Ella 18 Month Update

 

Stats:

• Weight: 22 lb 13 oz  (54th percentile for WHO and 28th percentile for CDC)
• Height: 34.33 inches  (98.7th percentile for WHO and 98.5th percentile for CDC)
• Head Circumference: 46.3 cm (52th percentile for WHO and 44th percentile for CDC)
• Diapers: None 
• Total Teeth: 12 top molars are still in the process of coming in.
• Clothing: Carter's 18 month dresses and 18 mo tops. She wears 18 month and 24 months for rompers but some 24 month ones are huge. For pants she wears 18 month pants and some 2T but they fall down over her butt. I put her in some 12 mo shorts and they fall down. She's been wearing 12-24 month socks for a while now but they seem like they are getting small. Some actually leave marks on her feet so we had to retire them.  Some shirts are still too wide. Some are too short too.  I haven't been putting her in onesies because that's an extra step for going to the potty.   She wears size 6 or 6.5 shoes.
• Weight/Length percentile: 7% (WHO) or 1.2% (CDC) 

Sleep
She is staying up entirely too late. She doesn't go to sleep until about 10 PM nightly now. She wakes up about 6:30 but sometimes a little later. She probably had half a dozen naps in the stroller when we ran this month. Some of those naps meant she did not nap later. Some days she didn't nap at all or didn't nap until 4 PM.  Her lack of sleep is killing me. At least each time she falls asleep at home, I do get her into her crib or toddler bed. She falls asleep on me and then sleeps in her toddler bed lately. At night she doesn't sleep in the bed. One night she fell asleep on me and I put her in it but she woke up a few hours later and got up and spun around because she was scared. 

Eating
I have been less consistent at 3 daytime nursing sessions and 1 in the night if she wakes up. She gets a bonus session when I am trying to get her to sleep and she doesn't. And sometimes I let her nurse after nap so that she will actually pee on the potty.  There have been some mornings where she didn't nurse but that's only when I haven't been there.  She seems to eat better and more meals and less snacks. She is pickier with food. We have given her watered down juice at some meals because she wants our pop so bad and whines so much.  Sometimes she will pig out on something and the next time not eat it at all. But then there are times she doesn't eat something and the next time she pigs out on it.  She doesn't get nearly enough vegetables. I think they end up mostly on the floor. 

Sample Schedule:
She wakes up around 6:30. She goes to sleep between 9:00 and 10:30 though. Well we start bedtime routine roughly the same time but sometimes she's in her crib awake until 10.  She only naps 1 time so if that gets screwed up in a stroller and she naps 20 minutes that is her nap for the day.  Her nap is not consistent anymore.  I feel like since she's been potty training she sleeps slightly less since she wakes up before she goes to the bathroom. She's so tired and then sleeps less.  She has started her nap as early as 10 am and started it as late as 4:30 pm. It really makes things tough.     I've had to wake her up from nap when she falls asleep so late. 
She eats breakfast half the time before we run. No matter what she eats during the run.  Lunch is near 11:30. We always nurse right before nap.  Sometimes she hacks me and gets a little nursing after nap so that she will stop freaking out and then use the potty.  She eats briefly after nap and then eats when we eat dinner. Lately that is near 7:30 and it's entirely too late. Once we didn't START dinner until Dave got home after 8:30.
I put her on the potty after she wakes up. She wants to nurse worse in the morning so she does.  I ask her if she wants to try to go before bed and she's usually go about that. Sometimes she asks to go again.  Some days are much better with going in the potty than others.  If she has one accident she tends to have more in a short period. Lately most of her accidents don't even leave a puddle. She never finishes going so then she still has more pee to pee on stuff later.
Bedtime routine has changed slightly now that the toddler bed is in there. It involves hanging out on bed. Most of the time it involves hanging out on the bed twice.  We hang out, potty, nurse, brush teeth, hang out.  We read books when we hang out. Sometimes Dave is in the bed with her and sometimes I am. I always am after the nursing.  I wanted to get some things part of bedtime routine after nursing so if I ever manage to drop the nursing it won't be as bad.

