10 months

My sweet, sweet boy,

Today, you are 10 months old. Double digits!! It's bittersweet to know you'll never be a single-digit month-age ever again in your entire life. Yes, I think about things like that. Yes, I'm a sap. And ten months? Do you even realize how close that is to a year?

This month has been amazing in a way that's totally different than the last couple of months. Those months were marked with a flurry of new skills and abilities and experiences, new teeth and new charms. This month, though? None of that. You had no new teeth (hallelujah for a teething break!!). You had no new big skills. You had no illnesses. You were just steady and sweet and happy. It was a calm month, a welcome month of tranquility after the flurries of the months before.

You ate great this month! We are finally, finally not having to worry about your weight. You are nursing well and eating solids with gusto. I can't wait to get you back to the doctor to see how much you've gained, but each night when I rock you and sing to you, I can feel your weight in my arms. I look down at you and you suddenly seem like such a big boy, no longer the little baby you used to be. You have just about outgrown your infant car seat, but for some reason, I'm dragging my feet on moving your into your big boy chair. Maybe it's one of those last little vestiges of infancy that some deep part of me is sad to cut loose.

Your communication abilities are really developing and it's so amazing to see. You surprise me daily with how much you really understand. In fact, the other day you were playing with a water bottle and were going to leave it behind as we left the room. I turned and told you to go get the water bottle . . . and you know what? You crawled right over to it and picked it up. You do the same thing when I tell you to go play with a ball, or go get a book. And you seem to have an insatiable desire to learn more. You are constantly pointing at different things and saying "da!" (which I interpret as "that!" as in, "what's the name of that thing?!") and you and I walk around naming all the different things in our house. I had forgotten how mind blowing it really is to watch someone figure out the world.

You are an incorrigible flirt. You love girls of all ages and have learned to smile and babble and give kissies, much to the delight of girls young and old. We are going to have our hands full with you for sure.

You are still waking once a night to eat. I have loved our quiet nighttime moments together, and loved knowing that I've been able to feed you as much as you want to help you gain weight. But as soon as I can get confirmation that your weight is back on track, we're going to work on getting you to sleep all the way through the night. I don't know how yet, but I know that it's important for you to learn, one way or another. I'm still waiting on you just dropping that night feeding on your own when you're ready. So . . . you know . . . whenever you're ready. . . .

You are standing on your own for longer and longer stretches now. It still works best when you're distracted. You pull up on something and then let go, and if we can keep you distracted, you'll stand there for a good 10 seconds before slowly dropping down to sit. You're a cruising machine and as much as I know how much more complicated our lives will get when you take that big first step, I know how much you want to be able to move and play and keep up with your sister, and I know how happy you'll be when you're finally able to do that. So, for your sake, baby boy, I hope you're walking soon. (For my sake, though, I'm happy happy happy that you're not quite there yet!)

I know next month will bring big things. I assume our teething break will come to an end. You'll learn more words (right now you're saying "ball," "book," "dada," "Ah-ya" (Ali), "ow," "hi," and "all done"). You might learn to walk. You might learn to sleep all the way through the night. I kind of feel like this last month was our last smooth month of things as we know it before you suddenly become a big boy.

This month has been easy and smooth and relaxed. You've been your wonderful, sweet, happy, laughing, smiling, babbling, snuggling self.

This was a good month.

Thanks for letting me be here to share it with you.

Love forever and ever and a day,
Mom