In all the hustle and bustle of the blustery week, I am a few days behind on acknowledging Barrett’s ten month mark. Wow. 10 months. The point that people have been telling me about for the entirety of B’s life; the golden month milestone. “They can’t yet walk but they’re more happily independent. Their sleep is more predictable and they are engaging through the whole day,” other parents would say with a sense of nostalgia. Ahhh… the breezy, easy days have arrived {okay, sort of}. And, for all the venting that I do on this forum regarding sleep and such, I must admit, Barrett’s report card consists of mostly G’s for being an all around Great, smiley baby.
This month’s happenings included:
– b would rather be standing than sitting and pulls himself up and down with ease … at every given opportunity.
– he started climbing our stairs… despite my efforts against such actions.
– Baby B likes to play most with his drum, animal train {whose song is stuck in our brains from dawn to dusk} and newly enjoys putting smaller items into bigger items {balls into holes, blocks into bigger blocks, anything on the floor into his mouth, etc}
– he enjoys his cupboard and drawer in the kitchen and explores much more than in prior months
– B is a bottomless pit, eating pretty much anything we put in front of him. His favorite foods generally meet the criterion of being pick-upable.
– he is growing frustrated in the bath as we make him sit down {I know, we’re mean}
– I nixed his early morning feeding and so he is down for bed from 7:30 p to 7:30 a. {preparing to start the weaning process next month:)}
– he finally past 15 pounds — weighing in at 15 lbs 6 ounces at his nine month check-up
– he abhors his carseat
– he is totally a mom clingon whenever he’s tired, cranky, or otherwise disenchanted.
– he likes to wave hi and bye {not really certain he knows what he’s doing…but cute just the same}
All in all, I’d do month ten all over again. Another happening this month was getting set for Barrett’s surgery. Among some other {empty} scares, at birth we found that Barrett’s testicle was undescended which is fairly common in preem boys. Also, Barrett’s ring and middle finger on his left hand are connected by skin. This is called a syndactyly and he also has a partial one on his right hand. Going hand in hand {pun intended} with his undescended testicle, he also has a bilateral hernia. So, last month, we met with the two surgeons who will perform Barrett’s surgeries in tandem on January 7th. The surgeries will be out-patient procedures so should be smooth sailing!
Other than that, it’s been pretty much business as usual for us at the Brehm house. People tell {or as I see it, warn} me that Barrett will likely be an early walker and I keep thinking there has got to be some way to prevent this … I know, I know, most ftm {first time moms} want their kiddos to do everything early… but Adam and I just want Barrett to do everything on his own time and honestly, if he can walk, I am so screwed. If our little b can bop around any faster than he already does, there’s no way I’ll be able to keep up with him all day.
I still vacillate between going back to work full-time and staying home and as we near the one year mark, I find myself constantly conflicted with this decision. For me, each month has built upon the other and though I contend it is the hardest job I’ve ever done, I’ve been fortunate to stay home to see it all … almost every moment. Oh me, oh my, one year is just around the corner.
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