Ava - 10 Months Old

Another month has been and gone. Ava is now 10 months old and she's coming on leaps and bounds every single week. I can't keep up with her! Babies grow and change way too quickly and it seems to go even faster the second time around. I dread to think how fast it goes with even more children! It doesn't feel like she's been with us for 10 whole months yet at the same time it's hard to remember what it was like without her in our lives. She's totally completed our family and we've all just seemed to merge into one happy family of four. Our family unit is perfect, I couldn't ask for anything more.

Character

She is one of the sweetest and happiest baby that you'll ever meet, we love her to bits. She's easy going, cheerful, excitable, playful, inquisitive, independent, affectionate and funny. She loves to give cuddles and kisses off her own back, which of course we all love too! She can get frustrated from time to time, usually when she can't get to something, can't do something or you take something off her that she really wants. Honestly though, she's such a sweetheart.

 

Size

I had her weighed recently and she is 20lb, which means she is following the 91st centile that she was at birth almost to a tee. It was just below the line on the arch but the health visitor said that's normal as she's crawling about now and will be burning more calories. She wears 9-12 month clothing, some outfits in 6-9 still fit, depending on where they are from. She wears a size 4 nappy. I think we'll be going for her first shoes soon!

Health
She's had a night cough and the odd sniffle here and there but nothing else really. She has six teeth now, although they are all still coming through. So far they've not bothered her at all but she's still got so many to go so I know that can all change!

Feeding
Ava's a fabulous little eater! Anything you put in front of her she'll eat. She prefers to feed herself but will eat from a spoon when it's a yogurt or porridge. She has breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. Her favourite foods are; cheese, grapes, blueberries, yogurt, brioche, pasta, banana, strawberries, raspberries, bread, beans, tomato, cream cheese, fruit pouches. She drinks water and I still breastfeed her too. I breastfeed on demand so I can't say how many times I feed her from day to day, but it's roughly between 6-8 times in 24 hours.

Sleep
On last months update I wrote "Who knows, maybe next month she will be sleeping through!" Whomp whomp whomp! When it comes to sleep everything is still very hit and miss! She's just come out of a leap which set her back a little bit but I think we are slowly there again. She will wake between 1/2 times a night, sometimes for a feed, sometimes just for a cuddle. She has two naps a day but they really vary when it comes to how long she has. She doesn't seem to need much!

Milestones and new tricks
* Her vocabulary is getting bigger. She can now say cat and goes "chuu chuu chuuu" when she spots a cat! She can already say Mama, Dada, hiya, ta, aww.
* She holds things to her ear and pretends to be on the phone.
* She tries to brush her hair and attempts to put her socks on.
* Cruising. She started cruising last week but she's so fast when walking along the furniture, she practically runs.
* She can now walk with her push a long walker. I don't think it will be long until she starts taking her first steps!
* Standing. She can stand and balance for 10-15 seconds at a time and has taken one step before dropping to the floor. She amazes me.

* She understands way more than I realise. For example when I tell her to lay down (when she keeps standing and sitting up in her cot) she does as she's told. 

* She can crawl up the stairs so it's time to get out the stair gates again!

Likes and dislikes
Mummy, Daddy, Noah and the cat. Kisses and cuddles. Cuddling Mummy in bed. When Daddy gets home from work. Picking Noah up from nursery and getting a big cuddle from him. Eating! Especially lunch time. Playing with Noah's toys. Crawling about the house, exploring. Following the cat and trying to cuddle him. Reading books. Blocks and balls. Nursery rhymes. Guitars and Foo Fighters. Going for walks. Playing peekaboo and kiss chase. The play table and push along walker. Happyland figures. Mobile phones and the Xbox controller.  Bath time. Singing and dancing. She doesn't like being in the car, men with beards or having her teeth brushed.

He's crawling.... and he's standing!

To say that Noah is a lazy baby is one big understatement. Where as he is quick to learn new things like how to clap, wave, dance, point and kiss, he is very lazy when it comes to anything physical. He always has been.

I feel a lot of it is down to me because I never gave him enough floor time and would always have him on my knee or snuggled up in my arms. We had been living in a house that was almost fully wood and tile floors so I didn't feel comfortable putting him down for long. Even with a padded play mat it was still a hard surface and I was a bit over protective. 

In the past two weeks Noah has come on leaps and bounds, it's like something has clicked into place. He is now crawling! At long last! I wouldn't necessarily call it a crawl as it's pretty much one of a kind. It's more like a backwards shimmy cross between a bum shuffle? It may not be a normal crawl but it certainly gets him from A to B and it's extremely cute to watch. 

Not only that but in the same week he has also learnt how to pull himself onto his feet from the sitting and kneeling position. The first time he did it we were both in his new nursery and he was kneeling against his baby walker. He then pulled himself up and got onto his feet! I was clapping and squealing "clever boy!" You should of seen the look and the smile on his face, it was priceless! 

Balance wise when he is against something it's perfect and he can stand there for a good 15 minutes at a time. His balance is a work in progress when he stands unaided but we are getting there and practice daily. He will walk a little when holding onto your fingers and when he has a sudden burst of bravery he will let go to see how he fares! He pretty much wants to stand up all the time now and if he's not on his feet he's shimming over to climb all over you! 

It feels like he has learnt so much all at once and it's really hard to keep up with him. I think moving into the new house has really helped with his confidence as he has been able to spend a lot more time on the floor. What with us having lots of carpeted rooms and with every room being virtually baby proof (lack of furniture!) 