Special Moments:
On May 21, Ella got the outlet cover off. 
On May 22, she actually signed to use the potty while we were at a park. Then she didn't go. She peed in her diaper on the way home. I thought it was a good sign she knew she needed to go. 
On May 23, I noted that she started walking down the front steps without needing my help.
On May 25, she hid and popped out and said "boo" and then repeated this a lot! She actually signed to go to sleep after I asked. 
On May 26, she took the recycling bag of bottles from the porch to the garage herself. I'm even amazed she knew where we store the bags in the garage. 
On May 28, she managed to mostly remove her diaper while sleeping. She was even wearing footie pajamas.
On May 31, we started potty training. She had quite a few accidents. She learned how to climb up in the master bed. It was funny, I had to tell Ella that forks don't go in the potty. 
On June 1, Ella woke up dry after over 12 hours since she last went. She started singing to use the potty throughout the day but then mostly didn't go and then later had accidents.  I noticed she has the top molars poking through.
On June 2, she was in her crib and ended up standing and signing for the potty. I went back in and she did pee a little. 
On June 3, she slammed the toilet seat down on her wrist. She had her first stroller trip without a diaper and was accident free.
On June 4, she had her first car trip without a diaper and was accident free.  On a run she fell asleep and she pointed to an airplane while still sleeping. 
On June 5, she sat on the potty to poop but failed. 
On June 6, she woke up at 1 AM and held her pee until I got in there to put her on the potty! She decided she likes to put my shoes on and try to walk around in them.  We were out and she signed to use a public restroom but got in there and wouldn't.  She pooped for the first time on her potty since potty training started. (She pooped many times back before when she'd just go on the potty but still have a diaper on.)  She went on her potty in the car for the first time. 
On June 8, she went in a little kiddie pool twice.  She loved it. She was even in the pool and got out and headed inside and then peed in her potty when she got inside!  She has been attempting forward rolls and sort of doing them but on June 8 she started doing them a lot.
On June 9, she peed a little in the car seat. But she did sign first but I was boxed in at a light and it was a very long light.  She opened the front door knob. (She had already done her bedroom door before.) 
On June 10, she climbed out of her crib. I missed it on the monitor. I always watch until she falls asleep because I still write things down but I had told Dave to watch and I was going to shower. And we both miss it. She cried and bit and said it was her head and mouth that hurt.
On June 11, she napped in her toddler bed for the first time.  She head banged my nose and it hurt for multiple days constantly and hurt to the touch for another couple days. 
On June 12, it was the worst day ever for me. She also bonked me in the nose again! She hits me while she nurses too. 
On June 13, she didn't nap at all!  She fell asleep on me and I put her in her toddler bed but after a couple hours she woke up scared. I went in and then put her in her crib for the night. 
On June 14, she had a cold. She was coughing and wheezing. Throughout the night she was waking up and her restlessness kept setting off the baby monitor with all the coughing. 
On June 15, when she wouldn't nap, I tried to tell her it was quiet time in her bed for an hour. It did last almost 30 minutes. She got up and did stuff in her room while I was in her bed. It helped me not be on my last nerve.   She later fell asleep in the car and I was able to transfer her from the car to the bed fine at 4:30. 
On June 17, she turned on her owl night light. That's the first time I saw her do that. It has a very tiny button on the back used to turn it on.
On June 19, I'm so annoyed with Ella. She is biting and hitting while nursing.  She used the big potty for the first time and pooped in it!  She did sign to use it and would sit and get off and then repeat for about a half hour but she did do it.  I taught her a new body part and she points to her butt. She says "bup" while doing it. 
On June 20, we tell her it's her birthday and she points to her birthday banner. It was a horrible nap day. After a couple hours I couldn't take it anymore but I finally get her to sleep. Then it takes me forever to get her to stop nursing too and to get her to her toddler bed.

Development:
She likes to pick out her clothes. She will definitely shake her head no to most items. She likes to open the drawers and grab the clothes herself.
She's better at body parts and knows more of them.  She know knows wrist, ankle, butt, chest, and cheeks. 
She can buckle herself in her high chair and in her stroller. The high chair she often does. The stroller is more difficult and she still does it.
She's talking more but still shy about it.
She can climb up the ladders at the parks all by herself!
She is spitting when she brushes her teeth. She improved a lot on this and has some good spits after sometimes. 
She likes to hide then say "boo" quite often.
She can blow kisses.
She picks up sandals and puts them on the owners' feet. She puts mine on and she put Gio's on. 
Ella likes to sweep and now she sweeps holding a doll. This is so funny because I often sweep holding her.
Ella mainly eats with her right hand but does eat with her left.  She writes with both hands but mainly holds the pen with her right hand.
Ella has used crayons and markers this month. She still sometimes tries to bite the crayons. When she does she knows it's wrote and she gives up the crayon without any prompting. If she bit off a piece she even will say "ahh" so it's easy to fish out without my prompting.
She will sign for sleep which she would never do before.
She went 2/3 the month without wearing a diaper. She is only wearing panties now. She does have accidents and some days she has 5!
She learned how to throw balls (or anything I guess).
She learned how to be tricky. She is not allowed to touch the receiver so she thinks if she holds something and that thing touches the receiver she is ok. (She's not!)
She can do raspberries on my stomach. She enjoys it.
She still gets embarrassed and doesn't want to try things or do things in front of people for fear she's wrong.
Ella is extremely clingy and doesn't like it when I leave the room or leave her. I thought she was clingy before but she gets worse.
She started walking up and down our front steps without assistance or without having to sit down and scoot.
She signs for milk, eat, more, potty, and sleep.
Ella can finally use her animal book to make the animal sounds. It's very tricky to push them to get them to make noise but now she can do it and she sure loves doing it.
When I blow on food or tell her it's hot, she blows on it. It's so stinking cute!
I'm amazed at how much she understands. For example, she was using a tablet and then a little bit later she was using it and Dave told her he thought she was using the other side. She immediately flipped over the tablet to the appropriate side.
She's started pretend playing even more. She uses her kitchen set and makes things and pretends with dolls.
She learned to say "ow" while pointing to what hurts. Somehow Dave taught her this in the span of minutes and that was so helpful.
She learned to open door knobs.

