About the Kiddo: One post at a time: Ten Months Old

Here we are. Another month down. Another number added.

Today, Nolan is ten months old. It just doesn't seem real. I know I make that comment every month and it holds true. I look at this most adorable little boy, who stole my heart a long, long time ago and I have two thoughts: This kid is so awesome and He cannot already be this big.

I've been absent in blog world for a bit. That's because we're crazy. Moving across the country with a four month old just didn't satisfy our insaneness. No, we had to move again with our 10 month old 10 days before Christmas. [what were we thinking?!]

I think it'll be one of those things that's so worth it in hindsight. Because, we scored an amazing house! That's mere steps from the beautiful lagoon here, and a mile from the bay. It has a lot of space and I am soaking up the freedom of not having to share walls with people anymore.

Nolan? He's having a hay day with it. There's tons of boxes and crap everywhere, he likes pulling up on them and exploring what's inside (ahem, pulling it all out). So really, he's just helping unpack ;)

He pulls up on anything and everything these days. He can climb himself up on a flat wall even and cruise along to wherever he's trying to get. He can stand by himself for a few seconds at a time. But, I'm not estimating first steps happening anytime too soon. I'm guessing he's still a few months away, putting him around his first birthday.

He did start letting completely go of one thing to move to another, requiring a few seconds of balance in between the objects though. It's so cute watching his confidence build.

He still prefers the army crawl to the all-fours crawl. Don't know why, and I don't care. He gets around just fine with it :)

It's a blast watching him develop a little bit of autonomy. He's at a stage where if he can do it, he wants to. Like things with toys, or feeding himself. He use to let you put something in his mouth (like finger foods), but now, he insists on taking it from you and doing it himself. He's practiced a few times with doing a spoon. If I put food on the spoon and hand it to him, about half of the time he gets it into his mouth. I don't let him play with it much though, I don't want him getting too many grounded ideas about playing with his food. But, we do it enough for him to get practice.

His favorite cup is still the straw cup, and at this point I'm probably just going to stick with it.

Just a few nights after my last post, his sleeping habits returned to normal (yay!). Not sure what that was all about, but glad we're past it for now.

He is a clingy little boy. He likes to examine new people first, but if you touch him or even get too close and he isn't sure about you there's sure to be tears. Some sweet little lady sort of got too close to his face in the store and just gently squeezed his little foot while telling him how cute he was. It took about two seconds before he was screaming and reaching for me. I like to talk soothingly to him in those moments, while letting him touch some part of me, but not picking him up. I get it. Object permanence. It's something babies develop around 7-9 months. It also creates stranger anxiety (the level of which is dependent upon their secure attachment). I'm his safe place, that's fine. But, I want to help him learn that other things are okay too. If I jerked him up and coddled him every time it happened I'd only make it worse. Now, if he becomes hysterical... I do pick him up.

He's whiny too. Won't pretend like he's not. When it's close to a nap time or the end of his day, there's no pleasing him.

Even more so now, because he has two itty bitty teeth pushing through on the bottom. You can just barely see them. They're taking their sweet time ;) I think I saw one on the top as well. Oy. Nolan's 'first' tooth is looking like it's going to be three instead. He's not cooperative with letting you investigate though.

But, when he's not sleepy, he is super smiley. He's started doing this new little chuckle sound that makes me giggle every time.

I'm not sure he has one favorite toy these days. He such a curious little thing, always exploring things. He doesn't seem to have time to sit and play with just one thing for too long.

His favorite food is still sweet potato/mango and bananas. He's really not liking a lot of vegetables that he use to - or fruit. Maybe he's just over pureed foods or something. He does so much better with finger foods right now.

I was working with him on nodding his head 'yes' for things and he's taken it over board. He nods all the time now. It. Is. Adorable.

So he'll be over there bobbing his head and chuckling while you're talking to him and if you don't laugh, you aren't human. It's so funny/cute.

The snort. The snort has increased in appearance. We joke with him about only snorting when we're playing (like he understands). It's so dang cute, and it's another one of those things that sparks laughter out of me. But, it's starting to appear a little too much when he's mad at you for something.

I did it, people. I popped my baby's hand. He kept trying to stick his fingers in an outlet the first day we moved into the house and for the life of me I couldn't find the box with the outlet covers in it. I've decided that through infancy, if it's a matter of safety, some sort of immediate negative consequence does need to happen for him. Beyond that, I'm all about choices and reasoning, etc. But, you can't force logic into a baby's head. So... some other immediate negative consequence needs to happen (in my opinion).

Also, daddy totally told on him. I'd tried the stern "no" and common "find something else to do." Of course he doesn't understand meanings, but he can understand manner. He definitely knew something was up. I'd move him provide some other enticing thing, but within seconds he was going right back.

I'd do it again and then turn from him (as to not give him any further attention). When my back was turned Cory said, "Um, he's doing it again."

So, I pulled his hand away and (ever so gently, in my opinion) popped it, while doing the previously stated actions of giving a verbal cue and removing him from the situation.

His face was so shocked. He was looking at me like, "What have you done?" as soon as I'd put him down in a new area the dramatic tears started. I ignored it for about a minute, then I gave him a hug and a kiss while wiping tears away - and explained why everything had happened.

Again, I know he can't understand. But, some day, he will start to understand and I want him to always remember it being this way. You shouldn't discipline children because you're mad at them (if you do, you've made it about you and not about them/the behavior). You shouldn't punish them. Discipline is about correcting a behavior. Of course, I want him to still feel safe even when he's in trouble. And I'd never want him to feel like I was mad at him over it or loved him less or anything like that (especially as a toddler). I want him to understand, even as a young one, that discipline is about right and wrong and not much more. Or, as a state too often in my own blog... that's my opinion anyway.

A lot of you know I'm good at stern and I plan to be with my own child as well when it comes to discipline. I just want to instill a healthy fear of what's right and wrong in him. Along with a generous amount of gentle kindness, love, and forgiveness. We all know the world needs more of those things.

But, that's a longer post for another day.

Today is just about how awesome my 10 month old is :)