Ten

I find it amazing how much happens in four short weeks. This has been the month for pointing (way cute), proper crawling, more teeth (she now has two and a half with three more almost through) and wait for it… sleeping through. I know. Uh-may-zing.

I’m not sure if it was ending our breastfeeding journey and moving to three full bottles a day or if it’s just the way things were meant to happen, but most nights now we don’t see her between the hours of 7pm-6.30am (which feels slightly sad in a strange kind of way). Her teeth have still had her grizzling some nights, but compared to the fairly frequent night waking of before it’s a walk in the park. And I feel so much better for it.

Growing has been happening too. Perhaps it’s all this rain? Just earlier today I watched my baby laughing away in front of the mirror and her body suddenly looked so unbelievably long against mine. There was not a hint of any brand-newness, instead the glimpse of an emerging toddler that I know will soon be here in a few short months.

I haven’t had her weighed for a while, but she sure is hefty. Currently wearing 12-18 month clothes, she’s rapidly growing out of the majority of her wardrobe, which means a shopping trip is on the cards. Shame.

Nine-to-ten-month Lila has also developed a new comforting habit. As well as sucking her two fingers when she’s tired, she has taken to hooking her little amber teething necklace under her thumb and rubbing it under her chin. I was pretty unconvinced about whether or not those necklaces actually worked, but it looks like it’ll be sticking around for some time to come.

And the biggest change? Words. It’s started. I wasn’t so sure to begin with, but now I’m convinced that she’s using them. Surely it’s not just a coincidence that she’s using the same wordy sounding noises in context over and over? We get ‘more’, ‘that’, ‘ball’, ‘hi’, 'bye'. Obviously not quite like you or I would say them, but like I said – it’s started.

I love this part of babyhood so much. It’s fascinating. And giving your baby the gift of language by helping them learn is the most amazing thing.

*I'm adding a couple of things here that I want to remember in the months to come... Lila's obsession for flicking through the pages of books. She will happily while away a good 20 minutes sat with a pile of books around her flicking the pages between her fingers. Strange, but kinda cute. She also has a penchant for tissues - finding, shredding and eating them. Nice. And finally - the girl can add drinking through a straw from her very own cup to her list of tricks.