Other Tidbits:
Likes
Ella loves to lean in for a kiss. 
She likes to push buttons. (Actual buttons but also likes to push my buttons. ha)
She loves Poly.
She loves to accomplish something new.
She loves to visit her friends. She leans in to get kisses from them too.
She likes to swing. She likes to be thrown around. I think she likes all things that are like a dare devil.
She likes to drink out of all the other babies' cups. Even if her cup is similar, she wants whatever isn't hers. 
She likes to ride on your shoulders. She also likes to be held upside down. 
Ella likes to get things when you ask her to. 
She REALLY loves books. She loves to be read to and loves to flip through the pages herself. 
She loves to do google+ hangouts and especially likes it when she gets to hold the phone or iPad herself. 
She likes to get your shoes for you.
She likes to use a plate or bowl and an actual spoon. 
She loves using her step stool to wash her hands in the sink.
She loves to help unload the dishwasher. She picks up the silverware and puts it in the silverware drawer. I have to actually put it in the right compartment but it's so cute to see her do this. 
She loves to point out airplanes and trains. She says choo choo and points in the direction of the train even if we are in the house. She just puts up with a grunt to point out the airplanes. 
She loves pens. She loves taking caps on and off pens.
Ella loves playing outside. She loves socializing.
She loves to lie with me in her toddler bed. She loves to lie with Dave. She will pat the pillow beside her telling us to sit there.
She likes to nurse. (She often wants to nurse and I won't let her. Many people tell me they haven't seen a kid like to nurse as much as her.  I would love to be done and have no idea how to do that. Nap time will be awful. She's only ever fallen asleep 3 times not on me nursing and not in a car or stroller. I'm dreading it.) 
Ella likes to take our remotes. She tries to pause the TV. She turns on and off the fan. 

Dislikes
She hates when you leave her in a room when you leave.
She does not want help eating. If you stir her yogurt for her she flips out. If you help her scrape the edges she refuses to eat more.
She dislikes being prompted to talk. She wants to talk on her own terms.
She doesn't like when Dave goes to work.
She doesn't like public restrooms. Or at least doesn't like to actually use them. She often asks to go but then won't go.
She doesn't like to wear a bib. Some meals the bib lasts about half the meal but most of the time it lasts less than that. I have a lot of stained clothes because of this.

Fun Facts
Longest time sleeping: 11 hours 38 minutes  (698 minutes) this was the longest by 112 minutes!
Potty or accident times (from June 1-19): 11.8 per day (increase because of many minor accidents)
Time spent nursing (from June 1-19): 63 minutes (1:03) per day (decrease from last month)
Feeding average per day (from June1-19): 0.9 oz This is averaged based on estimations of 1 oz or 2 oz or 3 oz at given times. 
Time spent sleeping (from June 1-19): 12.0 hours per day 
Nights she did not sleep through the night!: 15 (Most were once she was potty training and she had to wake up to go to the bathroom. Only 3 were before potty training.)
Doctor visits: 0 (her 18 mo Dr visit is in a few days)

Favorite Toys
Big Toy House
Toddler Bed (She likes to play on it)
Dog that sings "If you're happy and you know it..."
Balls
Basketball hoop
water table
toy laptop
New shopping cart
new car she rides to get to the park
new stroller she uses to push a doll
iPad (actual)
Owl Nightlight
iPod (ok it's a music toy)
Blocks
Books (I count them as toys) 
My phone (not a toy but she thinks it is)
Remotes
Toy Smart Phone
Shopping cart
Toy food
trains
Scrappy Cat
toy kitchen

Favorite Songs
--I'm not sure. She likes so many

Favorite Books
She loves ALL books. Some books she just likes to hear 4 times in a row.
Regular Expressions (A coding book. She always takes it from the bookshelf and brings it to us to read to her)
A Light in the Attic (She loves when Dave reads her some poems)

Favorite Foods
Ketchup
Chocolate

New Words 
bup (butt)
No
Uh Oh
Ow
ba ba (belly button)
mole
baby
more
She attempts a few new words a day but might not say them much so I can't think of what they are)

Still Saying
hi
dada
mom (very long o)
up
yup
step
cat
dog
fish
duck
moo
ta
app
boob
ah (as in ah ah ah for what the count says)
purple (not exact)
daddy
mama
apple
da ball
ma ball
ba ball (basket ball)
yes
owl
boo

Firsts
Days without wearing diapers
Poop on the big potty.