Our sweet Henry turned 10 months old yesterday, officially in the double digits! I think that this past month has definitely been one of the most fun and the most challenging so far. He is learning so many new things so quickly and while it’s exciting, it’s also a little overwhelming…for both of us. He’s extremely mobile now and really starting to explore the world around him. His sweet personality also continues to develop more and more; he’s such a happy baby and it seems like no one can resist his infectious smile wherever we go. It’s also been a busy month in terms milestones and I feel like so much has happened since my last update! Here’s what he’s been up to over the past month…
He’s in primarily in 12 month onesies and 12-18th pants/pajamas, although he does have a few 6-12 month things that actually fit him. I plan on keeping him in onesies as long as I possibly can because I feel like when I put a normal shirt on him, his stomach is always being exposed somehow. I keep getting more fall clothes for him because it’s so hard to resist…but he has outgrown a lot of things so it’s justified 🙂 He’s still wearing size 4 diapers and we’ve been sticking to the Honest Co. brand.
Eats:
Still breastfeeding and loving it, and he still nurses right around 4 times a day, although with his cold/teething, some days I had to comfort nurse him a little bit more than normal. We’re doing a mixture of purees and finger foods at this point, and it’s amazing how much he can eat for not having teeth! I’m trying to be better about incorporating some protein into his diet vs. just fruits and veggies and so I’m trying to figure out what he likes. Recently I’ve had good luck with mashing a few healthy things together to make a meal for him; I feel like it’s perfect for the age he’s at because it offers quite a bit of texture but I feel like he actually eats more of if vs. just doing straight finger foods. I usually do some sort of meat (and usually it’s from something we had for dinner like shredded chicken or ground beef) mashed with some avocado and quinoa and veggies and seasoning. Banana is still his favorite fruit and he definitely favors fruits over meat/veggies….likes sweets just like his mama! Also, he did get to try some Jello and Nilla Wafers when we were in Michigan (thanks to my grandma) and loved them both!
Sleeps:
Ugh. This has no joke been the worst month for sleep since he was a newborn. We’ve been spoiled because he’s been such a good sleeper for so long that the hiccups we’ve had over the past month have really thrown us for a loop and Cam and I are both a little tired!
Right after I posted my last update saying what a great sleeper he was, he started waking up in the middle of the night/super early morning. The first time it happened we were so confused because he literally hasn’t done that in ages. But we chalked it up to the fact that had a cold and figured that’s what was affecting his sleep. He’d wake up once or twice and I’d try to nurse him to get him back to sleep but we’d usually just end up just bringing him in our bed. He also learned how to stand up in his crib so I think that was part of it too. Then we went to Michigan to visit my family; between the three hour time difference and the fact that my parents have his crib (which was actually my crib when I was a baby) in my old room right in front of my bed and so he could seem my when he was in it, he wasn’t sleeping great there and seemed much more fussy than usual. I’d try to put him down for naps…and he’d cry…and my mom would want to just right in and pick him up and rock him. I was worried we were starting to develop some bad habits, but then I realized that while we were there he was cutting his first tooth and so I think that’s part of what was bothering him. Since we’ve been home, he’s basically been not wanting to nap in his crib at all and bedtime has been a struggle. I did realize this past weekend that he just cut a second tooth, plus we had to adjust to the time change of being back on the West Coast, so it’s a lot going on for him. But I think what’s really to blame is the so called 8-10 month sleep regression. I had heard of the 4 month sleep regression, but wasn’t familiar with this one…but apparently it’s a real thing! (Which I discovered while Googling “Why isn’t my baby sleeping?” Ha!) It’s caused by the fact that around this age, babies start learning so many new skills, like crawling, and it’s harder for them to shut their brain off and go to sleep. It’s a sign that there are lots of developmental changes going on and apparently a sleep regression like this can often precede additional developmental milestones like walking. So I don’t think these sleep hiccups are abnormal, they’re just kind of frustrating when I’m used to having a baby who’s a good sleeper/napper 🙁 Literally for the past week, any time I try to put Henry down in his crib for a nap, he screams hysterically and cries and jumps up and down in his crib. I’m not sure what to do because I don’t want to form bad habits by just rushing into pick him up, but I also want him to get some sleep. So some of the times I’ve gone in and held him and he’s just ended up napping in my arms, and then other days I’ve tried to let him cry figuring that he’d settle down eventually…but finally I’d have to just go get him from his crib and accept that a nap was not happening. At night, I usually nurse him right before bed and then he’s either sleeping or super drowsy when I lay him in his crib. I can get him in the crib fine and he’ll sleep soundly…for about 5 minutes. Then he’s standing up and screaming and Cam and I are sitting there trying to figure out what to do. Once he finally does get to sleep (usually because we’ve each gone in multiple times/rocked him/I’ve nursed him more) then he has been staying asleep, it’s just tough to have it be such a struggle after I put him down. If anyone has suggestions for dealing with this sleep regression, definitely let me know!
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| Despite not getting good sleep, he’s still his happy self during the day! |
Favorite Things:
–After finally learning to crawl right around 9 months, he’s spent this past month really honing this skill. He speed crawls all over the house now and it’s pretty crazy how fast he can go!
-He’s also pulling himself up on everything all the time now. He’s loved to be in a standing position ever since he was really small (like a month old) and so now that he can get himself into that position, he does it all the time.
-He started pulling himself up to standing in his crib right after he turned 9 months and we had to lower his crib, right around the day I posted my last update.
-He cruises around the family room using furniture, walks with us when we hold his hands, and pushes his walker all around the house so I feel like walking might not be that far off?
-He took his 3rd trip to Michigan and did great on the flight! (Not sure how many flights this is for him now…I’ll have to tally them up at a year!)
-He got to visit with lots of family and friends while in Michigan, wear his U of M gear, and go to the cider mill. I feel like he also increased his physical capabilities so much while we were at my parents’ house because he had so much more room to move around and a lot more things to practice pulling himself up on.
-He cut two teeth (the bottom middle ones) this month; I felt the first one break through on 9/27 and the second one a week later on 10/4.
-We completed the Hike It Baby 30 Challenge and hiked over 33 miles for the month of September!
-He went to his first Oktoberfest in Mt. Angel, OR and liked seeing the baby animals 🙂
-He had his first not so good milestone this week…he rolled off our bed 🙁 Talking to my mama friends, it seems like pretty much everyone’s baby does this (or something like it) at some point, but ugh, it’s really the worst feeling!
-He had his first time riding on the 4-wheeler with his dad at my in-laws house and seemed to like it!
-He also went the to the church nursery for the first time yesterday for a moms’ group I’m a part of and he seemed to really enjoy it. Like didn’t care at all when I left and only seemed mildly happy to see me when I returned because he was already having so much fun with all the other babies/toys.
-His Halloween costume came in the mail, I can’t wait to put him in it 🙂
Between our sleep struggles and how active he is now, this little guy is keeping his mama on her toes! But even though it’s a little more tiring these days, it’s still so awesome. He is such a sweet, funny, loving baby and I SWEAR he gets cuter every day. I can’t wait to do lots more fall activities with him in the coming month and I’m already getting excited for his first birthday party and the holiday season. Cameron and I could not imagine our lives without him, that’s for sure!
