Sarah At Ten Months

Stats
I'm guessing on these again this month.  I know that she's mostly in 12-18 month clothing now and wears size four disposable diapers.
Weight: 21lbs 8oz
Height: 28.5" 
Head circumference: 17.5" 

Sleeping
We broke the pacifier this month.  This felt like the remaining sleep habit other than breaking the bottle once she turns one.  We'd ditched the swaddle and then the sleep sack in previous months.  At Sarah's 9 month appointment I asked Dr. Toth when she thought we should stop using the pacifier.  She said, "Well, she isn't needing one right now during this appointment, so I'd say she's ready to stop.  It'll take a week of perseverance, but I think she'll stop easily."  She was totally right.  Sarah has never been obsessed with her pacifier like some babies (*ahem*her mother), but she has enjoyed sucking on it to fall asleep.  So we started with ditching it at night, and it took about a week, and now we've ditched it for naps as well.  That's been the biggest noteworthy occurrence in the sleep department this month.  Otherwise, she still sleeps from about 7:30pm-7:30am and takes a morning nap and afternoon nap for about an hour apiece.  

Eating 
We're still doing four 8 ounce bottles a day, but the biggest leap in the food department this month was really getting into finger foods.  At the start of this month Sarah decided she wasn't a baby and didn't want to be spoon fed or eat baby food.  We went with it and have introduced lots of finger foods like tofu (yes, seriously), avocado, banana chunks, diced watermelon and strawberries, scrambled eggs, eating yogurt by hand, shredded cheese, sweet potato cubes, brown rice puffs (we think they taste like styrofoam), black beans, and peas.  She has gotten pretty good at feeding herself by hand.  We're working on learning how to use the sippy cup, and she's made a bit of improvement in that area this month.

Personality
Sarah loves teasing people!  If someone says hi to her she will turn her back to them, wait a second, and then turn back around and smile and giggle.  She is asserting her independence and knows exactly where she wants to go now that she can crawl and stand.  Because of that, she really doesn't like it when you move her when she wasn't finished yet.  She hates diaper changes and can twist right out of her arms while you're trying to pin her down.  When she doesn't like something she crinkles up her nose and pooches out her lips.  She will even whack her hands together to try to get you to go away.  She lights up a room and adores being the center of attention with the students at church.  

Health and Physical Ability
Sarah was the unfortunate recipient of an upper respiratory infection and another urinary tract infection this month.  Dr.  Toth had told us to come in any time Sarah has a fever of 101 or more so she could test for a UTI.  We did that a couple of weeks ago and found out it was just an upper respiratory infection and we needed to wait out the virus for 7-14 days.  However, 10 days later her fever came back with a vengeance at 103.6, so we went back to the doctor and saw one of Dr. Toth's coworker.  Sarah had to get yet another catheter, and this time it turned out to be a UTI, so she's on an antibiotic again.  Sarah has an appointment to follow up with Dr. Toth, and then she will schedule additional testing to decide why this is a recurring issue.

Sarah has gotten much more stable while standing, and I really think she would stand without holding onto something, but she gets nervous and grabs on tight.  However, on June 2 second let go of me and stood on her own for about three seconds, so I think she's well on her way.  She can crawl at lightening speed and get wherever she wants to go.  She has also learned how to sit down intentionally without falling down.

New words this month: cat, uh-oh, bye-bye, ball, bubble, yum, hey, quack quack (for a duck), clap, and Hi, Dada (while waving).  She says cat when she sees Mittens.  It's too cute!  She also enjoys clicking her tongue and blowing her lips a lot.  She really likes this pinwheel that she has.  She tries to blow on it while I blow on it.  Too adorable!

Sarah learned how to wave and clap this month - both major crowd pleasers.

She got her seventh tooth this month (a lower lateral incisor), which was super fun on top of the UTI and upper respiratory infection.  She's a trooper!

Superficial
Sarah's curls are becoming more pronounced and multiplying.  They're a big hit!  She has started to get a bit of a tan this summer which has been a little surprising, but I guess it shouldn't be since Robert can get quite tan.  I just figured my light skin would win out.  She hasn't gotten a burn, and we put on sunscreen and keep her in the shade when we're out, but she's still definitely darkened up a bit since the cold winter months.  

Highlights of the month
May 6 - Trip to the zoo with Robert and my dad

May 7 - Took 4 assisted steps with Uncle Jim while celebrating Mother's Day 

May 14 - Mark and Serina came for a day trip

May 15 - First professional baseball game (Springfield Cardinals)

May 20-21 - Trip to Windermere

May 21 - Ray, Terri, Jason, and Bethany came for a quick trip

May 30 - Memorial Day

May 31 - Play date with Asa

Dear Sarah,
Right now you love trying new things like new foods, learning how to crawl and sit, traveling to new towns, meeting new people, and playing new games.  One day you might want to learn how to play the piano, do a cartwheel, play soccer, draw a picture, or read a book.  It will be difficult and take persistence, but I know that you are a very determined girl, and you want to work hard at something when you are interested in it.  It's okay to like something even if you aren't the best at it.  You can enjoying playing the trumpet even if you don't get first chair in band class.  You can like drawing even if you only know how to draw stick figures.   I hope you always have the courage to try new things even if you don't know if it'll be easy or whether or not you'll be great at it.