Oliver update: 11 months

With little hair and no teeth, those characteristics about Oliver haven't changed since birth. I've gotten so many extra months of preserved babyhood with his bald head and gummy smile that I think I'm going to be sad when he actually sprouts teeth and hair.

Whereas Oliver is retaining his youthful good looks, he's racing towards toddlerhood by learning to crawl. He learned how to pull himself up into a sitting position only about three weeks ago, but that small milestone seemed to improve his mood, because he had control in whether he wanted to be lying down or sitting upright. Now that he's crawling, he's able to catch up with his baby friends. I can't believe how being able to crawl (and eventually stand and walk) opens up a new world for a baby. Oliver has bursts of giddy excitement about being able to move about more easily. He doesn't get upset about being left behind in another room, because he can now follow us. If I leave him in the living room to play with his toys and go into the kitchen, I'll look up to eventually see a slow-crawling baby lumbering around the corner. He still doesn't do a traditional crawl on all fours, but rather gets his hands and one leg moving, and the other leg does a crab walk. As soon as Oliver picked up any sort of speed, he slowed himself down again by trying to figure out how to carry his toys and crawl at the same time. Just like a dog, he's learned that he can carry smaller toys with his mouth!

Most mornings now when I go into Oliver's room, I find him standing in his crib, and he's quite proud of himself. He's still learning how to pull himself up in other situations. I was sitting on the couch the other day and I've never seem Oliver so determined to pull himself up, not just into a standing position, but try to pull himself all the way onto the couch to be with Mommy.

Oliver's independence has grown. The women in my moms groups were really helpful with strategies on how to deal with Oliver's separation anxiety, and between their suggestions (and help on putting it in perspective) and maturity, Oliver is more comfortable spending time with people other than mom and dad. He can also play for longer periods by himself and is comfortable playing with other kids. His two main fascinations seem to be our neighbor's cat and doors. He's drawn to any door left ajar and he enjoys opening and closing it. Simple pleasures in life, right?

With our last container of formula about finished, I'm transitioning Oliver to cow's milk and am considering giving up breastfeeding all together when he turns one. Calling it quits with breastfeeding is both a sad and liberating notion, but I think liberation will eventually win out. But it's clear he's leaving babyhood as he nurses for mere minutes and prefers to be back on the floor playing than being cuddled.

I'm hoping that by next month I can report that Oliver is taking his first steps. While he isn't content to sit on my lap anymore, he does enjoy having me cart him around on my hip. I'm still able to carry him without throwing out my back, but I have noticed that hoisting him above my head, swinging him in the air - all the horse play he loves - is becoming a little more difficult. When he started standing up in his crib, we lowered his mattress to the lowest level and now instead of laying him gently onto his mattress, I can't reach over the rails and back down to the mattress, so I kind of drop him the last two or three inches with a gentle thud.