The Ingle Family: 10 Months Old

Jeezzzzzzzzzzze.

We have a 10 month old! This past month has probably been the busiest and most exhausting one yet. For some reason, we had expected the exhaustion to be overwhelming us instantly the moment he was born. However, for us - it really has not been an issue until he starting moving around more. I DREAM of the moments months ago where he would stay swaddled up and cuddly (because he didn't have the option to arch his back, roll, or crawl out of my arms). These days, moments of stillness are few and far between. He is constantly on the move and is SO curious about his surroundings. We joke about his "baby cage" (pack and play), but really, we sometimes just have to plop him in there so that we can get a few minutes to just sit down and relax. We also have perfected a "living room barricade" where we block off his access to the hall, the front door, the fan and the fireplace.

Ben loves to crawl around (quickly!) and all the way up the stairs (with us following behind, of course). He makes a really cute sound when he is super excited about something he is crawling towards - kind of a breathy grunt. He still will only crawl with his left knee and right foot, but hey - it gets him where he needs to go!

He pulls up onto everything he can. He will now let go with both hands and stand for several seconds. He has attempted to take a step, but will immediately fall after that. If he is very far from something he wants to go towards, he will crouch down and just crawl there. I feel like we are very close to walking - but really, who knows? I think the leg strength is there, but the confidence is not 100% yet :)

We have FINALLY figured out nap time (knocking on wood). He takes his first nap between 9 and 10 am, usually for an hour. His second nap will start between 1 and 2 pm, and will last from 2-3 hours typically. And bed time - well, it's heaven. He goes to sleep at 8 pm and sleeps until 7 am and rarely wakes up throughout the night these days. Oddly enough, now that we are getting complete and uninterrupted nights of sleep, we feel more tired than ever :)

Ben has 6 teeth now!! He uses them to eat a LOT of different things now! We definitely feed him 3 meals a day - I feel like I'm starting to get a hang of this. Ben nurses 5 times a day, and I'm hoping over the next month or so to reduce that to 4. I am completely and totally OVER pumping at work - and I think my body is too. I rarely get enough for a full feeding now. While I definitely have mixed feedings about being near the "end" of breastfeeding, I am certainly looking forward to eliminating all pumping sessions.

I think that it is time for me to go through and remove all of his 9 month gear from his closet. The onesie's are getting way too tight, and the pants reveal way too much "diaper bulge" for my liking. The bin of clothes that no longer fit is getting to be overly stuffed, yet, I cannot bring myself to go through and determine which items to keep and which to give away.

Ben now says "dada", "nana" (nah-nah), and occasionally will say "mama". He is great at mimicking. His latest trick is to wave "bye bye", but this only occurs after we stand in front of him waving like idiots for a lonnnnnng time. It is SO awesome though :)

He enjoys playing with his toys. We received a new Citrus Lane box this month (still LOVING the montly boxes, BTW) and it had a toy car in it. Ben will sit and spin the wheels and "drive" it along the fireplace.

Love the cheek angle in this one.

He is actually starting to get into using his binky once in awhile, which is so strange to see. I have mixed feelings on this too - do I allow him to use it, and then potentially get super attached to it this late in the game? Or do I enjoy the fact that he can use it to self soothe (particularly at nap time) when he sometimes is needing a little consoling? I think for now I will let him have it - he looks so cute when he has it: