By The Numbers (Take Two)

When Louis was two months old I did this post comparing him to Norah as a newborn. Now that we are staring down the barrel of being a WHOLE YEAR OLD, I thought I would revisit the same topics and see how things have changed.

Weight: At her one year well baby visit Norah was a few ounces shy of 20 lbs. She has continued on that same curve and is about 33 lbs. right now. The last time we were at the doctor for an ear infection Lou weighed in at a few ounces shy of 20 lbs. He wasn't quite 11 months. My bet is that he is closer to 21 lbs. by his birthday. He eat a lot now and just feels heavier. That still puts him in the 10-20% for weight (boys and girls are on a different scale). He and Norah have the exact same body type and it is all attributable to BVZ. They are tall and skinny kids, which I hope means they will be tall and skinny adults. Neither have much body fat and there's not a cute baby pot belly in sight. I think it is interesting that they are virtually identical given that one was breastfed and the other formula fed.

Height: I have no idea how tall Lou is but people are continually surprised by his age (everyone assumes he's much older). It's his height and his massive amount of hair.

Sleep: There's absolutely no comparison. Louis had a few rough months around the time we moved to Texas, but he's back in a groove and is a great sleeper. He sleeps a ton, averaging 12 hours a night and 3 to 4 hours a day, split between 2 naps. He has a hard time with teething at night and still sometimes is woken up by gas, but I would say 90% of the time he is out the entire night. He's a GREAT napper, and literally just has to be given a hug and put in his crib. We didn't do anything radically different with him, rather employed many of the same techniques that failed with Norah. Some kids are just good sleepers no matter what you do. Some kids are just shitty sleepers no matter what you do.

Eating: Louis has found his stride with eating and eats a LOT these days. He is pretty picky though and often will outright reject what I have offered. Norah didn't eat a lot at any one time but wasn't super picky. She would eat a few bites of just about anything, but just a few bites (for those keeping track she's a great eater now and I have zero concerns about her). If Lou loves something (ie, quesadillas) he will eat a ton. If he doesn't love something (ie, any vegetable other than peas) you are out of luck getting him to even take a bite. Little does he know I am very persistent. He is fabulous with a straw cup and seems to like milk just fine (he gets a little with breakfast now). I plan to dump the bottles and formula completely the day after his birthday and I think he will be just fine.

Diapers: It's not even a contest. Louis is disgusting. He regularly pees through his diaper at night (we are working on this one), and his poop smells like the zoo. He's had more blow outs than I can count. The other day we were playing in his room and he started to poop and I could literally SEE IT smush out the back of his pants. It couldn't be any grosser. Norah was a basketful of roses in comparison.

Barf: Lou has grown out of the barfing, I think. Sometimes he will get a little food in the back of his throat and that will lead to coughing-gagging-barfing, but other than that he keeps it down.

Disposition: They are both really easy going. Louis is into EVERYTHING in a way I just don't remember with Norah. He throws stuff in the toilet, tries to pull down book cases, climbs in cabinets, and basically gets into 30 to 40 perilous situations a day. He is always on the move. Norah was very agile and curious, but I don't remember being so exhausted chasing after her. I could take a shower and leave her sitting on the bathroom floor with some books. I would never even consider doing that with Lou. If he didn't nap I would be a wreck. He is developing a quick temper when he doesn't get his way. He is great at independent play (so was Norah for the most part). I want to start getting him around other kids soon. Although he sees Reid most days out of the week, I do think he needs some more interaction with kids his age. Norah had our playgroup of course and I feel bad he doesn't have the same thing.

Motor Skills: Norah crawled at 6 months and walked right before her first birthday. Lou waited until 9 months to crawl. It will be interesting to see when he starts walking. He walks really well with assistance and cruises all over the place but hasn't seemed interested in taking independent steps yet. He will stand in one place on his own for a few seconds, but that's about it. He's pincher grasp is really good, as is his ability to throw a ball, pick up blocks, and manipulate toys. With the exception of ball throwing I remember Norah being very similar.

Misc.: Lou has WAY more hair. Lou is addicted to the pacifier (but only gets it at sleep time), Norah hated it. Lou is sick way more often than Norah ever was. Lou hates to take medicine, Norah couldn't get enough. Lou has 6 teeth. At this age, Norah only had two.

I tried to find pictures taken while they were as close in age as possible. Here I think Norah is 11 months, 1 week old and Lou is 11 months, 2 weeks old. Cute kids, if I do say so myself.