Holy wow! How is our little one 10 months old? Our 7 pound 9 ounce baby is now over 20 pounds and fitting into most 12 month clothes. The time is absolutely flying by. I want to capture each moment of it as our little one starts to look less like a ‘baby’ and more like a ‘toddler’!
I hope you enjoy reading this recap as much as I enjoyed writing it. This is something I will reference from time to time as she gets older to remind myself of what this phase of life looked like.
GROWTH
Over the past few weeks Spencer and I catch ourselves commenting to each other how much our little 10 month old seems to be a whole new little person! Once she became mobile, she started to enjoy her independence and continues to flourish each day.
Our little one:
- Went from army crawling to going up on hands and knees. She was mighty fast throwing shoulders forward and is often doing a combination of the two).
- Enjoys the front facing baby carrier to be attached to our hip while doing anything she can not see at ground level. She likes being involved in the kitchen as well as walking around and seeing different parts of the house. We like going on walks with the family where strollers can not make it. Plus as an added bonus for her, she can mov faster from location to another when in the carrier.
- We truly can not say enough positive words about the Ergobaby Omni 360º carrier! The fact Spencer and I can easily adjust this between our varying heights and builds, as well as put her on the front and back to carry makes it very convenient to use.
- Developed the worlds quickest and strongest alligator roll to break free of diaper changes.
- Currently has a strong preference for hugs from everyone, but sticking to me. She tends to find me no matter where I end up in the house. While this is adorable and melts my mama heart, it can be a bit overwhelming sometimes when I just need a breath by myself.
- Seven teeth – 4 on top and 3 on the bottom.
- Started saying her first ‘word’ – mama. This often comes out in a babble (ma-ma-ma-ma) and is not directed at any one thing (yet), however it is super exciting to see her develop! My momma heart was so happy to hear her say this.
- Fun fact – The first time she said the string of ‘mama’ was in the car on our way to family Thanksgiving! Spencer and I looked at each other and were amazed.
- Focused on playing independently. When someone wants to play with her, she often goes in another direction or grabs another toy of interest.
- Pulls herself up on everything. This one is fun because sometimes she can not figure out how to get down and goes ‘eh eh’ for help.
- Loves to study everything she picks up and repeat motions until she understands the cause and effect of her actions.
- Continues to throughly enjoy reading throughout the day either with us or by herself.
- Realized she does not need to pull on Stella’s fur and can gently tap her with an open palm.
- Started working with Spencer and I on elimination communication on her potty where we successfully catch 1-2 pees and 1-2 poops a day. You can read more on this elimination communication journey here!
NURSING
We started baby led weaning around six months old. Our little one continues to enjoy a variety of foods as much as she loves nursing! She continues to eat solids 2-3 times per day (consistency lunch and dinner) and either nurses with me or takes a bottle at childcare.
I feel very blessed nursing sessions continue to go so well as she has no problem switching between a bottle of breastmilk to nursing with me. We cherish each moment as I know at some point the nursing sessions will lessen. I definitely feel all the emotions as I realize one day it will end and often catch myself saying ‘that’s it?’ after a 5 minute or less nursing session. The baby FOMO is real – ha!
As time goes on, she has continued to reduce the amount of nursing sessions and shortens some more than others. I always laugh when she pops off and pushes herself away to immediately crawl across the floor to do something else. To this point I had one painful moment where she dismounted and did not quite unlatch fast enough (ouch!). Definitely can not force a ten month old to do something they do not want to do!
We have experimented with dropping a feed around lunch as she naturally shows less interest in certain nursing sessions when she has a big solid meal. I am confident the amount she nurses combined with solids that she is getting exactly what she needs each day. I always have to remind myself my body is doing exactly as it is designed to do. We are providing her with all she needs.
EATING SOLIDS
When reaching for her food, she gravitates towards food with the most amount of color. A majority of her meals are consumed at home or childcare where she uses the ezpz plate, this straw cup or ezpz weighted cup and the skip hop 4-in-1 high chair. If you would like more information on the basic essentials of baby led weaning check out my blog post here!
During the ninth month, little one developed her pincher grasp. She continues to pick smaller pieces of food, especially as the size of food has changed from large finger length pieces to bite sized pieces. She has always used spoons along with her hands, however we introduced this set of fork / spoon which as helped to pierce items and allow more food to enter her mouth with success. Additional this month her long sleeved bibs fit better (with the help of a clothes pin).
There are not many foods she does not enjoy. She is always down for any meals which include a meatball, avocado, mashed potatoes and all the fruit!
SLEEP
We started sleep ‘training’ from a young age and are very happy with the success. We wanted to ensure the best sleep habits for her as she developed while maximizing sleep for everyone in the household.
Each day consists of two naps ranging from 30 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes. Wake windows are currently two to three and a half hours.
Little one goes to bed between 6-7 PM each night. This varies based on the time of her last nap of the day. She sleeps soundly, unless she is teething and needs extra cuddles. During this time we see her wake 1-2 times without being able to self sooth back to sleep easily.
Each night we have a dream feed before I go to bed. She consistently wakes at 4-5 AM. This nursing session is called our ‘snooze’ because she will go back down until 6AM or 7AM. Lately this has been interfering with her first nap, therefore we will likely start waking up at 4-5 AM!
She sleeps in her sleep sack in her own bedroom. We recently lowered her mattress to ensure safe sleep habits as she has started to sit up within her crib.
PLAY
Little one enjoys playing with a variety of objects both with others and independently. A lot of the items she enjoys exploring are ones have always had on hand. We tend to thrift our purchases from places like Facebook Marketplace or at local resale shops like Kid – to – Kid. Additionally, the Dollar Store is a great place to find inexpensive items for play!
We recently set up stations around our house so we could complete other household tasks (like vacuuming) while she plays. For example, encouraging her to play in designated cabinets, filling the lowest drawers on cupboards with toys and preparing various toys stacked around each main room where she can sit, stand or lay to play.
Below are a few favorites currently:
- VTech Sit to Stand Walker
- Wood Walker with blocks
- Play piano gym and xylephone
- Any and all books – particular favorites include board books like this ‘Babies Love Kittens‘ one where there are flaps which can be lifted up and down.
- Anything we have in our hands (especially kitchen utensils, books, anything that makes noise or can shake)
- Balls of any kind
- Dog toys (anything with a squeaker)
- Air vents (she loves to run her hands up and down them)
How old is your little one? What is their favorite activity right now!
