symptoms are what he'd get if he was allergic to dairy, we had to get that under control before the challenge. It's like his body just decided to cooperate one day. He ate, and then ate more...he had likes and dislikes, but was willing to try pretty much everything and just shook his head no instead of puking it everywhere. He was even able to eat almost all the center food for those days, and loved it (especially snack time. He very much has a sweet tooth!) A stomach bug after 8 days derailed everything, but those 8 days were great and give us something to look forward to hopefully soon.
Sleeping: He has totally given up the morning nap at daycare or when things are fun (like grandparents visiting.) When it's just us here at home, he still takes a morning nap and just adjusts his afternoon one to a little later. Regardless of nap times, durations, or quantity, he wants to go to bed around 7 or 7:30.
Physical/Talking: He finally has started physically mimicking us. Not all the time, but we can get him to do some things. He spontaneously does some things like clapping, but won't do them on command. This is apparently part of learning language and is tied into his lack of trying to speak. The food situation may have affected his physical ability to make certain letter sounds, but his language skills are delayed in general, so this is something we're working on. He's very good at going up stairs but hasn't figured out how to come down. One too many face plants on the single step into the family room put that skill on pause for awhile. He still makes lots of D sounds and not much else. He says Da for Daddy when Daddy comes home in the evening or when he's been out of the room for awhile, so we know he does know how to use it appropriately at times, but he also uses it just for random reasons.
Other: He was evaluated by Infants and Toddlers the week before his birthday. Originally they were brought on board to help with the eating issues but since he got those under control he didn't qualify for services in that area. They were the ones that officially ID'd his language delay though and he is getting language services 2x a month. We're starting with teaching him how to mimic which is interesting. I wouldn't have thought that clapping when Mommy claps is a precursor to talking, but it is! I thought it was a physical thing. This also explains why we've been doing certain signs for most of his life and he has yet to react to one or make one himself. If I say "I see Daddy outside! He is home!" it gets no reaction or response whatsoever, but as soon as he hears the key in the lock he goes nuts and gets all excited. That always baffled me, now I know what's going on. Hopefully in the next few months we'll learn some tricks of the trade and get him on his way. This seems to be his MO ... not do something forever and then explode in skills. Fingers crossed!
