Milo Chap, Month 10
10 Months. Oh Chapper Boy, your babyhood is flying by. I love watching you grow into yourself... your silly, wild, adventurous self. Your intense, passionate, determined self. Your cuddly, squishy, delicious self. It is such a deep, deep joy.
Milo is a crawling machine. He's on hands and knees now, wearing the floors out with his speed crawling. Oliver can hear him thundering down the hall, towards his room, and depending on O's mood, there is either a surge of excitement and belly laughs or a panicked and desperate "NOOOO! Chappers!!! No!!!!!. Although Milo can crawl, and is definitely efficient, he spends most of his time on two feet. He uses anything he can get his hands on as a prop for his standing. He's started using the baby walker with help and the look of pride that spreads across that face as he propels himself down the hall is too much for my heart.
He loves to babble and has all sorts of sounds. He seems to favor some for a few days and then move on to a new sound. Today it has been "Esssssssss, Esssssss, Esssssss" all day long. He is especially vocal at meals, and has no tolerance for baby food unless there is also a little something on his tray that he can shovel into his mouth. He's now eating about 50% table food and 50% purreed baby food at each meal. Which means the length of Milo's time at the table has quadroupled, because buddy only has so many teeth, but a very hungry tummy. He loves Strawberries, Avocado (HadoCado in Oliver-speak), Cheese, Peas, Peanut Butter Crackers and Bananas... He'd rather not eat eggs or any form of meat unless it is hidden in a bite of baby food. He's taking 5-6 bottles per day. (2-4oz during the day and 6oz before bed, in the middle of the night, and at waking). He lets us know when he's ready for a bottle by crawling up to us and mouthing and licking our arm or leg or cheek, whatever he can get his mouth on and taste... it's both crazy endearing and disgusting at the same time. Which basically sums up being a boy-mom.
Speaking of the middle of the night... we are down to just one feed at night... although, the past week, there has been a resurgence of pleas for two bottles per night... but after a little love, he makes it another few hours. Most nights he takes a bedtime bottle at 6:45pm and then a middle of the night feed anywhere between 2am and 4am. His day starts anywhere between 5am and 6am... but typically it's more like 5am. To be fair, Matt still takes the early morning shift (what would I do without him!?), but if he has a late night at work, then I push through and handle the middle of the night and the 5am wake up call. And I don't like coffee. But I wish I did. Because 5 am is unkind.
He is ready for a morning nap thee hours after waking, so I typically lay him down around 8:30 or 9am. And if we don't have anything going on in the morning he sleeps for about an hour. I wake him up at 1.5 hours because his afternoon nap gets pushed too late if he goes longer. He's ready for an afternoon nap most days around 2pm and he sleeps about two hours in the afternoon... longer if Oliver is quiet.
The fuzzy hair is now half laying down and half standing straight up depending on the recency of his bath and the amount of food he has scrubbed into his scalp. But I love the way it feels against my cheek when he's asleep on my shoulder. There will probably be real tears when it is replaced by a head of toddler hair in the coming months. Just another thing about his babyhood that I am trying to memorize each night when I lower him into his crib.
Sweet boy, you are so deeply and fiercely loved. We are treasuring these last few months of your baby days and are filled with excitement and heartache as we prepare to leave your babyhood. We are so incredibly blessed and privileged to watch you grow and develop, because it means you are healthy... but oh there are days I just want to linger in this season with you. To keep your squishy legs, and your baby coos and your grunty nose and your fuzzy head. But then you start screaming at 4am and I'm thankful that babyhood is a season. I love you... and I love sleep. And I'd love to have my cake and eat it too. You are so precious to us. You are one of us. You are part of us. You belong to us.
Today Oliver was singing a made up song about you, called "Miwoe-- toe eater-- Sane-ders!" We would be an althougher differnt type of Sane-ders without you bubba. And our made up songs would be so vanilla without our "toe-eater".