where we are

Yesterday Sophie turned 11 months. They all say it, but still, there's no way to prepare. Babies are babies for SUCH a short period of time. I now see pictures of babies and think, oh, he's probably about 4 months. Sophie was just 4 months. Like, yesterday. And suddenly she's big and trying to walk and talking like a fool. She knows who Wendy Dog is and I SWEAR that when she says dadeeda, she is referring to the big hairy creature who licks her and eats her cheerios.

So now we parent a nearly toddler and all new questions arise. The one that I think about most often is bottle weaning. I continue to nurse, though only at night and in the mornings. During the day she gets bottles of formula. I wish this weren't the case, but oh well. I just couldn't keep up. Anyway, my concern isn't really the bottle so much as the sucking. We've discovered that it's not the drink she wants, it's the sucking. She's just as content with a bottle of water as she is what a bottle of formula or milk. When we begin to take this comfort away from her, to where will she turn? She doesn't use a pacifier and I don't really want to start now. My poor boobs can't keep up her her demand, nor her mouth full of teeth (she has 5 now), and she has no interest in sucking her thumb. She doesn't care for the sippy cup so we're moving straight in to the regular cup, which she absolutely loves... so what's a parent to do? Of course, we're going to talk to our really wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Warner, and I know he'll have something good to say, but he's still a doctor. I have issues with doctors.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions?

Anyway, it's damn hot here and allergies are kicking all of us around like we're the nerdy kids who can't climb the rope in gym class. (oh wait... we are) Sophie's amazing, as always. I really enjoy watching the development of her eating habits. I think she's going to have a good pallet, this one. She's a mixer. She likes two different foods in her bowl and she needs a little bit of each on her spoon. Then she'll have a few cheerios, then more food. She likes green vegetables, but only if their fresh and cut up on her tray, not pureed. She really enjoys broccoli. I fed her banana for breakfast and she would take a bite of banana, bite of cheerios, and then chew them together. Oh, and he bites her cheerios in half before sticking them in her mouth. Darling.