{lion: jellycat via nordstrom // jumper: babyGap // tank: Burt’s Bees Organic (similar) // moccasins: Freshly Picked}
{month ten} wait, didn’t eloise just turn nine months?
this month has been all about moving. eloise is constantly crawling, jumping, or wiggling. all the time! her crawling has progressed to being up on her knees & with her belly up off the ground, but still down on her forearms. I know she can get into a traditional crawling position since she can rock on her hands & knees, but doesn’t seem too interested at this point in getting up on her hands. she is so fast & efficient with crawling the way that she is that she may just continue!
eloise has also recently learned to pull to her knees (in a kneeling position). she has trouble pulling to standing, though she desperately wants to. I suspect she will first do it in her crib since the bars make for easy support. eloise LOVES to stand, whether she is holding your hands, or she is supported by a table, chair, or ottoman. walking isn’t imminent yet which aaron & I are mostly very relieved about. eloise can already move around so much that I think we need a little more time before she is walking! if eloise is standing up, she is mostly just so excited to be up on her feet that she starts to jump if you are holding her. she will take a few steps, but doesn’t really get the whole concept of walking just yet.
just yesterday I saw eloise, for the first time, go from her belly to sitting. I know that’s a game-changer. & then this morning she was sitting up in her crib when I went in for her wake-up. oh geez, she is such a big kid!
speaking of moving. as you may have seen from recent pictures (& did I also already share?) we ended up putting up one baby gate in our living room. as soon as eloise learned to crawl, she bee-lined for the entryway because shoes are her very favorite thing. she didn’t discover that if she turned down the hallway, she would get to the staircase, & we have been very unmotivated to teach her about that part of the house. I don’t really want a gate at the top of the stairs, but will if we need to, because I always have my hands full going downstairs (so opening the gate would be tricky) and I don’t want to have to drill into the drywall. I know, First World Problems. anyways, we got this pressure-mount gate for the doorway between the entryway & our living room & it works really well. eloise isn’t mad about not being able to go into the entryway anymore, & she discovered her love for the shelf on our side table (which is now storing some of her toys & books).
one thing that eloise is still learning how to do (but is so close) is clapping. she sometimes puts her hands together, randomly, but it isn’t exactly clapping. however, if you clap, she squeals with delight! I try to have her hold my hands when I clap or move her hands together to clap & maybe she’ll start doing it on her own.
just this week I dropped eloise’s third nap, so she is down to just two naps a day. a lot of people (parents & non-parents alike) were really surprised when I would tell them she was still taking three naps. she was on a three-hour feeding schedule, which is what she has been on since she was born (except that from months five & on, she wasn’t feeding in the middle of the night). there were a lot of reasons why I kept her taking three naps a day, including that every kid is different. eloise did really well with that schedule & often would take two 90 minute naps & a 60 minute nap. I think eloise, on the spectrum of sleep-needed, is like her mama & needs a lot of sleep! now eloise will, hopefully, take two 2 hour naps each day. the transition seems to be going really well & it gives us more time during the morning & afternoon to play, though her naps have been shorter than I would like. now we have time in the middle of the day (between 12:30ish & 3) to get out of the house. I still use the eat, play, sleep routine in our day which is wonderful. eloise has three solids meals per day with a nursing session before each, & then a bottle at bedtime after her bath.
in the past few weeks I have noticed a little eczema-type rash on eloise’s chest & neck. the semi-circle shape of it is where her bib doesn’t cover up & protect that part of her skin from food. I have been cleaning the area well after each meal & making sure it is washed in the bath. of course, it looks better in the morning when she first wakes up since it has been un-irritated all night. I picked up some Zoe Organics Everything Balm when I was at Target last night since I have heard it can do wonders for eczema (naturally). I will let you know how it works!
this kiddo is so expressive. she constantly makes faces & can go thru an entire range of emotions in just a short amount of time. her mean muggin’ face (last seen here) is still very popular & she does it constantly! now, though, she sometimes can’t keep a straight face & cracks a smile just as soon as her brow furls. but she also raises her eyebrows (the cutest), smiles & grins, & gives me faces that I know we will be seeing again in about 14 years.
eloise’s hair is awesome. everyone comments on it. I keep it sticking straight up because I love it & it reminds me of her newborn mohawk. it is getting so much longer though & lays flat from the weight of her hair. it still is fine like baby hair, but filling in so much. these days, it gets crazy since it is hot & she sweats. post-nap hair in this heat is pretty funny because the sides are always crazy & sticking out in all directions.
finally, lots of people (seriously everyone, people we know, we don’t know, moms, non-moms) have been asking about when I am weaning eloise. my goal from the start was to nurse thru one year & that is still the plan. not only do I feel fortunate that I get to be home & nurse her each feeding, but that I still have maintained my supply up to this point. eloise has slowly been weaning over the past months as she has dropped various feedings – her middle of the night feedings, bedtime, & most recently, her fourth daytime feeding when she dropped the third nap – & I hope to continue down that path. as long as eloise continues to want to nurse & I continue to have milk, I hope to get her to her first birthday & then start weaning her from her daytime feedings (& giving her milk in a cup instead at mealtimes). if possible I think I want to keep up her wake-up feeding for a bit longer. I love this time with eloise & it would make me so sad if we didn’t get that time together for very much longer. (though ask me another time & I may have a completely different story!)
{weight} 20 lbs. down slightly from last month. I am guessing it is from all the activity!
{hair} dark reddish brown.
{teeth} bottom two teeth & four top teeth.
{eyes} dark brown.
{clothes} 9 month, 6 to 12 month, or 12 month.
{diapers} full-time cloth {bum genius freetime, pocket, & elemental} & honest company size 4 diapers at night with a bum genius diaper cover.
{feeding} during the day, 4 hour cycles. at bedtime she gets a 6 oz bottle.
{likes} books, anything she isn’t supposed to have, toys that squeak or rattle, singing & music, Sadie, standing, FaceTime, bathtime.
{dislikes} getting her face wiped off (after eating), sitting still, (most) diaper changes before nursing, sitting in her highchair & not eating.
{nicknames} Bug{s}, Love Bug, Baby Bug, E, Wheezy, Kiddo, Love, Bugaboo, Ellie (my family).
happy ten months eloise!
M
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