Hudson at 10 months was so. much. fun. I know that “it just gets more fun!” is a common refrain among parents (which I always appreciate after the gloom and doom stories people share during the newborn days) and after this month, I totally think I’m in that camp. Yes, I miss some of the newborn qualities already. Anytime you want to just lay there and stare at each other for 30 minutes, Huds, I’m in. But watching your own baby grow and become this awesome little person is really… life affirming, somehow? I’m getting existential in my old age. But basically, he’s great, life is fun, and holy cow going so fast.

Here’s more about Hudson at 10 months.

Talking

The talking has definitely been the biggest development this month, and I am happy to report that he finally says MAMA! But lest I get cocky when I look back at this recap someday, here’s a list of words that he said before mama: dada (<3), zoom, shoes, socks, boom boom, and “neighhhh” like a horsey.

I am obsessed with his cute little baby voice and hearing him try new words. Shoes (“soooos”) and socks (“sahhhcks”) really took us all by surprise—mostly because we basically never wear either of those? But you do you, Hudson Bean! Words come and go in frequency as he practices. At the beginning of the month it was still all “dada dada” all day long, but I think his most common phrase now is “boom boom,” which he says whenever he falls or sits down from a standing position.

The Grunts

The flip side of the talking thing is that he appears to not have the vocabulary that he thinks he does—or that he wants to have. In addition, he seems to have inherited my ahem, strong will. So in lieu of words, we get: The Grunts. Which can take many forms: he can be yelling, whining, or just making short “uh uh uh” noises in an attempt to communicate what he wants when he can’t.

Example: he wants a sip of his water with his dinner. In the middle of eating, “UHHHHHH!!! UH. UH. UH. UHHHHHHH UHHHHHHH!!!!” at the top of his little baby lungs until that sippy cup is in the mouth. This scenario is also common grocery shopping because he wants to hold every object that I put in the cart. I pick up a tub of spinach: “UHHHH!!!!” Until I hand it over. Determined little guy!

A few times I have thought I may actually lose my mind, and in those moments I try to remember that he is (clearly!) just as frustrated as I am. But it can be… a lot 😃  Thankfully, he’s starting to point more, which helps clarify what he’s going for. Here’s to developing that vocabulary ASAP!

Teething

I actually can’t remember a time that he was NOT teething at this point–I think Hudson drooled a river this month. One molar finally broke through and we can see the other ones in there, so there’s light at the end of the tunnel. And to be fair, he’s pretty cool about the whole thing considering this has been going on for weeks on end. (Not easy to be a baby!) He does get a little fussy the day before and after a tooth comes through, but other than that it’s just drool and attempting to chew his way through every object in sight. Which unfortunately includes fingers if he can get them and shoulders just when you think he’s snuggling up for a hug. Lots of “NO BITING, HUDSON!” this month to little avail.

Standing/Sitting

Technically, there haven’t been any major developments here—especially considering that in the few months before this one he learned to crawl, stand, and sit back down! So this month has just been lots of practice on all of those fronts. It’s also ALL that he wants to do—no interest in being confined in the stroller for too long, mom! Get me out and let me move. So our walks have to be carefully planned to include a destination that allows him to get some wiggles out midway through or he’s not thrilled with me. He loves to sit on the sidewalk on the river or the channel and then pull up and stand there holding on to the bars of the rails along the water.

Here I must mention Bunny Rescue—the quirkiest and cutest thing. Hudson sleeps with a bunny lovie every night and a pacifier with a little elephant attached to it. If we’re playing in his room, he’ll suddenly make an army-crawling beeline to the crib, pull himself up to standing, and then reach in for the bunny and/or pacifier AT ALL COSTS. Like red in the face, squished against the bars, he’s getting ‘em out of there. Once he yanks it through the bars, he’ll put it in his mouth, (which is particularly funny with the bunny because he bites down on his head to get a good grip) and then carefully uses his now-free hands to lower himself to a sitting position to resume playing, still with bunny in his mouth. Like a dog with a bone or something. I love him 😃

 

Eating

Hudson continues to eat most things enthusiastically. Still all about the protein: give him all the meat and cheese! Strawberries and blueberries are his favorite fruits, and he’ll eat pretty much any vegetable that I give him.

He also loves smoothies that I get from Whole Foods or make at home. Not sharing my smoothie is a REAL quick way to bring on the grunts.

J’s parents tell us that while he was an angel of a baby and child, he was a messy eater. Apparently Hudson has inherited this from his father, because if I leave too much food on his tray these days, a dangerous little flicker comes into his eyes and before I can catch him he will have gleefully swiped every bit of food off of his highchair, looking very satisfied with himself.

Sleep

I remember when I was pregnant reading all of the books that promise they can get your baby to sleep through the night by 12 weeks and thinking—okay, we can make it 12 weeks, however bad it is! If someone had told me that it would take a solid 8 months for him to start sleeping through the night, I think I would have cried. But in retrospect… it was just not all that bad. That’s what coffee is for. And it goes SO fast, of course.

All that said, sleep is a beautiful thing. We’ve been getting it consistently for a few months now, to the point that I can’t remember the last time I googled it, which is SAYING something because I think I read upwards of a thousand different articles on infant sleep in the early days. So, thanks Hudson, we are all feeling good!

Naps are slightly less consistent: usually one is longer than the other and both tend to be shorter in the throes of teething. But generally speaking, we put him down, he goes to sleep. Can’t ask for much more than that.

And a few random things Hudson loves:

Dancing! He’s done a little bopping to the beat before but recently we were in Trader Joes and he broke it down to “500 Miles.” The cutest.

Being outside. He does this really cute thing where he flings his arms up in the air and looks up at the sky. Also the cutest 🙂 And I’m a broken record.

Reading. He flips the pages, acknowledges his favorites, points at characters and often drags a book over to be read. Obviously a genius in the making 😉

Water. Such a great water drinker! Though he still, unfortunately, enjoys spitting it at me.

Blitz! He makes a happy little noise every time the kitty comes by. Which is basically all the time, because Blitz loves him against all odds. It is much to Hudson’s dismay that Blitz is faster than him.

Elevator rides: Hudson’s money maker. He cranes his little head to look at whoever else is on the elevator with us, turns up the smile to megawatt and then proceeds to coo and giggle, totally charming them until someone gets off. No one is immune to his charms–a delivery dude once said, “damn, that’s a cute baby.” I’m not sure what it means that he’s SO into charming strangers.

Sand. Still treats grass like hot lava, but sand? No fear. He loves digging in the sandbox at the park and the beach. He’s eaten less sand than I would have expected so… calling that a win?

---

They say that the days are long but the years are short. I beg to differ: it’s ALL short. Each day goes by in the blink of an eye and a whirlwind of toys, books, working during nap time, so many dishes, and so much dustbusting. In the pre-Hudson days, I’ve been guilty of looking so forward to the future that now I see I wished away days or times that I can never get back. I am DETERMINED not to do that now with Hudson’s precious baby years, and I would not trade any of these crazy days for the world. (Though I am visited by a Roomba in my dreams.)

We love you, Hudson Bean—you giant baby you! Can’t wait to see where you take us all.