My sweet little Pfunk is 13 months old. Yup. My tiny toddler (it aches to say toddler) is taking in his world and learning and growing more and more every day! Patrick is still nursing strong, just like his brother about 6 times a day. He nurses for comfort too but not as much as his twin. Mostly he wants to nurse when he is hungry. Occasionally Patrick will get a bottle of pumped milk if tandem nursing is not working (due to “food fights”) or their cluster feeding has “drained” my supply. But mostly, this little guy loves to nurse. He did appear to jump into the “solids” experience enthusiastically at first but has slowed down a bit. He is a VERY MESSY eater. As neat as Rory is Patrick is messy. So although he thoroughly enjoys the food experience, He does not ingest nearly as much as he gets on his bib, his seat….THE FLOOR. Wrigley is a very happy dog with all the “floor d’oeuvres”. Although Patrick prefers to nurse above all else, he does have some favorites in the solids department. He loves fruits and veggies! String beans (in their whole form because we do babylead weaning) is his favorite. He also loves peas and bananas. Nursing Patrick is relaxing and peaceful. He is a very quiet and gentle nursling and I can definitely notice the oxytocin hormone pumping through when we have our nursing session. I get so relaxed and sleepy. Patrick loves to play with and inspect my specialty nursing necklaces while he eats but that is the extent of his activity while breastfeeding. That is unless Rory tries to get in on some of the action at the same time. Sometimes tandem nursing is the perfect solution to two hungry or tired twins and sometimes it is a recipe for disaster with them either both wanting the same side or simply wanting me all to themselves. Every day is different. Every day is a new adventure. And I am happy and excited to see how my nursing relationship with each of them and them as a pair revolved. I’d really like to do another nursing photo shoot soon so I can capture this special season of our journey.
My tiny Patrick, as of this morning, is 16 pound 4 ounces. Not a whole lot of change this month but with all the sickness going on this month and the transition to being a solid food/nursing baby I did not expect a big leap. In the past month, there has only been a couple of sick free days in our home. Someone has been sick pretty much the whole time. For Patrick’s part, he has had a fever three times on three separate days. Everyone else has had fevers for days on end, vomiting and all the undesirables side effects of flu and stomach flu. Patrick has the immune system of a freight train. He gets a fever for a day with no other symptoms and then is fine…or he does not get sick at all. I am in awe of his immunities! This tiny boy is STRONG! But we knew that from the very beginning. So strong. So brave.
Patrick is still working on his independent walking. He can take about 10 steps on his own. He practices this the most in the evenings when his brothers have gone to bed. Patrick is usually the last Parish Little awake. Since he normally naps for a total of 4-5 hours every day (sometimes consecutively!) I let him stay up a little bit later sometimes. This is when I get the best one on one time with him. Our favorite thing to do in this time is practice walking. He is SO DETERMINED! He pushes himself up on my knees as I sit in front of him and balances as he slowly lets go with is hands over his hand and big smile on his face. Then he lowers his hands and starts to walk. Sometimes its 4 steps. Sometimes 10. Then he will do it all over again, always with a big sparkling smile. He loves vocal play and will imitate sounds and words. He has definitely found his voice and has started using it to shriek in protest if wants or needs something and we don’t notice for some reason. Hey, with 3 under 3 it is bound to happen on occasion.
Patrick loves to explore and his big brother’s playroom is a favorite spot, also because that is where Wrigley can often be found. This guy loves his Wrigley and really all animals. His favorite toys are soft and furry and he loves to cuddle. I am so blessed to have such cuddly boys, all three!
Patrick brings such a unique element to our family of five and every day he reminds me to slow down and enjoy these precious moments with my sweet three. I know we will all learn a lot from this old soul, deep thinker..precious little boy.
“My name is Patrick. And I am funky!”
Such a sweet peaceful face.
Hmmm…thinking of going somewhere….
Silly Pfunk!
<3
Such a curious guy!
I have a feeling the ladies are going to love that eyebrow
Such a “pretty” boy.
There’s that big smile!
Brothers
Love seeing this bond
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