Jules is 1!

General 
Ok so yup very late on this post.  I switched jobs this month so I don’t have a lot of free time to write posts anymore L There are a few other things going on too that I will discuss below. But this post will be sort of an 11 to 12 months post because I can’t remember what has happened in each specific month!

Juliet started taking steps this month!  She starts by holding on to something and can stand for a while on her own then let’s go and takes a step or two towards me before falling down on her butt. She is a super speedy crawler so I think she still prefers that method of transportation. She is also a big climber; she will climb up on the little IKEA chairs then climb on to the table.  She has NO idea how to get down safely so it is scary when she gets up there.

Added: Jules is getting in her top 2 teeth now - bringing the total to 4!

Feeding/Sleeping
She goes to bed around 7pm still and usually wakes up sometime between 4:30-5:30 am to nurse and then will go back to sleep until about 6:30/7am. 

I started offering her small sippy cups of whole milk a few weeks before her first birthday and she seems eager to try it but doesn’t always like the “colder” milk and sometimes will take a big swig then just let it dribble out of her mouth.  Not sure how I should go about making the full transition over, I can’t remember how I did it with Ellie. 

She is cutting back on nursing – now it is usually when she wakes up the first time and then maybe once in the morning, once in the afternoon then again at bedtime.  I am hoping to cut down pumping to 1 session at work while I wean her to whole milk, but I would like to get my supply where I don’t have to pump at work, but I nurse her before bed at night.    

The Girls
Jules loves to be around Ellie so much and always wants to be doing what she is doing – which can create problems because Ellie is not so good at sharing!  She doesn’t quite see the benefits in being the “big sister” and having a little one follow her around.    

Other Stuff

So I switched jobs during August.  I went from a company where I was “reduced hours” to one where I am officially “part time.”  I like that I am capped at a certain amount of hours a week, but I am hourly now which presents its own challenges.  I am still missing my old company a lot and haven’t quite fully adjusted to the new place yet.  I know I will over time, but I still miss my old coworkers and the freedom at my old place.  My new job is fewer hours overall and closer to home, but it will take a while to really feel like I know what I am doing here. 

And also around the same time I switched jobs my mom found out she has a small lump of breast cancer.  It is very small and luckily hasn’t spread so she was able to have it removed and will start radiation soon.  While she is recovering she can’t watch the girls so we have been sending them to daycare 3 days a week while I work.  I knew I was spoiled having my mom watch the girls while I work, but now I have a new appreciation for how lucky we have been.  Before daycare I didn’t even own a child thermometer.  Ellie and Juliet never had fevers until they started daycare and in the same week they were hit with a cold & fever.  I know I should be thankful for all the time that my mom was able to watch them, but it is just so hard to bring them to daycare every day.  Especially with Ellie because she will tell me she doesn’t want to go.  The first two weeks were terrible – Ellie would scream/cry and cling to me at drop off and Juliet would barely nap at daycare.  Now Ellie is better at going, but there are still days where she says she doesn’t want to go. 

To hold her spot at preschool we are paying for the 3 mornings there as well so it has been quite an expense adjustment at the same time.  I am really hoping this is temporary (both for my mom’s recovery and for the girls).  I know it is good for them, Ellie especially, but I feel like so much change has gone on in 1 month that it is hard to take. 

Juliet had her 1 year birthday party this weekend – it was Hungry Caterpillar themed!  The party went well, except Jules was sick during it so I don’t have 1 picture of her smiling, which makes me so sad because she is the happiest and smiliest baby usually!  I will hopefully do a separate post on her party.  With the new job I don’t know if you will see many more posts from me…hopefully I will come back from time to time to do special posts.