Naps: one nap starting around 12:30 or 1:00, depending on when he wakes up in the morning, and typically lasting just under 2 hours

There were quite a few days this month where Henry woke up too early from a nap but got too worked-up to be able to fall back asleep. He was really emotional and clingy afterwards.

Clothing: 18 month, will soon be sizing up in tops; he has short little legs though and still needs his 18-month pants rolled up

Bedtime: 7:30-8:00, depending on when he wakes up from his nap

Eating: Henry continues to be a big eater at meal times. Everyone comments on how much he eats for a meal. We’re thankful that we get to actually sit down for a meal with him rather than have to fight to get him to eat something.

Henry has never been much of a snacker either, and that still remains true. We will have a light snack of a piece of fruit or a few crackers after his nap, but in general he is perfectly content to just eat at mealtimes.

Henry loves to try new foods. He is always asking for a bite of our food if he sees that we’re having something different. This includes spicy sauces and seasonings. If he has something that’s spicier than he likes, he gets a look of shock on his face and asks for something to drink.

Sleeping: Henry’s sleep schedule returned back to normal after the setback from the daylight saving time change. He sleeps 11-13 hours overnight and 1 1/2-2 hours in the afternoon.

Just within the last few days though we’ve been having more and more trouble getting him to go to sleep on his own. We were thinking that it might have been just because he wasn’t tired enough, but it’s starting to seem more like he’s going through a sleep regression with an added dose of separation anxiety.

Development: It has been fun to see Henry playing with kids and paying attention to what they are doing. We got together with Henry’s cousin who is just a few weeks older than Henry this month. It was one of the first times that they actually payed attention to one another and interacted together. We’re looking forward to more play opportunities like this.

Likes and Dislikes: Henry has really enjoyed experimenting with his voice and volume this month. His favorite word to shout is “DA!,” which generally seems to mean something along the lines of “I’m here. Where are you?” There were numerous trips to the grocery store this month where Henry could be heard all throughout the store as we went up and down the aisles. The same thing happened a few times when we were out to eat. Thankfully he’s charming enough that the waitstaff and other diners did more flirting with him rather than got annoyed.

Trucks and diggers are some of Henry’s favorite things in the world. He loves watching the traffic go by outside our living room windows, but also loves toys and books about trucks and diggers. Every time he sees Papa Tom, he knows his big red truck is nearby as well and begs to go and “drive” it.

One of Henry’s biggest dislikes continues to be when he doesn’t get an adequate amount of time to roam around and explore. There were a few shopping trips this month that we had to cut short because he didn’t want to sit in the cart, and kept trying to dive out of our arms. He seems to know that his grandparents will spoil him by letting him walk around a restaurant with them because he seems especially antsy whenever we go out to eat with them.

New This Month: We finally got our first shovel-able snowfall. Henry seems to like the snow. He will lay in it and closely inspect it, and appreciates when it is wet enough to clump together so that he can throw it.

Other Notes: Henry had a few days with a random fever this month where he would get a fever after dinner and lasting into the night, but would wake up fine. I’m hoping teething is the culprit and not the flu bug.

Mama and Papa Update: After a couple of rough nights recently, and a series of emotional wakings after too short of naps, we’ve got our fingers crossed that this phase of poor sleep blows over quickly. Henry is not the type of kid to just give up on crying, roll over and fall back asleep when he’s in one of these phases and wakes up in the middle of the night or of a nap. He gets really frustrated, clingy and full of anxiety over us getting too far from him. I sympathize with those parents who struggle with it day in and day out; the sleep regressions that we’ve had are draining enough!