Benaiah: 20 Month Update
I don’t know what it is about 20 months (Benaiah is 20 months TODAY!) but wow, it seems old. And in just four short months, my sweet baby will be turning two. I really cannot wrap my mind around how I will have a two year old boy running around the house, but here we are. I know, I know, I say this about every single age and write this in every single update, but I really love this stage. Watching Niah learn about the world, discover association, and interact with his little friends, makes my entire day. I was talking to a friend recently about motherhood and what she said summed up exactly how I feel about being a mom. She said, “At the end of the day I am completely exhausted and so thankful to be going to bed and have the kids asleep, but at the same time, I can’t wait to wake up and do it all over again.” And as a toddler mom, especially, I feel like this is so true. I am wiped out by 9 pm (sad, but true) but I truly love our days together. I will go into what exactly Niah is enjoying, but our days look like this, most normal days. Wake up, breakfast, run, play, park or library or fun outing, nap time (mom’s alone time!), fun event post nap, dad’s home, bed time. Repeat. And really, those moments are so, so special. Especially as I see Niah growing so quickly. Time, slow down!
Sleeping
If you’ve read a few of these by now (or my blog for a while) you know that Niah was not a good sleeper until he hit about a year old. And thank goodness, he is still sleeping well. Benaiah will go down around 7:30-8:30 and sleep for at least 11-12 hours. Nightly, we do singing/story/praying with him before he goes down to bed and recently, he’s been excited about going to sleep each night. What a difference from a year ago! I am so thankful to have him sleeping well each night.
Naps
Once again, back in the day (as in a year ago) Benaiah was not the greatest napper. He didn’t go down easy, he wouldn’t nap for long, and I could never really figure out when he was tired. Now, we are in a magical season of the three hour, mid-afternoon nap time and I am LOVING it. Not only is it a sweet time of rest and work time for me, but I know Niah needs it and feels so much better when he gets that 3 hour chunk of rest. Thankfully, he goes down really easily. The hardest part about nap time is when he wakes up. He seems a little grumpy when he wakes from his naps, but I think I’m realizing he just takes a while to wake up and that’s okay too.
Eating
Benaiah has always loved eating and today is no different. Currently, I am working on fully weaning him (which is really bittersweet). He eats the most in the mornings and since his appetite is so ravenous in the early part of the day, I try to get in as many nutrients as possible. His forever favorite food is still blueberries (lovingly referred to as do-dos) and he is doing pretty good at his veggies too. We still have avoided giving him dairy, since he seemed to have a pretty bad reaction to that early on. His favorite foods are: blueberries, pretty much any fruit, broccoli, hummus, noodles with nutritional yeast, popcorn, crackers, beans, anything with red sauce, and oatmeal. It is so fun to feed him and cook for him and see the delight on his face with good, fun meals.
Social and New Skills
This I feel like is where it has gotten so fun the last couple months. Recently, Niah’s vocabulary has just exploded and he is jabbering non-stop (just like his mama!). His favorite words are bug, dog, car, keys, daddy, mommy, on, off, hot, Abby, Emily, Louie, Will, cold, cool, awesome, wow, and quite a few more that I can’t remember. Recently, he’s also been discovering all sorts of new skills and loves figuring out puzzles. He loves going down the slides at parks, is really obsessed with bubbles and water, loves to read, enjoys Curious George books over any others at this point, loves to ‘run, run’ < as he calls it, and enjoys chasing after birds and squirrels. It seems like his happy place is in the stroller running, going for walks, going to the park, or at the library with the train set. He also has been enjoying bath time a lot lately and reading as many books as I can give him. (That makes me super happy) After a phase of watching him watch Veggie Tales, we’ve eliminated screens for right now and it seems like he is a lot more happy with playing with other toys now and more content, overall. He doesn’t even ask to watch them anymore. I defintely don’t have anything against screens or movies (we love movies, ) but want to make sure he is finding enjoyment out of other things and not constantly asking to watch something. It has been amazing to see the difference in his behavior, now that he is not doing any screen time. I know there will be a time and a place for that, but for us right now, we are enjoying simpler things.
How am I doing?
I am doing so, so well. Walking through postpartum anxiety, a little over a year ago, was the hardest thing I have ever been through. But, it was also one of the best experiences, because I saw how good and how faithful my Savior really is. And the days that are so sweet and so good, these days, I cherish so much more, because I don’t take them for granted any more. Being a toddler mom is exhausting and messy and often draining, but it is the best job I have ever had and a joy. I really can’t explain how much joy this little, crazy boy brings me and for that, I feel so thankful. I know there will be and are hard days as a mom. But, I am thankful to have this ministry and this unique opportunity to love a little one and pour into his life for Jesus’ glory. I am excited to see what adventures are ahead, but until then, Niah and I will read Curious George and go to the park, and eat about 378 blueberries, and play with trains. Because I know these days aren’t going to be forever, so I will be cherishing them for as long as we have them.