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| Minutes after birth! Look at how little he was here. |
1. Body: Since birth, Dominic has gained over 15 pounds. He was born weighing 7 pounds 1 ounce and is now almost 23 pounds. He has grown at least 10 inches since his arrival, being 20 3/4 inches long at birth and is now over 30 inches tall. Dominic was very skinny when he was born, but at around 2 or 3 months, he put on the pounds and we started getting the "he's not starving, now is he?" types of comments from then on. Since starting to crawl (as well as pull up and cruise) at 6 ½ months, Dominic slimmed down quite a bit since he was finally getting some exercise. People always tell us how strong and "sturdy" he looks these days. He started off wearing Newborn clothes (onesies specifically) and is now wearing 12 month pants, 18 month shirts, and 18 month pajamas. His body has changed dramatically since his birth.
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| Just over a month old and all dressed up for St. Patty's Day |
2. Face: Dominic’s appearance has drastically changed in many ways over this past year. Although he was always very animated in his expressions from the get-go, Dominic’s various faces have become even more expressive, but I have to say that they’re much cuter now! Dominic’s eye brows are perhaps his most expressive feature as he loves to furrow them, raising them up and down depending on what you’re doing and saying to him as well as what he is examining at the moment. So much can be seen in the way he moves those adorable eye brows. Dominic also loves when others furrow their eyebrows at him. He smiles and thinks they are hysterical. It's funny to think that when he was born he didn't even have eyebrows yet. Nothing in the world makes me happier than to see Dominic’s facial expressions!
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| 2 months old and sleeping so peacefully |
3. Hair: When I was in labor and the nurse let me know she could “feel his head,” my question for her was, “Does he have any hair?” I asked because Brian and I had speculated since before I was even pregnant that our baby/babies would have a lot of hair since he and I are both Italian and have thick hair ourselves. The nurse said she could feel that the baby had hair on his head, and that was confirmed upon delivery. It’s funny that we thought he had a lot of hair then, but it was nothing compared to all of the hair he has on his head now. When Dominic was born he had no eyebrows or eye lashes. Slowly, both have grown in, and he has long eyelashes and thick eyebrows. I feel that these characteristics are what has made Dominic look more like a real boy. It’s amazing. Dominic got his first haircut on February 5 and looks even more grownup now. A few tears were shed (yes, some were mine, but most were his) and there was a lot of squirming. With his full head of hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes now, you can really see the difference his hair has made since birth.
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| a smiling 3 month old :) |
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| D's first Braves game at 4 months old |
5. Feeding: Dominic’s food has been one of the biggest differences. When he was first born, Dominic would “eat” every 3 hours. The term “eat” meant that he would actually just drink breast-milk and formula. At 5 ½ months, he began eating oatmeal and pureed foods. Now Dominic has 4 meals a day, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner and drinking breast-milk 3 times a day at breakfast, lunch, and bedtime. Dominic primarily is eating real food now…turkey sandwiches, grilled cheese, pizza, peas, spinach, quesadillas, cheese cubes, toast, pancakes, crackers, graham crackers, goldfish, and cheerios. I still spoon-feed him yogurt, applesauce, and pureed vegetables. Unfortunately, he’s a big fan of feeding himself carbs
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| Sitting up at 6 months old |
6. Sleep: When Dominic was in the hospital, he slept constantly during those first few days of life. As soon as we took him home 4 days later, Dominic suddenly became nocturnal, being awake at night and sleep during the day. Under his pediatrician’s suggestion, Brian and I started keeping Dominic up during the day more, so he’d sleep at night, and boy did it work. Initially, he slept for 21 hours a day, waking up every 3 hours at night to eat. I remember it being so frustrating when people would come over to meet Dominic and all he would do is sleep (as opposed to being awake and just laying there or eating and sleeping). Slowly that changed though. Dominic started “sleeping through the night” (midnight to 5am) when he was about 7 or 8 weeks old. Then he was sleeping 12 hours a night at around 3 months old, which is also around the time that I started a nap schedule with him. Now Dominic takes 2 naps a day, each usually 2 hours long, and still sleeps about 12 hours a night (9pm to 9am). He’s an excellent sleeper thank God! :)
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| All dressed up for his baptism at 6 months old |
7. Diapers: Yes, I’m going there! Diapers are a big part of the first year of a baby’s life after all. Dominic used to have a dirty AND wet diaper every 3 hours - basically whenever he ate – for the first several weeks of his life. By 2 months old, I think he was down to 1 dirty diaper a day but wet diapers continued at every 3 hours or so. When he started eating solids, Dominic’s dirty diapers increased in frequency unless he ate constipation-inducing foods like bananas. Now we change him every 3-4 hours typically because he will have a wet diaper or whenever he poops (usually once or twice a day depending on what he’s eating). We don’t have to change him at night at all because typically he only wets his diaper while he’s sleeping. Dominic started off in a Newborn diaper (the cutest, little things I've ever seen) and is now up to Size 4’s. Diapers have given us a roller-coaster ride over the last 12 months.
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| Our 7 month old sitting in his rocking chair |
8. Interests: Originally, Dominic wasn’t interested in anything but sleeping and drinking breastmilk. Boy, has that changed this year! Dominic loves when we sing to him, blow on his tummy, and give him attention in general. His favorite game is peek-a-boo and has been for some time. His favorite toy for most of his life has been his Learn and Groove which Aunt Stephanie gave him as a shower gift and then he started using it at 4 months old. It’s still a toy that entertains him daily. Basically, any toy that makes noise and has lights will be one that Dominic loves. Although he loves his toys, Dominic enjoys playing with others more than anything else. When people smile and laugh, it makes Dominic smile and laugh. He thinks it's hilarious to watch himself or other kids/babies on videos. He's very interested especially in other babies and kids. If he hears a child's voice even just on TV or on his Toddler Tunes CD, his ears perk up and he gets very excited. It amazes me that he identifies these voices. Dominic has so many interests and joys these days!
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| Almost 8 months old and playing at the park |
9. Baby Gear: Early on Dominic did not need much more than his bassinet, stroller, and carseat. He eventually grew to love and then outgrow his baby swing, bouncer, activity gym, Exersaucer, and 2 carseat carriers. The biggest piece of baby gear was his swing, which we borrowed from a friend. That was a great tool for calming Dominic for many months when he was fussy. He loved that swing, but now not only is it too small for him, but he does not like the way it constrains him as he wants to get out and around. Now Dominic sleeps in his crib, uses a “big boy” convertible carseat (rear-facing), and plays with many, many toys all over the house. We have moved through a lot of baby gear in the last year for sure.
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| So cute at 9 months old |
10. Personality: Perhaps the biggest change of all is our little boy’s personality. When he was born, he didn’t do much more than eat, sleep, and poop. There was no laughter, smiles, or anything else. Dominic would cry but couldn’t babble or make many other noises. At around 2 months Dominic began smiling and his personality has come out from there more and more every single day since. The first time Dominic ever smiled was when I played with his nose, and he continues to enjoy that. A year later, Dominic can let us know when he’s happy, sad, bored, or most any other emotion. He gives Brian and me sloppy kisses and hugs to show he loves us. Dominic laughs when we’re silly, he acts silly and laughs at himself, and basically has a cute personality of his own now. We love that happy, silly, curious, funny personality so much more each day.
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| The happiest baby I know all dressed up in his Santa suit at 10 months |
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| At 11 months old, Dominic is no longer just a baby as he moves into "Toddlerhood" |
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