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Miss Anna Banana is 10 months old! That’s right, my baby, who it seems like was just born yesterday, is a mere 2 months away from her 1st birthday. Holy crap! I thought time went by fast with Maya, but seriously, Anna’s first year is going by at lightening speed.
Apparently, she decided that 9 months of getting her picture with her age displayed nicely in front of her was enough. I could not get her to leave the letters and numbers alone long enough to snap even one picture. She just laughed at me and shook her head “no” every time I told her to leave them alone. She is a stinker 
Weight: approx. 18lbs
Height: approx. 28in
Just as with every month so much has changed, so many new things have been learned. This girl is a talker. I never would have guessed she would be a talker given how peaceful she was as a wee baby. But, boy can she chatter. She isn’t just babbling anymore either she is starting to connect sounds to objects and people, starting to copy sounds when you say words to her, and starting to accurately communicate in other ways as well. One of her favorite things to do is shake her head no, she does it because she knows we think it is cute. But, she also knows how to use in proper context as well. If I offer her more food at meal time she’ll shake her head no if she is all done and doesn’t want any more. Anna is one smart cookie Her new favorite game is the sharing game. She’ll pass a toy to you that she is playing with and say “Hee” (as in here) and when you pass it back to her she gets excited and says “Ta” (as in thank you). She will play this game endlessly and it is cute every single time she does it. She also likes to copy sounds so if she shows me something she is playing with, like a ball for example, I’ll say “Ball” to her and she’ll repeat the “ba” sound. She associates “mama” with me and “dada” with Lorne (although she still uses dadada and mamama as babble sound as well). She can say her own name, and I’m pretty sure she is doing it on purpose. And, the other day I swear she was trying to say peek-a-boo. She covered her face with a book, and as she brought it down she said “ee-ooo” and giggled.
Our super chill, relaxed little girl still isn’t crawling, although she can get around a room on her own terms. She gets around by pushing herself backwards, pivoting on her tummy and rolling. She can always get what she wants, and if it is something she knows she isn’t supposed to touch she can get there pretty darn quick too 
Every day I swear she is going to start crawling as she spends at least half the time she is on the floor on her hands and knees, she just won’t move forward. She can even get up on her hands and feet. One of these days she is going to book it across the room all “What, I could totally do this all along I just didn’t want to.”
In the past month Anna has decided that she would much rather feed herself real food than eat purees. She still gets purees, mostly because I finally found a food that is high fiber and helps keep her regular so I give it to her every day to keep things moving along. Her favorite food is cheese, she powers through it when I put a few pieces in front of her and squeals for more. She also hasn’t met a fruit she doesn’t like. And, she loves her some carbs. This morning I made french toast for the girls and she squealed with delight when I placed those little pieces of bread on her tray. She is still breastfeeding like a champ. She eats about every 2-3 hours during the day and then sleeps through the night. She seems to like waking up at about 5-5:30ish to eat and then goes back to sleep for another hour or two, which works for me. My plan is to continue nursing her into her 2nd year just as I did Maya. I nursed Maya until she was just shy of 20 months old and I’ll likely shot for something similar with Anna.
With each passing day, each passing month, I swear Anna becomes sweeter and sweeter. She is always full of smiles. She adores her big sister and the two of them play together so nicely. The other day at dinner they were really getting each other going, it was adorable. I can already see the mischief they are going to get into.
I love you to pieces sweet Anna. You are a joy each and every day. I love snuggling with you, giggling with you and watching you grow. Can’t wait to see what this next month has in store for you.
I’ve heard before, from several people, that the hardest jump is going from one to two kids. That when you add three, four, seven, or whatever you’ve already made that hurdle from one to two so the rest are a lot easier. I didn’t really, necessarily, believe these people. I figured going from one to two children would be a challenge, but, really how hard could it be.
For nine months now I’ve been the parent of two and it is tough, it is a challenge. But, not in the ways I thought it would be hard. I figured the parenting aspect would be difficult. I figured finding time to spend with both children so they feel special and loved would be hard. I figured the logistics of getting out with two children would be tough. But, truly those things aren’t really that hard. I’ve been able to find time to spend with both kids independently, it isn’t always a lot of time but it has worked. Figuring out the logistics of getting out the door with two children instead of one wasn’t that bad. After a couple of trips I had my system down. The thing I find most challenging is balancing the rest of my daily tasks with my parenting responsibilities.
Before Maya was born I worked full time. Household chores were done on the weekends, or on some rare occasions, after work. Once Maya was born I became a stay-at-home mom and worked out a good routine for the household chores of cleaning, laundry, cooking and running errands. After some trial and error I had a good routine going, the house ran smoothly and our weekends were free to do whatever because almost all the chores were done during the week. It never occurred to me how challenging developing a new routine would be once a second child was added to the mix.
I’ve been at this for nine months now and I can’t find my groove. I can’t find that perfect balance between doing what needs to be done around the house and spending enough quality time with both my girls. While Anna is napping Maya wants my undivided attention because she knows she can’t get it while Anna is awake. And, while Anna is awake I’m on baby duty, nursing her, playing with her, and making sure her now mobile self doesn’t get into any mischief, etc. It is such a challenge to fit into the schedule time to do things like vacuum, or clean bathrooms, or do laundry. I want to spend time with my girls, I don’t necessarily want to vacuum or scrub the toilets so you can imagine which gets dropped to the bottom of the to-do list over and over again.
I need to find a balance. I need to find a good routine that allows me to get to all the household stuff but still feel like I spent good, quality time with my girls at the end of the day. I hate busting my butt cleaning all day only to feel like I neglected my girls all day. There has to be a routine out there that will work, I just haven’t found it yet.
