Marco's 15 Month Update

Marco's 15 Month Growth Stats
Height: 32.5 inches (90th %ile)
Weight: 21lbs 4oz (10-25th %ile)
Head: 19 1/4 (90th %ile)

Naps: He is consistently napping once a day. If he naps a second time, it’s because his regular nap was short, and/or we’re driving in the car somewhere in the late afternoon. For naps, up until we moved out of our house in mid-July, I would sit with him in the rocking chair so his head could rest on my shoulder and I could snuggle my head against his. When I felt his body start to fall into a sleepy state, I would lay him in his crib and he’d maybe wiggle a little bit, but he would generally just fall right to sleep. Since we moved out of the house, we’ve been in 11 different hotels and now just moved into a temporary apartment until our house is finished being built. The inconsistency in the sleep environment, and not having a crib for a majority of this time was so confusing to Marco. So now for nap time, I lay him down on the bed next to me and put big pillows all around us, and wait for him to settle himself down to sleep on my bed. The one thing that is consistent is his brown blanket. He LOVES his brown blanket and won’t sleep without it. He’s napping every day around 10:30/11am and will sleep anywhere from 1.5-3 hours. 

Night Sleep: We usually put the big kids to bed first and then put Marco to sleep so we can focus our energy on him without distractions from the big kids. Typically, Marco’s bedtime is at 8:15pm. Again, since his the move, there has been no real consistency with the sleep environment or even having a crib. This has been hard on me, and possibly a little difficult for Marco too. But, as any child would… he much rather prefers to sleep next to mommy versus alone in his crib. I LOVE this… but it’s challenging in that I again have become a bit of a sleep crutch and I have to be more involved just for his safety, etc. Part of me is really trying to just soak this up since I know he is my last baby. I’ll put his PJ’s on, brush his teeth, get his blanket and milk sippy cup and lay him in the bed next to me. I then wait for him to settle himself and fall asleep. This new process seems to take awhile because he’s still so excited to be in MY bed. Versus our typical (and fabulous!) routine that we had created where I would rock him for 10-15 minutes or until he started to fall asleep, and then set him in his crib where he would sleep nicely. He’s a good little sleeper, except for the nights when his teething gets the best of him. Most nights he will sleep through the night. And about once every 6 weeks, I think we hit a developmental milestone and he’ll wake up around 3:30/4am’ish, and be ready to play. This will keep me awake for an hour, sometimes longer… just in time to fall asleep and then have to wake up to get the other kids ready for school, etc. Oy! When he does sleep through the night, he’ll wake up anywhere between 6:30-8:30am.  

Eating: He is such a great little eater. He will eat anything and everything we put in front of him. And, he loves the little fruit and vegetable food pouches. Dan calls them spaceman food. He loves trying new foods. If he doesn’t want to eat something, he will push it to the side or off his tray. His favorites are pizza, pastas, eggs, salmon, sausage, blueberries, strawberries, peas, beans of any kind. 

Marco Updates: 

• His brown blanket is his favorite possession. He LOVES his blankey.
• Most frequently used words are: Momma, dadda, hot dog, baby, sausage. But, he mostly just grunts or screams or points to what he wants or is drawing your attention to.
• He knows what *Happy* is… and when he’s happy, he’ll say “HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!” I swear it’s the cutest thing. EVER.
• Loves riding on airplanes. He is insistent on sitting in his own seat and will shove anyone out of the way to sit in the window seat
• He’ll scream at the kids until they give him what they’re holding or they give him what he wants
• Temper tantrums! He’s starting to know he can express his anger when he’s upset, and gets attention for it. His current method for expressing anger is laying on the floor and kicking his feet against the wall, while crying. His older siblings think this is hilarious and they’re highly entertained by it. I try to just talk calmly and tell him why he can’t do what he was doing because it will hurt him or whatever.
• Loves to be silly and put buckets over his head, then walks around trying not to bump into the walls. Again, his siblings find this hilarious. 
• Loves the lawn mower and vacuums. As soon as the gardener starts the lawn mower, Marco will want to stand by the windows watching. 
• He also loves vacuums. He practically tries to cuddle with it. He watches and follows us while vacuuming, and the second we turn the vacuum off, he’ll start to cry. It is the funniest, saddest thing. You can’t help but laugh… and feel so bad for the little guy at the same time. 
• Teething like a madman! 
• Feeds mommy: He really enjoys feeding me whatever he is eating. 
• Fascinated with bubbles. He’ll sit so quietly, watching and wondering, when we blow bubbles into the air. 
• Loves to swim. He can’t get enough of the water. He tries to jump out or our arms constantly when we’re in the water with him. I think he watches his siblings and wants to do exactly what they’re doing. Somehow, he holds his breath underwater and every time we pull him up… you can tell he’s just getting ready to jump back out of our arms again into the water.
• Fascinated by grass and dirt. Just loves to touch it, play with it, throw it, dig in it… and yes, he’s also tried to eat it. :)
• Swats at things SO fast. 
• He’s been known to whip french fries across the table while we’re dining out. Always resulting in lots of laughter from the older siblings. 
• He likes to mostly stand in our booth or at our table, while we’re dining out.
• If he knows his food is hot, he loves to blow on it. 
• Loves swords, guns and legos.
• Drinking out of regular cups. Not perfectly, but he can do it.
• He is a total beast in doctor offices. He opens drawers, he wants to touch everything, can’t sit still for 2 seconds, even tries to climb up to the reception TV’s to turn the stations, etc. I dread when I have to bring him to a doctor appt with me, in fear of the typical doctor office wait. It’s so hard trying to keep him out of trouble and occupied. 
• Loves eating with utensils. Does everything he can to be a big boy.