Hayden On the Move; No More Paci

Just wanted to post a little update on how Hayden's physical therapy is going.  We love his therapist, Melissa.  She comes once a week for an hour and is very helpful in giving me tips on how to work with Hayden to encourage his gross motor skills throughout the week.  At the beginning of all of this (a little over a month ago), Hayden wasn't rolling over, HATED being on his belly, and couldn't get from-here-to-there on his own in any way.  He is now rolling over all the time and uses it as a way to get himself across a room.  Plus, he is now a belly sleeper!  I love that because it helps him sleep-in some mornings.  He doesn't have a problem being on his belly at all anymore.  When he is sitting on a hard surface, he can now scoot himself on his bottom anywhere he'd like to go.  It's so nice to have him more mobile!  Yeah, he can get into more things, but he is learning to obey and is MUCH more content to play on his own and explore.  It is so great.  Below is a video taken a little over a week ago when he had just gotten the hang of scooting.  Our next thing to tackle is getting him to be able to get to a sitting position from laying down.  His muscles are getting stronger and stronger, we can tell each week.  It's just a matter of time before this little guy will be running around destroying everything...Oh My!  Hayden, maybe you can hold off on the whole walking/running thing until the house sells.  :)

Another update on both Tenley and Hayden: they are both now paci-free!  I started noticing that Tenley's 2 top front teeth were beginning to buck out a little bit - not bad, but I could tell.  I don't believe she's doing any damage to her adult teeth, but I also don't want her baby teeth sticking out.  She only used her paci during naps and nighttime, but she sleeps at least 12 hours each night and takes a 3 hour nap, so she really does have it A LOT!  I did not warn her.  I just noticed her teeth one morning, then at nap time I told her that her paci was hurting her teeth, so she couldn't have it anymore.  She asks for it still, but when I give her the reason, she doesn't fuss at all.  Yes, she is my easy kid, haha.  Now for Hayden, I can already tell he is much more...stubborn...than Tenley.  After reading recently the struggle my friend, Cassie, went through taking her son's paci away at age 3, I decided to nip this thing in the bud and take it away now, at 14 months!  He didn't care a whole lot for the thing anyway, but did use it to fall asleep and then spit it out.  I wanted to avoid any greater attachment that we'd have to break, and he has done just fine with it.  YAY!

1 year old! (a month late)

Hayden Titus Helm is ONE!  Hayden turned one on December 28, 2012.  We celebrated with my side of the family on Christmas.  That was a lot of fun.  Tenley learned the Happy Birthday song and sang it to Hayden and Jesus all month long.  "Happy to you...Happy to you...Happy to you, Hayden!"  I guess "Birthday" was just too hard to even attempt.  We will probably not always combine Hayden's birthday and Christmas, but for now, he had no clue.  It also helped that Tenley was getting presents at the same time, so she wasn't jealous.  Not so for party #2...

We celebrated with the Helm side of the family on January 13.  I wanted to remove the party enough from Christmas to keep it separate, but still sort of close to his birthday.  Tenley loved being able to sing "Happy to you, Hayden" again, but threw in a lot of "Happy to you, Jesus" phrases too.  That's okay!  She'll figure it out.  Tenley is still trying to cope with the fact that some toys are Hayden's and not all of them are hers.  Yes, they share everything, but after Hayden's birthday parties, we moved some toys into his room.  Before, they were all in hers.  She is okay with it for the most part, and brings him toys that are "his."  She has also started to read him books - especially ones that are "his."  It's really cute.

He loved his no-sugar banana cake.  :)

As Hayden's first birthday was approaching, I went back and forth every day as to whether or not I should call First Steps about his gross motor development.  I hate comparing kiddos because they all have their own individual timelines, but I also don't want to ignore something that could potentially be a problem.  At 12 months, Hayden was sitting up well, but not rolling over consistently.  He could not get himself into a sitting position if he fell, and he HATED tummy time.  Like, the second he was placed on this tummy, automatic tears, screaming, red splotchy face, MAD.  So, he wasn't crawling or even attempting, not pulling up on things, not cruising or walking.  It actually took him a really long time to even bear weight on his legs.  That was something we had to intentionally work with him on every day when we realized he wasn't getting it on his own.

So, I called First Steps around his 1st birthday.  They evaluated him and are setting him up with a physical therapist who will meet with us once a week for an hour.  As far as we can tell, he has no real physical problems.  He's just very content with sitting.  Some kids just move from milestone to milestone in gross motor skills without much help, but with Hayden, he just needs intentional, consistent help.  I'm okay with that!  He is so happy and so laid back, but we've decided it's time to push this guy a little bit in order to help him explore his own world around him.  He may not like it at times, but that's okay.  We haven't met with the physical therapist yet, but we are already doing 2-3 mini sessions of our own at home every day.  I feel a little silly even having someone come in to help, but I am open to seeing what they can show us.

As for everything else, Hayden's doing super.  He is sleeping 12 hours at night...wahoo!!!  This is a new development!  I think more solid foods has helped!  He naps once a day for 3 hours, or sometimes two shorter naps.  At his 1 year appointment, he was 28 3/4" long and 19lbs 13oz.  To me, that's a little tiny guy.  At 12 months, Tenley was 30" and 22.4lbs.  Same head size, though.  He'll grow into it.  Haha.
We started consistent solid foods around 11 months, and he is still eating purees, with a few exceptions.  He is nursing 4 times a day.
He says "Hi!" and waves, and sometimes I could swear I hear him say "Hayden."  He plays Peekaboo and PatACake, and is drooling like CRAZY, even though he still just has 4 teeth.

1st time sledding...he was not impressed.  TOO COLD!!!

1st snow of the season - playing at home

This picture is sideways - I couldn't figure out how to turn it.