OK, soooo boring to some, but really useful for others....it's the latest baby update!! Yep we've hit the 10 month milestone and I wanted to document what that's like and how we are finding life at the moment. It's a funny age as she's really losing her babyness (is that even a word?) and her biggest development is that she's really trying to be on the move via a bum shuffle. I find it fascinating but also fascinating seeing peoples reaction when she does it! She's rejected crawling and has found her own technique to be independent, some days I think about attaching cloths to her bum so she can clean the floor at the same time! The hilarious thing is when I googled bum shuffling it came up with one person saying it can mean the child will be poor at reading and writing in the future. What a load of s*** you learn from the internet right?! One thing I do know is she must be building up some serious muscle to do it, it's quite a talent in my biased eyes ;) She went through about two days of using the baby walker to take some steps on her own but has since dismissed that and refuses to perform on demand. Poor child. Finn predicts she will be walking by Christmas so watch this space...
Teeth - ok we have FINALLY got one tooth (well a teeny white bit) thats just popped through, all feels pretty late to me. Wow, what a nightmare that was. Finn never had any teething experiences like she has. We have had endless night wakings, clinginess, runny nose and illness to go with it... is this going to happen with every tooth? She's been a total misery guts so I really hope not!! Its also meant serious loss of appetite which brings me onto another painful area at this age (well most ages) - FOOD! We have super good days and super bad days, not much in between. Im going through phases of being a super mum and making and freezing batches of food (Annabel Karmel Chicken and apple balls and Sweet Potato and chicken most recently) and days where the old Ellas pouches are in force. It seems to be everything needs to have a sweetness to be consumed, if at all... I am getting so fed up with the rejection. One trick I have found is she likes to feel like she's feeding herself - putting the plate in front of her and she attempts to do it (Im not good with mess which is why we don't normally do it) but it mostly ends up on the floor. I've also discovered a great way to get her to drink more water - a straw, she bloody loves a straw! Also drinking from my cup is the guaranteed way to make her happy. She's still having formula milk three times a day and Im starting to consider moving onto a sippy cup instead of a bottle for it as thats the done thing isn't it??
She loves the 'TV nanny' (as do I), with Teletubbies, any kind of fun theme songs and the Go Jetters being her favourites. She claps along, happy as larry. She has also started saying a few words, the usual - 'mama', 'dada', 'bye bye' and also 'baby' (well at least I think thats what she's saying?) and is pretty good at repeating words and sounds back to you. She spends her life trying to get Finn's little lego pieces in her mouth, it's a constant battle and Finn likes to shout 'NO' at her like a dog. Its always the way, if you can't have something you want it even more so it's a daily battle keeping the lego out of her way. She still hasn't really got much of a baby social life spending a lot of time at home with me, we do baby swimming once a week (although endless winter colds mean its often a no show from us) we go to the park if its not freezing for some swing time but I am starting to feel bad about her limited interaction with other babies. Yes mum guilt is always there!
She turns into a wriggling, rolling octopus from about 6pm. Anyone else have this issue? Trying to keep them still, especially post bath (she is a proper water baby and loves to splash unlike Finn who will scream if water touches his face), getting them into pjs and trying to have some quiet/down time is pretty challenging. She is still a good sleeper, having a morning nap and an afternoon nap and tends to sleep 7pm - 6am as long as its not an illness or teething day. Sorry, she has always been a good sleeper and I don't like to brag but get a sleep trainer if you are struggling yourself! Thats what we did, cant recommend it enough.
Can you believe she's going to be doing two days a week at nursery from January, feeling sad but elated at the prospect of actually having a couple of full days a week to get stuff done! And first birthday planning will commence in January. Need to start on those cake ideas....
Life is challenging and exhausting, life with two kids is full on and total respect to mums who have two (or more!) at home all week, Finn being at nursery is a total life saver. Our house is filled with never ending piles of stuff and complete crap, even more so now Christmas is nearly here - advent calendars and what not. I'm literally on the verge of putting the evil giant jumparoo away which has dominated our sitting room floor for the past five months. I spend my life holding a dustpan and brush, wiping the floors, finding old bits of food and de-crusting the baby porridge that has made a home underneath the table. I long for the day to have no clutter and crumbs but at the same time long for these days of smiley baby and toddler meltdowns to remain, they go too fast and I'm trying to enjoy them through the haze of coffee induced motherhood. Lets see what the next couple of months brings x
In images: Milestone Cards by Cheryl Rawlings, The Future Tee by Mere Soeur, Moccasins from Amy & Ivor