11 month update: Digital privacy thoughts

Catch up on previous updates here:

We loved spending our afternoons at the pool this summer and will miss it a lot! Whats the winter version of the pool for kids?

It’s amazing how your opinion can change within the space of a month. Last month I was sad that I only had two more updates left until Oliver turned a year, and now I don’t mind at all. I think I have just become so much more wary about sharing personal information about him to just anyone and everyone on the internet. I love that my family all over the world can keep updated about his little personality and the ins and outs of our days, but I am realizing that I need to be careful about what I post. I don’t want people knowing we go for walks at 11am (we don’t) or we go to the library every Tuesday (we don’t) or have access to so many pictures of him. I’ve just been thinking that it’s really not his blog or Instagram so I don’t need to be posting photos of him.

I used to post quite specific information about times of feedings or other details about our routine and it just hit me that if something were to ever happen to Ollie, people could know how to soothe him to sleep, what food he loves, or what his favorite toy was and that’s information that I don’t want public.

He is obviously a huge part of my life so he will be in photos with me, but I am just thinking about how I want to go forward from here. So with that said, I’m going to keep my updates short and sweet and try be a little more general. I’ll also post more photos of him from the side, or with me instead of full head shots. I love following other people that post beautiful photos of their kids and have loved taking photos of Ollie but for now I want to try something different and see how it goes.

We do enjoy going to the library so Ollie has different toys (and friends) to play with.

Milestones

Oliver learned a new word this month…”more.” It’s his third proper word after “mama” and “dada.” He still refuses to do any sign language.
Learned how to clap and is pretty proud of himself.
Controlled lowering down to a seated position.
When standing, can reach down for objects and stand back up.

Sleep

Day: Still has a morning and afternoon nap.
Night: We have been a lot better about keeping to a “bed time” this month and Ollie sleeps about 10-11 hours. He still rolls off his bed 1-3 times a night so that is super annoying but I’m hoping he will outgrow that soon.

Feeding

Day: Oliver nurses four times a day and he takes his sweet time. He used to feed so quickly but now he lounges and squirms to find a good position and chills there happily.
Night: Oliver feeds to sleep and that’s it till morning.

Ollie loves going to Food Truck Fridays and dancing to the music. He also enjoys eating our food!

Fun Tid Bits

Oliver doesn’t like fruit! He loves smoothies but not pieces of fruit.
Speaking of food, Oliver throws a lot of his food on the floor.
Ollie hasn’t started walking yet, but crab walks using sofas, window sills, ottomans, bookshelves and even the wall for support. He can’t really stand by himself either but it won’t be long.
Oliver understands so many different instructions like, “Put the block in the box.”
Oliver only has a few books that he will let me read. The rest are purely decorative at this point.
When I vacuum, Oliver “sings” out a similar note as if to say “I can make a big noise too!”
We are working on being gentle and it’s so hard. Teaching him not to scratch, or hit our faces seems like an endless task. I can see his little lips go thin when he is going to be a little bit aggressive and it breaks my heart. I know he is just learning about his capabilities, what gets a reaction and so forth, but it’s hard to see that kind of behavior when it feels very purposeful.