10 Months

Oh, Sweet Eleanor,

Halfway into your eleventh month and here I am posting your letter. I am just keeping with my system though of being a little behind. Mostly because I am always trying to keep up with you!

This month has just been a joy. Just like all the rest. Even though you are not always the best sleeper and you are pretty stubborn like your parents, watching you continue to learn, change and develop your personality is just so amazing. That's basically the word that always comes to mind: amazing.

This month you are crawling around at the speed of light, pulling up on everything and cruising along furniture, walls and cupboards. Oh, the cupboards, they keep you so amused! You have taken little half steps but then fall into whoever you are aiming for. You think it's pretty funny. You clap, dance, give kisses and babble up a storm. We have noticed many different sounds this month also, with your tongue, you make a little hissing sound, you have ba, ma, da, nya all down and you string them all together. I'm pretty sure you have looked right at me and said mama a few times now and although Dad was hesitant to accept you saying dada I jumped right on my name and know you know who I am!

You are getting into some 12 month clothes and definitely 12 month pants and even some 18 month. Again, mostly because of your diapers. You had your well visit at 9 1/2 months and you were 28 inches long and 18.5 pounds. Still petite but again mostly average in everything and still steadily growing. I don't know how you couldn't be growing because you still love to eat, feeding yourself and nursing. You basically have three food meals a day and then nurse in between putting you at eating something about every two to two and half hours.

Your sleep, again, is a little hit and miss. You have good stretches of going down between 730-8 pm and sleeping until 4-5am, nursing and going back down but then we hit a rough patch with what we thought was another little cold but then the next week you had a tooth pop through and another close behind. So, we wondered if it really was a cold or just the weirdness that we have heard can come with teething. That's right, your first tooth at 10 months 2 days. For the most part, you have been great. During the day you are happy as a clam, it was just a couple of nights that we thought the teeth were bugging you and we did end up giving you some Tylenol. It's hard to tell if it helps or not but I hope it took a little of the edge off. As far as naps we are still mostly all over the board. It seems like we can usually count on a morning nap although we can't always count on how to get you down for that whether it be rocking, nursing, walking, etc. The afternoon nap is the tough one. It is clear that you need it because you do become whiny and clingy, you just fight it like a mad woman! Sometimes I just give up, get dinner a little early and try to get your bedtime routine going so that it distracts you from being whiny. Bedtime still goes smoothly so that's nice.

You still love to be outside, we visited the pumpkin patch, which you loved. You love playing with other babies and you are back to enjoying car rides. You like going to the store with me and riding in the Ergo although we have put you in the cart a couple times and I think that may start winning out because you love that and act like such a big girl! We got to go for quite a few afternoon walks this past month because we had such beautiful weather and you enjoyed your stroller. Sometimes I would do that if you weren't showing signs of going down for a nap and you would just sit back and relax in the stroller.

Eleanor, I just want to soak up everyday as much as I can because I just can't believe how time is flying by. Your personality just cracks me up everyday and you are such a joy to be around. Yes, there are tough days and I do lose my patience at times but know that it is always me that I am being impatient with. I am working at just knowing you are just a little person who goes through the same things I do. Bad days, bad moods, tummy aches, head aches, etc. You are such a wonderful light in our lives and your dad and I could not be more proud to be your parents.

Love you so much, baby girl.

Xoxo,
Mama

I am still taking monthly photos, just haven't gotten around to taking this one on the big camera yet. ;) Gave up on the weeklies at about 6 months but I want 12 pictures of her once we hit one year!