10 Months with Ford
FORD IS 10-MONTHS-OLD.
AND OFFICIALLY WALKING!
This last month was a blur. Ford has grown so much and my heart grows bigger by the day for him. From starting daycare full-time to taking his first steps, it feels like he is changing SO fast. I love, love, love this stage though! There are more giggles than tears and lots of fun memories to be made.
GROWING & LEARNING
Ford had been working on standing for the last 2-months and just needed to get the courage to let go. The night before we moved out of our old home, he took his first steps! I couldn’t believe it. It felt so perfect and is the best memory to end that chapter in our first home. He is now taking a few steps here and there, but is still working on his stability and confidence. The most steps he has taken in a row is around 6-7 steps! I have a feeling in the next few weeks he will be running. CRAZY!
Remember that separation anxiety we were dealing with last month? It has gotten much better, but he is still all about his mom, which I don’t mind one bit. If he’s tired, hungry or in a mood - he will tug on my legs until I hold him. And I’m learning to embrace those needy cuddles because they feel less and less by the day. I think a lot of it was due to him starting full-time daycare and just wanting all of my attention when we are together. I love that he is learning to be around other babies and adults and I think daycare was the best option for both of us.
Beyond the physical, he is also babbling like crazy. For awhile, he mostly said ‘Da-Da’ but is now starting to make new sounds. I love pointing out things and explaining what they are. I have a feeling his next word will either by ‘dog’ or ‘Otis’ (our dog.) He is fascinated by books with animals - especially ones that have touch-and-feel elements. Still LOVES music and will bop around to the beat - we play the Super Simple Nursery Rhymes YouTube for about 15-to-20 minutes a day, but are still trying to limit screen time. Luckily, he isn’t interested in our phones (yet).
SLEEP
Sleep has been A LOT better, but there always seems to be a pattern of 2-weeks of solid sleep (8pm - 6:00am) followed by a few rough nights of Ford waking up really EARLY (around 5:30am). Whether it’s due to teething, developmental change or just over exhaustion, I do not know… but for the most part, it is getting better! At this point, I’ve given up on the idea of sleeping in but am thankful that he is going down for bed much easier.
Within the last month, we stopped nursing before bed and it’s made a huge difference. Before, he would want to nurse and get cozy and would start to doze off a little before I put him in the crib, which led to some tears and often around 10-15 minutes of crying. Now, my husband gives him a bottle and puts him in the crib and he doesn’t even cry. It’s amazing!
I think breastfeeding makes sleep so much harder because they love the comfort of you.
Also, I am happy to report that naps are improving! He went from fighting any nap unless next to me or in the carseat to taking 45-minute naps twice a day in the crib. It’s a miracle! He doesn’t nap great at daycare, but he comes home happy and then crashes at night, so I can’t complain.
For the most part, we are all getting enough sleep at this stage (minus the early wake-up’s), which is an amazing feeling.
FEEDING
We are almost completely done breastfeeding.
I thought I would be sad about it, but I am not. He’s less interested in the breast and only ever wants to nurse if he randomly wakes up at night or first thing in the morning. For the most part, I am down to nursing 1x within 24-hours and it’s usually in the early morning.
He is doing so well with the bottle (we are giving him formula). For awhile, he fought it and would grab my shirt and try to nurse if I gave him the bottle. But now, he snuggles me and holds the bottle on his own. It’s so different than before when we were exclusively breastfeeding. It feels so freeing to not have to pump or nurse every 3-4 hours and he is doing much better (less needy) now. I think we will be 100% done BF by the end of June. I am at peace with it - almost 10 months of breastfeeding is pretty damn amazing. I am proud of my body, but also thankful that formula (and food) can sustain him at this point.
Speaking of food, Ford loves solid foods. We barely did any purees or pouches because he just wants the real deal! We did Baby Led Weaning and basically went straight to solids. He loves peas, corn, chicken, beef sausage, bananas and butternut squash. We try to feed him a variation of what we are having for meals, but he is also eating lunch at daycare now. I love he will try anything and for the most part - enjoys it!
FAVORITE THINGS AND GROWING OUT OF…
Ford loves…
Climbing anything and everything
Toys he can push and make noise (cars, walkers, his toy vacuum, etc.)
Listening to music (the Simple Nursery Rhymes station is on repeat)
Playing peek-a-boo
Going on long walks when the weather is nice
Visiting new places and being out-and-about with us
Eating and exploring new foods
Swim lessons at Goldfish Swim School
Pop-up or touch-and-feel books
Bathtime
Ford is growing out of:
Anything that keeps him confined
Toys that aren’t interactive
Taking naps in the stroll
Baby food (purees): he wants the real deal and has the his pincher fingers down!