Nolan's Ten Month Update

We've reached the double digits!  Nolan is ten months old, and even crazier, only two months away from being a year old.  INSANE!  My not-so-little baby is not a baby anymore, and more like a toddler!  He continues to be a joy and overall happy, giggly little guy.  He is always babbling and his favorite word, by far, is Dog-dog.  He is still overly obsessed with his dog-dog, and chases Harley around constantly.  If he's not following him, he's trying to give him his toys or throw his toys at the dog, always wants to play, and can't understand why the dog wants to sleep instead!  His favorite thing to do is playing fetch with Harley, and even though Harley rarely brings his toys back, they do genuinely enjoy playing with each other daily.  Nolan loves dogs so much, he can identify any dog in a book, on T.V., while we are out and about, or even if he hears barking.  He'll let you know by screaming, DOG DOG!  DOG DOG!  He's also learning the difference between animals, as he tends to call lots of different things "dog."  He is obsessed with reading his two doggie books every night before bed, and willingly asks for them every time.  He enjoys any toy that resembles a dog (see above picture) and laughs at the sight of any new dog-related thing! 

He has improved his walking abilities and is likely to be found cruising all over the place still with his walker, barely holding on to furniture or our hands and scaling the walls (yes, the walls!).  Nolan took his first steps without assistance on October 23rd.  He has mastered getting around pretty much every way except crawling, and still can't pull himself up on much.  Once he is up, though, he is on the go, and has learned how to lower himself down from standing position.  He enjoys a challenge and has mastered picking things up from standing, as well.  He does get frustrated quite easily, though, and if something is blocking his path, he will let you know!  Another favorite of Nolan's is playing chase ("I'm gonna get you!), as he scoots on his butt away from you, constantly turning his head back to make sure you are "chasing" him and laughing.  

Nolan learned more fun things this month, and can blink his eyes when asked.  He can tell you what sound a monkey makes, by saying "Ah, ah ah" and usually bouncing up and down.  He is learning to test his limits and learning his rights from wrongs.  He will scoot in a hurry to something he knows he shouldn't be doing or playing with (the dog bowls, blinds, wall outlets) and try to get there before we reach him.  Once we pick him up and say "No, no no", he shakes his head "No".  He definitely doesn't like being told "No" as he continues to through his little temper tantrums here and there... and boy, does he have a temper!  Although he's a very happy baby, when he's mad, he.is.MAD.  Nolan has started the toddler tantrums where he throws himself down on the floor (arches his back and throws himself, or if he's already on the floor, he will sandwich himself in half and throw his head between his legs).  He mostly does this when things aren't going his way, like when he needs to be put in the carseat, when he's taken away from an area he shouldn't be, or when we move to another activity and he isn't quite "done" with the first.

One big new adventure Nolan started this month was his first Mommy & Me class!  It is a Gymboree class held at the recreation center, and is once a week for a half hour.  Nolan is the youngest in his class of about 8-15 kids, depending on the day.  Most of the other babies are 14-16 months old, so there is a decent age gap between them, yet he keeps up!  He loves free time as he can explore the toys and gym equipment (balls, mats, hoola hoops, trampoline, hanging bar) and loves to watch the other kids.  He interacts well with them, but at this age, they don't really interact much with each other, they all just do their own thing!  His favorite part is when the instructor brings out the bubbles, and he screeches and screams happy screams for them.  Overall, I would say he enjoys the class.  He is still working on being a little more outgoing, though.  Nolan isn't shy around those he is familiar with and in familiar surroundings, but when faced with a new situation in a group, he tends to become a little emotional.  During circle time and group activities, Nolan can be found clinging to my neck and usually starts with the pout face.  Once everyone starts singing together (or clapping), he just can't handle it!  It's a little overwhelming for the poor guy.  Even more overwhelming is parachute time.  Every class, the parachute makes an appearance, and the babies are put in the middle of the parachute while the parents hold the edges and move in a circle.  Nolan screamed the first time, the second time, the third time... I'm pretty sure it will take a while to warm up to the parachute!  

