10 months old

Matthew will be 10 months old Jan 28th.  He went to the doctor this week as a follow-up from the previous visit to make sure he did not develop an ear infection and everything was fine.  He weighs 20 lbs 14 oz and wears 18- month clothing.  He was a little fussy this week because he has two teeth coming through the gums on both sides in the back.  He seems to be teething early for the eye teeth.  We give him a sippy cup to try to convert him from the bottle but he just gnaws on the lid at this point.  

He has been swallowing the cheerios whole and gagging a few times and spitting everything up so we stopped giving him those for a little while.  He is very clingy to mom right now.  He is also clingy to his favorite daycare lady, Ms. Sharon.  He will crawl after her in the room and follow her around.  One time he was napping and she happen to walk by his crib and he got really upset that she walked away and didn't pick him up.  He has a pouty cry.  He also likes to sleep with his eyes barely open- it's funny.

He tries to sleep all night long but sometimes his teeth bother him so we have to put orajel on his gums.  We use tylenol sparingly, unless he is really hurting.  He goes to the Senior Citizen home with me on the weekends and sometimes during the week.  All the old people are smitten over him.  Some of them suffer with dimensia but the amazing thing is that a baby will trigger earlier memories and those are still in tact.  I thought one lady was faking it because one minute she was talking about her kids when they were babies and then the next minute she was not responding.  They like to comment on his tiny feet and watch him play.

Bye Bye

Matthew is doing a few new things this week.  He can wave his hand and say "ba ba ba" when you say "bye" to him.  It is so cute.  

• He can throw his toy balls while playing on the floor.  Andy was playing ball with him and he loved it.  
  
• He is sleeping all night long!  Thank God!  It's been 5 nights in a row and I just can't believe it!
• He is teething AGAIN.  This time it is his molars.  
• He is starting to pull up on objects but he has not done it successfully.  He just falls on his butt and tries again.  At this time, he does not stand up in his crib.  
• He is getting more proficient with the Cherrios.  He picks them up one a time with his index finger and thumb.  Sometimes he misses his mouth and has Cherrios stuck to his face.  

Here are a few new pictures.

Playing with Dylan

Matthew gets excited to go to daycare.  He wiggles his whole body with excitement when I drop him off in the mornings.  Dylan is a few months older but they tend to play the most together.  Here are some pictures of them playing last week.

Just this week Matthew started crying when I leave the daycare.  I feel awful leaving him crying but the second I disappear, he is fine.  He is going through a phase right now.  I read that I should leave quickly so that seems to be the right thing to do eventhough I would rather just stay and hold him tight.  He has 4 teeth on the top and 2 teeth on the bottom with 2 new ones coming in on the bottom.  

Over the weekend, we went to the senior citizen home and volunteered.  The old people just love Matthew.  He really brings out the best in them.  They smile at him and try to get him to clap.  

As far as new things, he does not stand up in his crib, yet.  That will probably happen soon.  Thank goodness we lowered the crib just in case.  He likes to make little noises with his mouth by making a kissing noise.  He also reaches his arms out for me to pick him up.  

Mikee likes it!

Do you remember the commercial for Life cereal and the kids were wondering if Mikee would eat it.  After they watched him try the cereal for the first time, the kids were surprised that "Mikee likes it".  We had the same experience with Matthew this weekend.  We put some Cherrios in front of him while we went to Bob's Steak house to celebrate Andy's birthday.  He used his fingers to pick them up one by one, tasted it, and he liked it!  He probably ate 20 before the night was over.  We were impressed!

He tried mashed potatoes and gagged so we will have to practice more on those later.  We crushed up carrots and gave him a little bite but I don't think they made it in his mouth.  It was great to go out for a nice dinner and we are glad he cooperated.  The night before we tried to go to Cantina Loredo mexican restaurant near his bedtime and we ended up getting the food to go because he was so fussy.  We are learning as we go.

9 month doctor visit

Matthew went to the doctor on Wednesday for his 9 month checkup and immunizations. Here are his stats:
Weight 20 lbs 7 oz; 45%
Height 271/2 inches; 30%
Head Circumference 18 1/2 inches; 95%

The doctor gave me advice on transitioning Matthew from a liquid diet to a solid diet. We are going to introduce Cheerios, mashed potatoes, and peas this weekend. He really likes applesauce and prunes but he hates pureed peas - he just gags. The doctor also told me to stop feeding Matthew during the night so next week we will have to let him cry it out to adjust his feedings. Right now, he wakes up around 12-midnight and 4am to feed. I am looking forward to a night of sleep but I hate letting him cry it out.

He had some fluid in his ears so the doctor prescribed an antiobiotic to treat it so that it doesn't escalate into a big ear infection. Matthew had a prick on his toe for an iron test and he passed that - good news. He didn't even cry! He also had 2 vaccines and he cried after those.

Matthew does not have stranger anxiety but he certainly has an attachment to me. He loves the bath so we make sure to give him extra time to enjoy his bath. We read him a bedtime story before putting him to bed and he is liking that more and more. He really listens to every word that we say and watches our mouths when we talk.

Happy New Year!

Matthew rang in the new year by playing with his toys and hanging out with granny and grandpa Snider. We had company on and off through the holidays and Matthew was so excited to be the center of attention. He would wake up every morning ready to play.