10 Months

My baby is 10 months old today!

She weighs 19lbs, 2oz.

She is about 27 1/2 inches long.


So Harper, what have you been up to this month?


I feel like you have grown and changed so much since last month!

You are now officially a crawler. It has opened up a new world for both you and me. I can see the delight in your eyes at the prospect of freedom and exploration...but for me...well, I'm not entirely ready for this just yet! Our house is already baby-proofed but there are little things that I'd forgotten about since your brother outgrew them. Like how this morning while I was fixing breakfast you managed to taste some of Sadie's dog food before dumping the bowl upside down. And then as soon as I took that away you crawled into the laundry room and dumped the entire bowl of water all over yourself and the floor. You, my dear, thought that was pretty funny. I thought that maybe we shouldn't have sold the baby gates in the garage sale last weekend after all ;)





You are also pulling up to stand. All this mobility and independence...what am I going to do with you? You definitely seem like such a big girl to me now and I'm not ready to let go of my baby!

Just look at her -- she's becoming less of a baby and more like a little person. The nerve!

You learned two more words since last month. In addition to Dada, you now say hi and....wait for it....Mama! You love to give big cheesy grins and wave and say hi to people and I finally heard you say mama for the first time tonight. Certainly made my day!

Hi, Momma!

Your appetite has picked up a little. Baby food is still hit or miss but you are loving table food. And now that you are eating more food your reflux has finally gotten so much better!!! Can I get a big fat hallelujah?!? You are nursing 4 times a day (and unfortunately there is often a 5th or even 6th session added in there at night) and I give you 3 solid meals a day (which you sometimes chow down and other times want nothing to do with).

Something tells me she's getting plenty of nutrition ;)

You are still not sleeping very well. You are doing a little better at night lately and did sleep all the way through 2 times in the last couple of weeks (which you have only done a handful of times since you were 4 months old). But as for naps? Ha. You average about only 30 minutes a day. Now that you can pull yourself up in your crib it has been a little easier of a battle for me though. You still cry but since you can look around and play it's more of a whiny cry than your blood-curdling variety and doesn't affect me nearly as badly. You are sleepy but are so stubborn. A funny story: a few days ago after 30 minutes of crying I finally heard silence and peeked in at you. You had fallen asleep sitting up (crying) and you had fallen face first onto your bumper and had both arms through the rails. It was seriously cute...I tried to get a picture but before I could get my camera out you, in your typical Harper fashion, had woken up after 5 minutes of sleep. Ha!

Why would I sleep when there's a chance I could miss something exciting?!

You have had a rough couple of months being sick. Since being in the hospital you have been to urgent care and the doctor 4 times due to respiratory issues. We've been giving you steroid nebulizer treatments every night for the last month and have had to add albuterol back in this week because you are sick again. I was reading through the rx insert and saw that a really common side effect to albuterol is rapid heart beat, jitteryness, and inability to rest/sleep and I wonder if this is why you are not sleeping very well. I just hate seeing you feel so bad and pray every day that God will heal you and that you will grow out of all this scary yuckiness.

Enough with the lung drama already. I have much better things to do...like eat dog food and chase my silly brother!

Your little personality is shining through more and more each day and I'm enjoying every second of it!

Harper, I won't lie and tell you I'm not exhausted to my core most days. But I also painfully realize that these precious moments of your babyhood will soon be coming to an end. I am tired and worn out but much more importantly I am incredibly fortunate to spend these crazy days with you and your brother.  You enrich my heart and soul far more than any peaceful tranquility could ever even come close to doing. Sleep is extremely overrated. A very sweet and very loved baby girl taught me that!