Otso's 10th Month

Summary

Otso is moving around with the military-style crawl. He smiles a lot, and is generally good-natured and happy to be alive. This month we saw the first time he was playing with his sister but also we saw how now this same sister regards him as a threat to her playtime.

Events
21.7 munkkiranta with Rouru family
22.7 drive to Saimaa
26.7 berry picking in the forest
28.7 drive to Helsinki
29.7 dinner party at Sami and Ilona's house
31.7 playgroup with other Finnish-American families
2.8 lunch at Michele and Janne's house
3.8 play date with Katya and Alexi
5.8 Linnanmäki: Otso rode the baby ferris wheel and balloon carousel
6.8 Flights back to Stavanger
7.8 pulled himself up to a standing position on isä

10.8 Suomi-Seura coffee social 

14.8 started night weaning

15.8 stayed home with Isä while Äiti and Lumi went to playgroup

17.8 Irene's family over for dinner

20.8 10 months old

Development
Otso is crawling faster but still sort of dragging himself with his arms (primarily left arm) and using his right foot to push a bit. He is not doing a proper crawl.

He has started waving, mostly as a friendly hello.

2.8 went from floor to sitting up by himself. 
he hasn't really mastered this skill yet, but he can do it when he is trying and not overly tired or frustrated. this means he can get from sitting to crawling and back to sitting.

7.8 pulled self up to standing using Isä's T-shirt

Toys/Games
Otso loves to play with Crocs, no matter how dirty they are.
He loves peek-a-boo and loves to pull things (sunglasses, hats, etc) off of his own head and that of others.

1.8 first time we saw Lumi and Otso shut themselves together in a room to play

Eating
He is eating more jarred baby food in Finland. The good news is that there is more variety here. He likes to chew on cucumbers and bread. He loves blueberry rahka.
He seems to have made the leap to chewing. He can now handle chunks in his food.
He still likes breastfeeding but he clearly wants and needs other foods for nourishment.
We gave him Lumi's old yellow sippy cup with the straw and he has been drinking a lot of water from it, much more than with the spout cup. The cup is a nice size for him and he can hold it himself.

Sleeping
In Finland we gave up trying to get him to sleep in a crib. And his nap schedule was more whenever it is convenient for everyone else instead of a real schedule.
At night he prefers to sleep on his belly. He has a hard time getting to sleep and will cry for around 30 minutes. We sit with him during this cry. I try to not nurse him to sleep, though we do nurse as part of the night routine.
Night routine: bath, diaper, pajamas, song, nursing breast
The last night in Finland and first couple nights at home Otso woke up at 3 or 4 in the morning almost hysterical. He was inconsolable.
Now that we are back at home, we are trying a new sleeping arrangement: the crib right next to äiti's bed, with one wall removed. And we are night weaning!

On the evening of 14.8, we started night weaning. I feed him in a chair before he goes to bed, then again in a chair the first time he wakes up after I go to bed (usually between 22:00 and 23:00), then not again until morning. In the morning, I wait until the first time he wakes up after 6:00, then get out of bed with him and feed him in a chair. The idea is that he isn't eating during the night, and he isn't eating while lying down in the bed. Why are we doing this? We don't want the breast to be a sleep crutch (which he had just started to do -- for example, nurse a tiny bit to relax whenever he woke up during the night), and we want both mother and baby to get more hours of uninterrupted sleep. The first couple nights it has been hard, and he whimpered a lot. I still slept with him and cuddled him; I just didn't offer a breast. But it seems like he is simultaneously getting a little bit of a cold, so hopefully once that goes away he will be sleeping more peacefully.

Health
3.8 fell face first out of the stroller on the playground. He got a mouthful of gravel and a couple cuts.

15.8 feverish and clearly cranky. He had the fever for a few days before it seemed to finally go away the morning of 18.8. His sleep hasn't returned to normal but it is better.

 
Stats
Clothes: size 86 (18 months) in most brands. 

Teeth: 2
Weight: 9.7 kg
Length: ?