Our LeRuof: All of Twelve Months
One full year has passed. Our once fragile newborn is now an active and blabbering toddler. Even though the round the clock watch over our little one is not as necessary as when he was a wailing infant, it still feels good to see the minutest detail in his growth. I would very much like to look back one full year and go through, once more, the joys of seeing our LeRuof grow.
LeRuof’s wail was first heard at exactly 10:18 in the evening of November 1, 2006 at the West Visayas State University Medical Center. The wail was perfect, it earned him a 9.10 apgar score. 
He weighed 3600 grams and measured 47 centimeters. Thanks to my bestfriend, Eunice (who calls LeRuof the nephew of her heart), Manuel was with me both in the labor and delivery rooms and was lucky to have been able to cut his baby’s cord.
The cord that connected LeRuof to me while he was still in my tummy just fell off on November 8. The cord is lovingly kept in the scrapbook I made for him.
LeRuof had his first studio photo
taken at 10 days old, one of which
became his passport picture.
On November 14, 2006, he was granted his passport and we were all set to join his Dad to go back to Korea after New Year.
He was enjoyed by my family in Iloilo until he was 18 days old. On November 18, we had a farewell party for him and the next day, LeRuof had his first domestic plane ride at 18 days old. It was a perfect ride, no crying, no fussing. He latched on to me when it was time for him to do so. We were reunited as a family.
The young traveler checked in in Holiday Inn as Manuel was on a business trip. We stayed in the hotel for five days and the Daddy had the luxury to sunbathe his son again. This time, our morning sunrise was by the hotel pool.
Bonding time with father and son allowed Manuel to take LeRuof's most adorable picture in his pure innocence.
Our first trip to Baguio as a family happened on December 16, 2006 to attend Diko’s wedding. We stayed in Baguio Country Club and LeRuof was the tiniest attendee wearing a suit which also served as his baptismal suit. We had him baptized under the Methodist religion in Cabanatuan City on December 23.
At 2 months and 3 days old, we carried our LeRuof to board the Philippine Airline flight to Incheon, South Korea. We were on our way to living a normal family life, at last. Winter welcomed us well as LeRuof settled in good health. Two days after we arrived, snow poured.
LeRuof’s first significant move on his own happened 3 days before he turned 3 months. He tried to crawl although it would be three months more before he could really crawl long distances. I got his picture with his tongue out and exerting so much effort to achieve his feat. By then, he could only move sideways.
Long before he turned three months, I started reading books to him particularly the Disney Animals Storybook bought by his Dad in the Philippines. At 3 months and 19 days, he could flip pages (see video Reading with LeRuof) and could give some momentary attention to the book that he’s flipping. LeRuof was a joy to converse with at four months. He was so talkative his blabbering was music to our ears.
We started giving him solid foods at 17 weeks. Banana was a hit. I read somewhere that banana is a good start as its taste is the closest to breastmilk or formula milk. The mashed banana was mixed with breastmilk and everyday for four days, he devoured it. I could no longer remember the order of the exact introduction of each food but potatoes, sweet potatoes and squash were all welcomed by his taste bud. Vegetables followed and when meat was introduced there was less fear of giving him any food. He loves ice cream for dessert. At 5 months and 8 days, he could sit down unaided and with no support on his back. His Chicco baby gym was a big help in this milestone.
As if on cue on the day he turned 6 months, he was able to crawl some distance successfully. Before May 1, he could crawl one or two blocks of his play mat and could move around in place. But this time, he was unstoppable and there was no stopping his mobility from then on. He did his first step while holding on to his Daddy’s hand on May 5 in the park along the Han River where we celebrated Children’s Day. That marked the beginning of our aching backs as he always wanted to be on the move. He would always cry out for our hands to hold him while he walks around the house. At 7 months, he started to stand up on his own while holding on to any furniture or sturdy toy. Again, his Chicco baby gym was a big help on this development but it was the Little Tikes baby gym that assured his confidence that he can perfectly get up on his own.
