10.5 months and jabbering away

At 10.5 months, Chou-chou is so much fun and is really starting to communicate. He doesn't talk or have any words yet, but he says things like "dah" and looks at you waiting for your response, so it's clear that he's trying to get something across. He especially does this when he wants you to read to him. He'll crawl over to a book, do a little grunt laugh thing and say "dah" with a big grin. His favorite books right now are a big interactive one with slides and pop-ups called "Dog", his Richard Scarry "Mr. Frumble's Fire Engine" with wheels on it, "Peek-a-boo Baby" with flaps that he lifts up immediately, and "Baby's 100 First Words". I do signs for most objects in the 100 first words one, and he is so captivated by this. He is usually impatient to turn pages and likes doing this himself.

Chou-chou has also learned how to move a car recently and enjoys moving and chasing things that roll/move like balls, cars, cylinders, etc. He's really on-the-go now, which means he is also constantly bumping, bruising and falling. The edge of the dining chair legs are the number one culprit for facial bruising and cuts, but unfortunately there's no way to put a bumper on those.


Waving is a new thing as of a week or so ago, and now he waves all the time. It's also the sign for "lolo", or nursing, so oftentimes he waves while he's nursing. I've realized in the last couple days that Chou-chou really has more signs than I think, but they just all look the same!! Like it's apparent that he gets "yay" with waving both hands in the air, but lots of times he does this and it turns into clapping. Come to think of it, this is what I always do, probably because I'm torn between the "sign" for applause and actually applauding! He'll switch between all-done and clapping for "more", which can be very confusing. Maybe he's saying "yay- I like bananas, give me more!"...?

Chou-chou had a rough time of teething for a couple weeks and has just been feeling more perky in the last three days or so. He's got 7 teeth in all and another one that keeps threatening its arrival but hasn't quite cut. We've really noticed that Chou-chou eats less solids and wants to nurse a lot more when he's teething. On the topic of solids, we found out on Monday that Chou-chou is highly intolerant of egg whites. He'd been eating scrambled yolks for several weeks without a problem, so against my better judgment I gave him a whole scrambled egg while Jarod was at work. Our naturopath says to wait til a year for egg whites, but "everyone else" I know has been giving whole eggs since 9 months... darn peer pressure. Anyway, Chou-chou threw up seven times after the egg white!! He wasn't fussy or anything and there was no warning, but up it came time after time... sorry for the details. Needless to say, Jarod wasn't so happy when he got home:) In other food-related news, Chou-chou prefers finger food to puree at this point and closes his eyes overdramatically when you come at him with a spoon. He acts like you're trying to poison him! Favorite foods are bananas, cheese, cheerios (surprise!), watermelon, cantaloupe, plum, bread, water from his sippy. Note: vegetables didn't make the list...

What else... my updates have been slow this summer since work has been busier, but I really don't want to forget these milestones. Chou-chou has stood solo for a couple seconds at a time starting about a week ago. He does best on linoleum-type flooring that allows him to really grip his sweaty feet for balance. No interest yet in having someone help him walk around, but he definitely cruises. He loves bouncing of any kind and tries to make everything into a bouncing toy (high chair, anything he's pulled up on, laps, etc.). Too bad he doesn't have a "johnny jump up" because he would love one.

Okay, baby's waking up. Still naps twice a day and wakes before dawn. Early nap from about 8:30-10 (remember he wakes between 5:30-6), and then another from 12:45/1-2:30-3. Definitely doesn't sleep through the night and it is our constant battle. Currently in the midst of yet another round of sleep training... luckily we love him a lot:)