But, truthfully, if, at the end of the day all I got to was hanging out with these two and my house looks like a disaster and my blog is neglected, I don’t really care, because at least I know I got to what is truly important.
Anna is three quarters of a year old. 9 whole months have passed since her birth, how is that possible!
Weight: 17lbs 5oz (22nd precentile)
Height: 27.5 inches (48th percentile)
Head Circumference: 17 inches (27th percentile)
As you can see from her stats Anna is still my little peanut. At nine months she is only just reaching Maya’s 7 month stats. She may be tiny but she is strong and super healthy. Her appointment today with her pediatrician went wonderfully. Anna was babbling up a storm and show off her great verbal skills. After a once over from the doctor she was declared to be “absolutely perfect” (her exact words).
A lot has changed since I did her 8 month write up including the fact that she has become quite mobile. She isn’t crawling yet but has figured out how to push herself backwards, army style, in order to get around. So between rolling, scooting and pushing backwards she is into all sorts of trouble. A few times I’ve caught her up on her hands and knees rocking a bit so I’m guessing full on crawling is probably in her pretty near future. If I stand her up next to the couch or a table she will hold on and stand for several minutes and can lower herself down slowly onto her bottom. She looks so little stand there, but oh so cute
Another big change for Miss Anna is that she now has 2 little teeth. Her bottom 2 teeth popped through a couple of weeks ago. In true Anna fashion she breezed through teething and I didn’t even know she was working on any teeth until it poked through her gums. Given the ridiculous amount of drool she is currently producing I’m guessing she may be working on the top two now. She shows her little teefers off all the time when she makes her new favorite silly face
Anna is such a doll. She is so silly and sweet and lovable. She has become a lot more vocal lately and is babbling up a storm saying “mama”, “dada” and “yaya” (which I’m pretty sure is her way of saying Maya) all the time along with lots of other babbles. She’ll be talking and talking away, full of smiles and I can’t help but wonder what she is thinking. Each day with her is filled with sweet little moments, soft snuggles and lots of smiles and giggles. We all love her to pieces. Maya, especially, can’t seem to get enough of her little sister. She plays so well with her and talks and giggles with her all day. These two have such a special bond, it is even sweeter than I ever could have imagined before Anna was born.
Love you to pieces sweet baby girl. Can’t wait to see what this month has in store for you, what little 9 month old adventures you will have. Watching you grow sure is something special. My heart is full to the brim with love.
We parents often get sucked into playing the compare game. A mother in the waiting room of your pediatrician’s office, holding a little one about the same age your own bundle of joy, strikes up a conversation with you, before long you find yourself comparing milestones. Playing at the park with your child you observe another child about the same age and begin wondering why your child isn’t able to ride a bike like that, climb that rock wall, etc, etc, etc. It is so easy to fall into a pattern of second guessing your child, your parenting, and comparing your child with others. When you have more that one child it can become easy to compare your own children to each other. Baby A hit this milestone at this age, why is Baby B still not doing that. We spend a lot of time comparing ourselves to others so it isn’t any wonder that we fall into the same trap with our children.
The thing about babies is that no two are exactly alike. When a baby learns to sit on their own, when they learn to crawl, when they start to babble, when they start to walk completely depends on the baby and will happen at different times for different babies. Comparing your child to your friends child, or a strange child in the park or the doctor’s office, or comparing your own children to each other, doesn’t do any one any good. Just because that 7 month old you encountered at the doctor’s office is already crawling doesn’t mean your 8 month old should be. Just because that 4 year old at the park can ride a two wheel bike doesn’t mean your 5 year old should be able to.
Obviously, if your child appears to be behind hitting developmental milestones it can be stressful and wondering why other people’s children are hitting milestones before your own can be an easy trap to fall into. The best thing to do, if you are worried or concerned about your child’s development, is to talk with their pediatrician and see if there is cause for concern and what you can do to help your child.
When Maya was a baby I did a pretty good job of avoiding the comparing game. As long as she was hitting her milestones within the normal ranges I didn’t really care if she was doing it faster, better or sooner than other babies her age. Now with Anna I’m taking the same approach.
Each baby will develop at his or her own pace and comparing them to other children isn’t going to make that happen any faster. Just do the best you can to encourage your child and give them the opportunity to learn new skills and they will get there eventually. And remember, if you are worried at all, talk to your child’s doctor.
Anna is at such a fun age right now. There is so much going on in her busy little head. She is trying so hard to learn new things. So quickly the things I loved about her yesterday are gone, replaced with new things to love about her. Babyhood is all about changing and growing up. So quickly the things that make Anna, Anna, are shifting, changing as she grows. I want to remember these little things. I want to remember all the Anna-isms that make up my sweet baby girl.
Anna I want to remember everything about you as a baby. I want to remember…
The way you twirl your little hands like a hula dancer almost all the time, but especially when you want something. If you really want something you’ll start twirling your feet too
The way scrunch up your face and give a cheeky little smile when you are trying to be cute.
The way you shake your head “No” because you know we think it is cute and funny and will always get a laugh out of us.
The way you squeal with delight (and twirl your hands with gusto) just at the mere sight of your big sister.
The determined focus you get when a kitty is within reach.
The way you have to kick your feet as you are falling asleep.
The giant smile you get whenever you hear a squeaky toy.
The way you’ll just all of a sudden look up at me and smile when I look back at you.
The way your press your little head firmly into my shoulder to give me a little “Anna hug”.
The way you grab my cheeks and then place your open mouth on my chin to give me an “Anna kiss”.
The look of pure delight and pride you get on your face when someone copies a sound you have made.
I’m so thankful to live in a time when preserving these memories through photos and videos is simple. I can take hundreds, even thousands of photos and quick videos so that down the road when I begin to forget these little things I can look back at photos and videos and be reminded.
