Double Digits! She's 10 months old!

hair: I'm sure this girl will have a wave or curls, the hair just behind her neck is turning inwards when dry. Definitely dad's genes at work.
eyes: brown centres, grey rims
weight: Chunks of love

head: no new teeth this last month, no signs of more teeth coming in the next week. i only have great relief for this because the 8th month was beyond cray (total of 6!). please be easy on me month 10! best facial expressions and sheer excitement when we're about to wake up her brother in the morning. stoked when we arrive at the door, she's bouncing in my arms and already giggling. I usually let her see Max first, and once they make eye contact her face transforms into genuine sibling love and admiration. sounds cheesy, but no joke, she really loves her brother. I'm super glad when he's awake because it literally takes weight off of my shoulders, he can entertain her well.

cries: learned how to fake cry- looks like a cry, nose scrunched, eyes sometimes closed, mouth open, no tears, and easily reversed with me picking her up or a change up of what she's doing. she's got 4 distinct cries: 1) pain 2) fake cry 3) scared by a male stranger 4) protesting sleep or being put down on floor 5) woke up from nap cry. otherwise, straight forward.

GI: good eater and appetite. the only time I'm spoon feeding her is during part 1 of her breakfast which is 2 cubes of apple sauce. all the other meals she feeds herself. current perpetual menu options around here are mojo's from Safeway, scrambled egg yolks, any meat on our menu, mum mum's, star puffs, pizza crust, apples. i try to give her what we're eating along side something i know she loves so she fills up

Feeding: i don't feel like her nursing sessions are full feeds anymore, but instead are snacks or top ups to hold her over until it's time for her real meal. i based this on the way her latch looks and feels to me. Although they continue to be ultra comforting for her, feeds have definitely reduced in frequency. I'm feeding after breakfast, sometimes before lunch if we're out and i can't stop the crew to eat yet or have a snack handy. feed sometime just prior to sleeping. Feed for sure after 2nd nap, and for sure as part of our bed time routine. sometimes she just wants a connection feed as even a short, maybe 2 minute latch session is enough to settle any fussiness.

GU: pampers baby dry #4

skin/body: pink undertones, chunks of cuteness, sweaty after nap. slim face shape.

communication: she learned to point. lots of baby babbling. less squawking. she recognizes her name. she says 'mama mama' but not sure if it's me = mamma. she also says 'dada dada' but not directly at Gene- he does come around when she says it. she's suddenly afraid of various unknown men (especially if they have facial hair and big hair) chatting with her whether on the carrier or not...she will cry within minutes, no aversion to women strangers though even if they touch her.

muscle strength: CRAWLING! lots of downward dog. if positioned erect, can hold herself up but her drops aren't controlled so she's at risk of falling backwards. can furniture surf from one piece to me as I'm often close. wants to climb on everything and me. wakes up at night trying to stand, using me as a base, so she can see her sleeping brother on the other side.

hands: I'm pretty sure i cut her nails every 2 days. why do babies dig their nails into you?

legs: when wanting to crawl, i can see her get frustrated at either leg if they're in her way. she actually looks irritated at her leg/foot and appears to try to lift it up to get it out of the way haha. otherwise, loveable legs, my favourite parts of her

play: any type of peekaboo and surprise game. ransacking through the crayons/felts/pencil crayons box and throwing everything out all over the place. of course, anything brother is doing.

sleep: looks like she can stay up longer now. average wakeup time 620am. first nap at 1030ish for 20-30minutes. second nap at 2:15ish for 1.5-2 hours. average nap total 2 hours. night sleep routine starts 620ish, down in crib around 7pm +/- 10 minutes. this last month was all over the map at first waking, sometimes it would be at 12am, 1am, 2am and there were days at 930pm, 945pm, 10ish pm. naps in carrier, night sleep in crib until first cry then she comes to bed with us. i mixed this month up with fussing it out and just going to bed early so i don't have to hear any crying. I also bought the Homedics SoundSpa Portable White Noise Machine for the room. I like it, Max has been sleeping since 9am since i first put it on, and I don't hear the cat's morning meowing anymore. Im sure it's helping to cancel Max's noise while Mikkel is asleep, so far so good! I like the 'ocean" and "thunder" options.

how she sleeps: naps in carrier, my goal is to transition her into bed sleeping sometime this month but it's summer and I'm not going to be stuck at home, so I'm not sure how consistent it will be. at night, nurse to drowsy and then 7-12 minutes later into the crib where she continues to roll over instantly to her tummy. when she wakes up at night, at times I've been lucky to just need to hold her and pat her (vs. feed) and then put her down on her tummy to sleep. when that doesn't work, it's boob for seriously 1 minute and hold her sitting up for a little, then put her on her tummy. she seems to fuss  awake if i put her on her tummy immediately after unlatching.

as for me: got food poisoning, 4 days of loose stools...AWESOME (not). cooled off on shopping. slightly anxious about return to work. it's summer, and I feel great!

pressing questions: 

• since she LOVES the breast, should i offer a bottle of milk so she can used to it for when I'm gone on night shift?
• should i get her used to the crib or the bed to sleep in?
• when will my husband step up and try some night parenting and nap parenting? (grrrr...)