I'm immensely proud of him and I know one person who is even more proud and that's Noah himself. When he puts his new skills into action you can see the sense of pride and happiness on his face. 

Babies are marvelous aren't they?! 

Autumn days

Becoming a parent doesn't just change your life forever but it changes you as a person forever too. You don't realise how much so until you have your first child, it's simply indescribable. You experience amazing and humbling moments on a daily basis and I could sit here all night listing them. 

Something I have noticed lately is how you begin to appreciate and notice the little things in life again. The parts of life that had just turned into white noise, the parts you just pass by. 

The three of us recently went on a walk around our local park. After our stroll I took Noah out of his pram and sat him under a large oak tree. He sat there with a big grin on his face, studying every inch of that tree. You could see the wonder in his eyes as he seemed to take everything in. He would kick his legs through all of the fallen Autumnal leaves and pick them up and scrunch them in his hands. Nick and I just sat there with smiles on our faces and our hearts filled with love. Ordinary moments like this are simply magical. 

Photo's of Noah - 10 months old

Baby Diary: 10 Months Old

Okay now this is getting scary, 10 months old. You are now in double figures and in 2 months time you will be 1... I feel like sobbing a little! 

Character

Ever the cheeky, happy and excitable boy that we know and love. You are so much fun but there have been days where you haven't been your happy little self and have been much harder to please. This month your bossy and feisty side has really shone through! I don't know where you get that from *cough cough* You aren't just becoming more strong minded but you are also becoming more loving too by giving me lots of cuddles on a daily basis. 

Size

You haven't been weighed this month but I would guess that you are now into the 20lb mark as you have really bulked out lately. You still have long and skinny limbs but you are solid. You now wear 9-12m in trousers and babygrows but still fit into 6-9m in tshirts and jackets. You wear size 4 nappies. 

Health

This month hasn't been the best when it comes to your health. Nothing major but you have had the occasional cough and cold. You have had a horrible vomitting bug too which not only lasted a couple of days but put you off your food for a week or two. There were two nights where you woke choking on your own vomit and it was terrifying. You still have no teeth but have been showing more signs of teething. I think by our 11 month update we will have a tooth or two.  

Feeding

Nothing has changed when it comes to feeding. You still have x3 5oz bottles a day, around 8oz of water and 3 meals a day. You still adore your food and your new favourite this month is egg mayo sandwiches! You love to feed yourself and sometimes refuse to be spoonfed which isn't ideal when it comes to porridge! You mainly eat what we eat now and you really enjoy sitting down at the table with us. 

Sleep

Sleep has been hit and miss again this month. You are now in another huge leap and these leaps always upset your sleeping pattern. You usually sleep 8pm-8am with 1 feed at around 6am. You used to be able to sleep right through without waking for a bottle so I don't know if you are now just used to having this feed or you are hungry. I think having the vomitting bug and choking on your own sick in the middle of the night two nights running had a negative effect on both bedtime and naptime. After those incidents whenever I would try to settle you you would end up hysterically crying and it took a few days for that to stop.

Milestones

- Speech. You now know the meaning to some of the words you say and you say them in context. Words such as Mama, Dada, Nana, Hiya. 

- Knowledge. You are a very clever baby and I have only really realised this month how many words you actually know. For example if I say "Take your dodo out" and you will look at me, think about it and then take it out. 

- Ta. Now whenever I say "ta" you place whatever you are holding into my hand (but swiftly take it back!)

- Pointing. Now when I ask where certain things are you won't just look at them but you will point too and make a "uh" noise. 

- Crawling. You aren't crawling yet but I think it could be any day now. You can now get yourself from the sitting position into the crawl position and try to move. You usually flop down onto your stomach but you are trying. Whenever you are sitting you always make an attempt to crawl. 

- Kneeling. You can now get into the kneeling position from sitting. 

- Standing. You are getting better with standing now. We dug out a play table we were sent a while back and have been practicing on that. In just a week you have gotten much more confident. 

- Movement. Although you haven't mastered how to crawl yet you are never still. Whenever you are sat down you are always attempting to crawl or reaching for something or other. 

- Waving. You learnt to wave last month but we don't need to ask you to do it anymore you do it all the time. You can also clap, dance, point, kiss and cuddle when we ask you to. 

- You have learnt how to fake a laugh and do it all the time! Along with your fake cough! 

Things you like

- Doc McStuffins. The Doc has become one of your favourites this month a long side Spongebob. I have learnt the words to all the songs so I can sing them to you and you get so excited! "Time for your check up, time for your check up!"

- Butties. You had your first proper sandwich this month and you devoured the whole thing in a matter of minutes.

- Books. You love to be read to and find books very funny too!

- Nap times with Mummy. You sleep so much better when I'm curled up beside you.

- Food. Especially fruit and any food that you can feed yourself. 

- People watching. Your stranger anxiety seems to have mellowed a little this month and you seem a lot more confident around other people. You are really interested in people and what they are doing which is no surprise as you never miss a beat! 

- Diet coke cans. As soon as you see one of those shiny silver cans you try to grab it and get very excited. You are like a little magpie and like shiny things. 

- Music and musical instruments. You love to listen to Daddy play guitar and anything musical you will dance to. My musician in the making. 

- The vac, the hairdryer and the mop! Simple things make you giggle.

Things you don't like

- You always have a good whine when we clean your face or your ears. 

- Being cleaned after a meal. Which is totally unavoidable when you let your 10 month old baby feed themselves! 

- Not being able to crawl. You are really trying to figure out how to crawl and you get so frustrated that you aren't able to move about yet. Poor baby.