We were so delighted seeing his joy when he discovered furniture-cruising. He made his first three steps cruising at 7 months, 26 days old. But it was 2 days after that when he really started cruising non-stop. By then, he has already invaded our part of the living room. To think, he got most of the living room’s space as his own playroom. By July, when he turned 8 months, his desire to be always on the go was very evident by his growing restlessness. He would cry out in desperation if we don’t help him move around the house. The park was his next favorite place to move around. While other babies his age contentedly sat on their strollers, he would cry out for me to walk him around the park. My aching back would only be consoled by his shrieks of delight. By this time, LeRuof was a great playmate already. I would pretend to look for him by asking “where is LeRuof?” and he never failed to answer by hurriedly crawling towards me and give me his widest grin. Peek-a-boo was a favorite game and we just had so many ways of playing that game. On July 13, his first tooth appeared. It was painless and “fever-less” for him. We just saw it and we excitedly waited for the next one to appear.
Exactly on August 8, I let go of his hand while we were walking in his play mat. He managed 2 or 3 steps before falling on his bottom. I repeated the same on August 13 but never had the confidence to train him to walk on his own. So we contented ourselves with walking with our hands as his support. By 9 months though, he can walk with only one hand hanging on to us.
It was time for vacation when he was 9 months, 17 days old. We were Philippine-bound. We shaved his head the day before our flight The strands were safely secured in LeRuof’s scrapbook. First stop was Manila where I proudly introduced him to my friends and my husband’s family. After a week, we were bound for Iloilo. It was in Iloilo where his second tooth appeared on August 26. There, my parents’ energy would be drained by day end as LeRuof goes around blabbering, playing and eating. Back in Manila and off to Cabanatuan, LeRuof was as active as he could ever be. When we went back to Seoul on September 23, it was as if he never parted with his Dad. He was full of smiles upon seeing him and was as playful as when he left.
As LeRuof was almost exclusively breastfed, he was never used to feeding bottle. I say 'almost' because there were cases when we had to go out and I wasn't able to pump some milk so I had to give him formula milk. But breastfeeding is so convenient here in Seoul because almost every establishment has nursing stations that I also end up breastfeeding him even when I have formula milk in my bag. On our vacation in the Philippines, he showed stronger resistance against feeding bottles that my Mom or mother-in-law sometimes had to put the milk in a regular glass for him to drink it. Upon getting a go-signal from my pediatrician in Iloilo, I disposed LeRuof's Chicco and Avent feeding bottles. I started using a sippy cup and straw. Noticeably, he resisted the sippy cup but welcomed the use of the straw. So, from 10 months onwards LeRuof alternated between the use of the straw and the regular cup for his water, juice or milk.
For his 11th month birthday, we gifted him with a police car which he can push alone. We saw how glad he was when we opened the box and he impatiently wanted to play with it. This built his confidence to walk more and more. He was gaining confidence in walking and he was able to walk short distances in our living room. It was also after his 11th month birthday when the next 2 teeth appeared. A week after, 2 more teeth appeared. The gap between the appearance of the teeth became just days apart whereas it was weeks between the first and second teeth.
October 14, 2007 was an unforgettable day for us. First, his Lola Mommy was going home to the Philippines after a two-week vacation. Second, I started brushing his teeth. Third, LeRuof walked with confidence in the park and in the airport. Amazing. It’s as if he has been doing it for a long time already. He was only waiting for his Daddy’s time for him and confidence in him. From that day onwards, mother and son were regulars in the park every morning and afternoon. LeRuof was the youngest and the tiniest baby walking around the park.
By this time, I started to consciously feed him formula milk during play time. I made the effort to make him forget about feeding from me but when he asked for breastmilk, we would hurriedly go home for feeding. This was the start of my gradual weaning from daytime breastfeeding.
Socially, LeRuof is a delight with other babies. He would be the one to go and play with them. He especially loves to touch. With other babies around, he is not clingy to me. It’s a different story with adults, though.
He is noisy. He blabbers a lot. And we are just so happy listening to him blabber. He can recognize a lot of things and points out to them when asked.
How he loves books. As a mother, I am extremely proud of that. It does not matter when my voice gets hoarse from reading. And he appreciates music, too. He dances a lot and demands for us to sing to him so he could dance. He would stand just below the CD player, which is mounted on the wall, and looks up to it while he dances and looks at us with a smile.
Twelve months. All of these twelve months past, LeRuof grew up right before our very eyes and from our own nurturing. More than anything and above everything else, LeRuof is the greatest gift ever to us. Cliché, yes, but how true. Seeing our one year old now, I am so proud being his mom.
As a continuous reminder of this precious gift we have, we celebrated LeRuof’s monthly birthdays and we culminated it with his 1st birthday celebration in Disneyland. Nothing less for our precious one. Pray, we will never cease to make life interesting and joyful for you. We love you, anak!
