Ten Months {Rory}

Rory is ten months old today! There have been many new developments since his last birthday post, so let’s get right to it.

He weighs 25.2 pounds and measures about 29 inches tall. He is wearing anywhere from a size 12-month to 18-month in clothing and is in a size 4 diaper. (By comparison, at the same age his big brother weighed 24 pounds and measured 29 inches tall. I went back to Riley’s ten month post and read what he had accomplished by now, and I’ll say one thing: Rory is way behind. WAY behind.)

Here’s what happened this past month:

• We are supposed to be transitioning him to chunkier foods, but I had so many stage twos left that I continued to give him those most of the month. He ate pretty well, except when he was sick a couple of weeks ago. But then I had the nerve to give him his first taste of a stage 3 (chicken noodle) on January 9, after which he lost practically the entire contents of his stomach. So we’ll need to work on that.
• He still clamps his mouth shut when he doesn’t want any more, but he has also started pushing the spoon away, too, for extra effect.

• Finger foods aren’t progressing all that well either. He seems to like regular Cheerios okay, as well as Gerber cheese puffs. Still no interest in Puffs, though. I have also tried to give him little pieces of various things, like bagel, banana, ham, etc., but he makes awful faces and pushes everything out with his tongue. Getting him to eat table food is going to be quite a challenge. He just doesn’t like the textures.
• He still drinks four bottles a day, ranging from 6-8 ounces each, and he’s starting to hold the bottle on his own every now and then. His spit-up issue is also essentially gone, aside from the very occasional and minor incident.

• His first tooth finally poked through on December 26. He still isn’t drooling as much as his brother did while teething, but his gums definitely seem to be bothering him. So it’s no surprise that he is often chewing on something throughout the day.
• He started popping his paci out of his mouth and then putting it back in, so I added a “pop!” sound effect each time he does it, which makes him smile.
• His first word was most definitely “mama.” He says it quite often.

• When he’s holding something and I need him to switch it to his other hand so I can get him dressed, undressed, etc., he instantly complies when I tell him “switch hands.”
• He first crawled on December 27 and hasn’t stopped since. He gets around really well now. He can also sit himself up on his own; I first found him sitting up in his crib on December 30.

• He can support his own weight while standing and holding onto something and seems to love his new vantage point. He has also just started to try to pull himself up, but he hasn’t quite figured it out yet.

• He is very attuned to some of his daily routine: he automatically leans forward when I go to put his bib on before a meal, and he pulls his arms down and back so I can strap him into his highchair, too. He also switches hands without me having to prompt him when I wash his arms in the tub. Smart boy.
• He loves playing with doorstops. He is also starting to enjoy playing by himself on the floor, mostly with anything that’s his brother’s, like the shopping cart. But he does still like to know that I’m close by.

• I’m trying to teach him to clap his hands, and he seems to understand somewhat. I’ve also had to start telling him “no-no” since he has started crawling. He’s getting into things he hadn’t even noticed before. He’ll stop, sit up, and look at me, but I don’t think he really knows what “no” means yet.
• He is very ticklish on his sides and under his arms. I’ve gotten some good laughs out of him when I play tickle monster!
• A bit of shyness developed this past month: when someone greets him, he’ll sometimes smile but turn away and bury his face into me. So cute.

Ten months old!