Other new things for little man this month:

Height, Weight, and Sizes: 
No well-check until his first birthday, but Nolan is measuring about 21 pounds on our home scale.  His active lifestyle is slimming down his baby fat and rolls, which makes Mommy sad.  He gained another tooth, cutting his 5th tooth (bottom left incisor) on November 3rd.  Nolan has again grown through his clothes quickly, as he's moving into 18 month clothing.  He wears mostly 18 month pajamas, a mixture of 12-18 month shirts and onesies, and his bottoms are still a little smaller in 12 months sizes.  He has moved to size 4 diapers, but I can see him staying in these for a while.

Feeding:

Nolan continues the same eating routine as last month, as he eats more like a toddler now than a baby!  He is getting pickier with his purees and always prefers finger foods and to feed himself.  Instead of offering purees first, I now offer finger foods (typically a whole "meal") and if he is still hungry, will offer a container or half of a container of purees.  This kid can EAT!  He pretty much eats everything now, minus a few things that are just not safe for him yet.  He has become more selective with what he is eating, although he likes everything.  If given the choice, he will prefer one food over another on his tray, so I try to give him the better food first, and then follow up with his other options.  For example, if he is having a cheese quesadilla, black beans and avocado for dinner, I will offer the avocado and beans first to make sure he eats those, because the second I take the quesadilla out, he's only focused on that cheesy goodness for the rest of the meal!  

Certain foods make Nolan dance around like he's never eaten before... Cheerios, cheese, Puffs, and Teddy Grahams are just to name a few.  If I didn't limit his intake of these, he would turn into these foods because he just won't stop!

Nolan still gets 4 bottles of breastmilk a day (20-24 ounces), and I have completely weaned off of pumping as of the first week of November.  I had mixed emotions about when to stop pumping, but my supply had severely dropped after moving to two pump sessions a day, and realized with all of the frozen milk we had, Nolan could most likely make it until his first birthday on breastmilk.  Knowing that, I decided to part ways with my Medela.  I was SO thrilled to get a sliver of time back in my life, but I was also a little sad to end this chapter.  It's just another reminder that my baby isn't a baby anymore!  Overall, I can't believe that we started this exclusive pumping journey with a goal of making it to just a few weeks of pumping!  I went from thinking I couldn't breastfeed at all, to lengthening out each goal- three weeks, three months, six months, nine months... 10 whole months of exclusively pumping and one whole year of breastmilk later!  Total, I produced enough milk for Nolan to get his daily ounces for the first 10 months, plus over 2500 ounces of frozen milk that should get him past his first birthday.  I couldn't be happier!

Sleeping:

Nolan continues the same sleep schedule as last month, lengthening out his awake time just a little bit more and pushing his naps a little later in the day.  He continues to wake between 6:30AM-7:00AM, and still goes down for his first nap  around 9:45AM-10:00AM (hour to an hour and a half).  The afternoon nap gets pushed a little later since he isn't quite as tired until about 2:45PM-3:00PM, and again will sleep for at least an hour and a half, if not two hours.  Since his nap ends a little later, he gets his bedtime pushed back to about 8:00PM (earlier if he's cranky, though!) and sleeps through the night.   

Firsts & Milestones:

-First steps alone (10.23.14)

-Can make monkey sounds

-Blinks on command

-Gymboree class

-Can lower self from standing to sitting

-Carving a pumpkin

-Halloween and Trick or Treating

-Can pick things up from standing

-Cut his 5th tooth (button left incisor) on 11.3.14

-Identifies all dogs (in books, TV, outside, hearing a bark)

-Toddler tantrums begin

Likes:

-Seseame Street, specifically Elmo obsessed

-Watching birds

-Cheerios

-Sippy cup and drinking out of a straw

-Eskimo kisses

-"bonking" heads

-Being held upside down

-Glasses of water and water bottles 

-Any dog book (or anything with dogs, really)

-Visiting the animals at PetsMart

-Playing "chase"

-Helping Mommy fill the bathtub

-Kicking toys while scooting

-Standing and dancing in crib with the aquarium

-Tipping the dog dishes over and playing in the bowl of water

Dislikes:
-Being confined to carseat

-Filling up the tub without him

-Washing his hands and face after eating

-Pulling him away from something he shouldn't be doing / playing with

-Gymboree group circle time and songs, the parachute at Gymboree

Happy ten months, little buddy!  We love you SO much and love watching you learn and grow!