10 Months and counting

I never got around to finishing this post but, I am going to go ahead and post what I had written...for memory keeping sake.

wears size 12 months in pretty much everything but 12 mo. pants are still a hair too big.

eats just about everything we eat!  Bruin eats so much more than Daisy did at this age mostly because he doesn't like baby food much at all. 

breakfast is usually a large baby food bananas...he still likes those, or an unsweetened applesauce and some sort of breakfast puff or cereal for him to grab in his exersaucer while we rush around getting Daisy ready for school.  I also nurse him at some point each morning.  He still prefers nursing to all other food and he can demand it often when he is teething or sick.  Sometimes he nurses every 2 hours but, I think this is more because I am not producing nearly as much milk these days and he doesn't nurse long enough to build up my supply.  Oh well.  It is what it is and it works well enough.  

Lunch is usually a piece of string cheese or sliced cheddar cheese broken in to bite sized pieces, some sort of veggie if I have any on hand...he loves canned green beans!  I also give him veggie straws or some other type of cracker broken in to bite sized pieces.  He can eat a ton!  Probably about as much as I would eat for lunch. lol.  He loves dinner rolls in pieces, sandwich meat, small pieces of chicken, turkey or even steak.  He also likes pastas and so far he has devoured mac n' cheese and my italian dressing veggie noodles. 

Tonight he had veggie noodles, green beans, tiny pieces of cucumber, olive and bread.  He ate and ate.  I pretty much keep feeding him until he stops.  He loves to eat and he is little less grumpy when his tummy is full to the brim.  I also nursed him.  

I usually let him snack a little bit during the day on light baby puffs or cheerios and that is about it.   He also uses a sippy cup to drink water on occasion.  He likes drinking out of it but, he only sort of gets that he has to tip his head back to drink it every time.  

He naps generally around 9:30 each morning and his naps are usually 30-45 minutes long.  On a special day he will nap about an hour and a half which is such a treat but, because he is inconsistent I never know what to do with myself when he is asleep! lol.  He takes an afternoon nap but, it isn't quite as punctual as the morning nap.  The afternoon nap depends on how he is feeling on any given day.  Usually sometime between 1 and 2 though.  This nap is also about 45 minutes long.  He goes to bed at 7 and he is for the most part always eager to go to bed by 7.  I use a sound machine and he also takes a pacifier at bedtime.  He loves his blankets to snuggle and he is literally out within 10 minutes of being put down.  I don't have to do much of anything other than brush his cheek and gently pat his back while saying, "night night buddy," softly and then walking out the door.  

He has been waking up anywhere between 5 and 6:30 to nurse most mornings still.  I haven't tried to break him of this habit like I did all of the others in the past because I like that I can nurse him and then know that he will generally stay asleep until 7 or 7:30.  If I don't nurse him he will be up at 6 or 6:30 for good so that is the trade off...I like that extra 30 minutes to an hour of sleep!  

He doesn't like to play with any of his toys and never has really.  He will tolerate them for a few minutes if he has no other option but, he would much rather crawl to mischief.  He heads for the fireplace or the dishwasher, or the bathroom toilet or the bookshelf...pretty much every chance he gets.  That or he tries to pull himself up on chairs that will topple over on him or wooden ottomans that will split his face open when he stumbles head first on to them.  He is super wobbly and very uncoordinated still at this point but, the problem is that he has no fear.  Even though he pulls up on everything, he just lets go when he's over it and lets himself fall into whatever.  So this season is definitely more tiring than others with a wee one.  I do feel like all that I do most days is try to keep him alive. lol.  

He has just started transitioning to the propped up crawl this week and last.  Prior to this he was mostly pulling really hard with his arms and pushing hard with his legs and toes...I guess it is more of an army crawl but, it was highly ineffective because he had to drag his face along the floor and he got tired so fast.  I am happy to see that he is finally figuring out how to crawl correctly because it is making him happier and it doesn't wear him out as fast.  

I was surprised at how long it took Bruin to get to this point with his crawling but, a lot of that has to do with not only his stubborness but, his awareness.  He has been much slower to process his surroundings, people, stimulus etc.  I am only beginning to feel like he is making connections to people, fully connecting to his name...up until a few weeks ago he wouldn't even look most of the time if his name was called.  

Bruin has finally started to give me kisses when I ask for them and I can't tell you how big of a deal this has been.  I have been hoping to see some developmental progress because the doctor had said that he was a tad delayed/behind based on the overview checkup for 9 months.  It was a hard appointment, at least that day was hard.  I was also thinking that he might have a mild sensory issue but, at this point we are going to just wait and observe and pray:).  

 He is definitely doing things at his own pace though that is for sure and there is nothing wrong with that.  I think if he was my first kiddo I might be more concerned but, since I have already been here and done this so to speak I know that every child develops at such a different pace and for the most part all kiddos get there when they get there.

He sure is a cutie pie.  Love his boyish expressions and the sweet kisses that he has learned to give us.  Love my little guy so much.