Maddox is almost 10 months old, and I don’t know where the past month has gone.
He is crawling around like nobody’s business. Tonight, I was taking a bath while Jon was watching Maddox, and I heard a little noise near the bathroom door. Moments later, a cute little baby face pops up beside the tub and peeks in at me.
Being able to move has made Maddox a lot happier. He’s wanted to be on the go since the very start, when he’d sleep best in the Bjorn. He’s fast, and pulls himself up to stand in seconds, whether it’s dangling from the stove handle, climbing into the dishwasher racks, peeking over the tub or pulling himself up to snack on the cheerios on top of the ottoman.
He’s also a stew fiend, and he loves spaghetti. Fresh grapes and blueberries are also popular and we just bought some vegetable mixes since canned peas aren’t very exciting.
Since he’s decided that he wants to sleep in his bed and to wean himself, we’ve gotten into a good bedtime routine. We’ve been doing dinner, a bath, a bottle and then books. Then we tuck him in and he falls asleep around 7:30. He’s very good about not fussing when we put him down anymore – something we couldn’t do without severe baby protestations for the first 8 months of his life.
He’s had a couple colds, and teething continues to be troublesome. He has at least 6 teeth, and I’m sure that more are growing in but not showing yet. We’re both laid up with a light cold and cough this weekend – poor Dad’s been taking up the slack which Mads and I rest and eat grapes and Motrin.
Hopefully, tomorrow will be better, since the weather is gorgeous (50s!) and it’s my favorite time of year – when the winter weather starts to let up and everyone comes out to play. If we’re doing better, we’ll all go out to play a bit tomorrow!
A few weeks ago, we noticed something interesting when we put Maddox on the floor to play with his toys. A few minutes later, he would magically appear in another spot. Eventually it clicked: He was actually moving himself. The methods were somewhat varied, but they included the backwards-sitting-scoot and something similar to what they do in army movies to go under barbed wire. He came close to a crawl a few times, and would make two or three quick movements before falling flat on his face.
Then just a day or two ago, we had actual, legitimate, sustained crawling! Including a 90 degree turn – very impressive.
At the same time, Maddox also learned how to stand in his crib. It definitely takes some getting used to, to come into the nursery and see your baby standing and looking up at you.
Leanne has done a great job babyproofing the house, although I’m still getting used to the fact that you can turn around and – whoops – baby is pulling down your laptop.
Hooray! Maddox’s doctor says that Maddox can start having finger-foods like egg, deli meats and bread, all cut up small. In fact, with the exception of foods like honey, chocolate, peanut butter & citrus fruits, Maddox can have whatever we eat. It is a whole new exciting world.
He’s always loved Gerber pears, peas and applesauce. His first consistent finger-food has been Graduate Puffs. They’re not bad – kind of like really poofy cereal. They’re almost the texture of Funyuns, but a lot tastier.
He pops them in his mouth to chew, but sometimes does not remove his fingers before starting, which can’t feel good – he’s on 4 1/2 teeth now (the newest one is top left, next to the middle two teeth).
But, he gets there in the end, and is thrilled to have something more interesting to eat. I’m a little concerned about all the additional energy these foods will give him – he’s already scooting all over creation and I can only imagine that this will mean he’ll be bouncing off the walls regularly.
Come to think of it, I’d better get some baby-proof pads for our ceiling as well, just in case.
*Quick correction: Maddox actually has cut 6 teeth – I noticed another one on the right side of his top two teeth. Yay, let’s get ‘em out so we can stop teething!
