Usually the last sight we see before he disappears into a room
We confirmed a month or so again that Maddox’s first word was definitely “dada.” My pride of being the first object to be bestowed a name in Maddox’s world was quickly dashed though when I found out that noise is one of the easiest for a baby to make. Still, the fact that he associates it with me was pretty cool!
Of course, he tended to make the same sound in almost every other situation, including calling our cat Sam dada. The worst though is when he’s stuck in his car seat longer than usual and he starts kind of yelling it. It’s not my fault buddy!
My favorite is when he says it in a really stern voice – da DA! – like I’m doing something wrong.
Anyway, since then, Maddox has been making lots of sounds, but none of them in the required three-times-in-a-row format for them to really be considered a word he knows how to use. Until this weekend, when we can now pretty safely say he knows the word “uh oh”.
Now of course the point is that he has to use that in context, as in, “Uh oh! I’m about to do something I really shouldn’t!” But he says it almost every time he crawls.
… and almost every time he crawls, he gets into something he shouldn’t be. So I think the fact that he repeatedly announces “Uh oh! Uh oh! Uh oh!” as he skitters around on his hands and knees makes me think he’s grasped the basics of the word.
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.
