11 Months Old!

Our sweet Gavin is 11 months old!  He's quickly transforming from a baby to a little boy!

~He's regularly using more sounds in his vocalizations.  In addition to "Mama", he also says "More", which sounds similar to "mo."  While not heard often, he's said "cookie" and "book."
~Gavin loves to climb stairs.  It's difficult to move a load of laundry because he immediately goes towards the stairs, despite attempts to distract him with toys or block the stairs with barriers.  He's able to climb them pretty quickly!
~We've implemented Operation Come-On-Kid-Please-Sleep-Through-The-Night.  While he would previously go back to sleep quickly with a diaper change and brief nursing session, we (especially tired Mommy) wanted him to sleep through the night more consistently.  He's done a great job!  We've gone in a few times overnight to change very wet diapers and Mommy has fed him a few times when he cries a I'm-not-going-to-sleep-without-you cry, but these nights are very, very limited.  If he wakes, he may cry for 5 minutes before going to sleep again independently.
~He frequently pulls himself up to standing and cruises along furniture.  He also climbs onto the mini-trampoline independently and, recently, onto Brennan's platform bed.  He also likes to crawl over us when we're siting or laying on the floor.
~Gavin seems to know exactly what he shouldn't get into and is frequently drawn towards these items especially electric cords, nightlights, puzzle pieces, toilet paper rolls, and Brennan's shoes.
~We're introducing more table food with some success.  He does best with crackers and especially enjoys goldfish crackers, graham crackers and Cheerios.  He has more difficulty with softer foods, such as fruit.  After making a face, he'll gum the pieces and sometimes tries to swallow them too soon.  We've found that he's more likely to try new foods when we feed it to him on a spoon.  Although, he prefers to feed himself crackers/Cheerios/etc.
~He's mastered drinking from sippy cups and straw cups.  At the end of a day's worth of meals, he typically drinks about 3/4 of a full cup of water.
~Gavin likes to "sing".  He'll join in with an "Ohhhhh" when we sing a looooong note.  He also likes to say "Ohhhh" in varying pitches while we gently tap his mouth with our hand.
~He still has little interest in books, but is starting to have a longer attention span for them, especially touch and feel books, and when he can turn the pages.  We're trying to increase our talking and singing to him to help with his language development.
~When he wants to move a toy/blanket/etc, he's been known to bite onto the object and crawl away.
~He's starting to pat our backs when giving hugs.
~Gavin is a Momma's boy! 

Pediatric Dermatologist Appointment

We traveled to Pepperpike today for Gavin's appointment with a Pediatric Dermatologist.  She recommended continuing with the steroid ointment we having been using on his face.  She prescribed a different, stronger ointment for the eczema spots on the rest of his body because they haven't responded as well to the original ointment.  Unlike previous directions from the pediatrician and dermatologist, she instructed that we only use the ointment for as long as his skin is red and dry, rather than a predetermined length of time (e.g., 1 week).  If it flares again, we use it again. We expressed our concern about her recommendations, since we've been using the steroid ointment for so long without consistent results.  She is not concerned about any side effects of it's continued use and said that it will not "cure" the eczema, but will treat it.  We are already following her bathing recommendations--short, daily baths using Aveeno soap; pat dry; immediately apply ointments and lotion.

We scheduled a follow up appointment, but are likely not to keep it as we weren't highly impressed with her.  He has an appointment with a Pediatric Allergist in late August.  If needed, we'll find another Pediatric Dermatologist for a second opinion.

He speaks!

We've decided that Gavin has spoken his first word: Mama!

He's said it for a while, but we were debating whether he was babbling or saying it intentionally.  He says it very clearly when appearing to look for Mommy, when Mommy is walking away, or when being fed--leading us to wonder if he was also trying to say "more." 

First Dentist Appointment

Brennan had his first dentist appointment this morning!  We had prepped him by talking about the dentist and reading a book about what might happen at a dentist appointment.  He did a great job!  Initially, he was a little apprehensive about having the dentist's fingers in his mouth, but the doctor was able to see what he needed and said that everything looks great.  We go back again in 6 months for another "child check up" and he'll have his first cleaning in a year.