Saya - 10 Month Update

Happy 10 Months 

Saya Baby

WOW! That is really all I can say! I know I sound like a broken record but I cannot believe how fast time has flown by. Saya baby is already 10 months old! Since I haven't provided any updates since her 2 month "birthday", I thought I would write up a little something for my baby girl.

Age: 10 Months
Weight: 19 lbs 13 oz - at her 9 mo checkup
Height: 28 3/4 in - at her 9 mo checkup


Milestones:

• Walking! Walking! Walking! For a couple of months now, Saya has been walking with furniture and occasionally being brave and taking a few steps before falling down. This weekend she was something else. She was walking all over the new tile floor that her Papi had put down. She didn't want to stop and she rarely even fell. I can say she also took this weekend to start standing up without the assistance of a hand or furniture. Saya is just dieing to walk.
• In addition to walking, she is a super fast crawler. When she tries to run away or to get something she wants, look out, you may just miss her!
• Saya has been babbling for some time and on occasion you could hear the word, Dada, Papa or even Mama. Within the past couple of weeks, you can clearly hear her say Dada. Matter of fact, she says it all the time.
• She recognizes objects more and more. The last few months she had developed the ability to recognize her Mom, Dad, Grandpa, teachers and even her dog. Lately, she has been able to show that she recognizes the same object (for lack of a better word) say on the TV. The other day one of the sad ASPCA commercials came on and she got super excited because she knew it was a dog on TV. She will develop her compassion for those poor animals later. I should note that Saya does not watch TV. She really has no interest in it. If I have the TV on while I am playing with her, I usually put NickJr on so that something positive and educational is on if she should happen to look at it. Because of this, she is fully aware of certain theme songs. When the theme song to Backyardigans or Fresh Beat Band come on, she stops what she is doing to look at the TV and do her little dance. When the song finishes, she stops watching.
• Saya LOVES music and seems to have already taken favor to two songs on two totally different genres. This is mostly thanks to her Papi, who is a lover of all things art especially music. Since she was in the womb, she was introduced to our favorite artists and genres.
• She also loves to chew on EVERYTHING. This is no exaggeration. From toys to shoes, if you are not paying attention she will grab whatever is in front of her to chew on. She is our little puppy!
• Her eating habits have improved. Around 3 - 4 months, she was barely drinking 4 oz of formula at a time. Now, at 10 months she will drink 6 - 7 oz in addition to solid food. Almost 3 months ago, she went on strike with pureed foods and wanted nothing but finger foods. Since then she has been introduced to many fruits and veggies with her favorite being green beans. We have learned though that she will eat small meals many times during the day. This has definitely affected our sleep time.
• Saya tries to mimic almost everything we do. I've caught her trying to strap herself in her little high chair and she just loves walking up and down the stairs. With guidance of course, she will tirelessly go up and down the stairs, one foot at a time and has even pulled herself up the stairs using the banister. It is as if she has been walking for years.
• Has a little arm on her! Not only has she been dropping items in hopes that one of us will pick it up so that she can drop it again, she is starting to throw things. I saw it yesterday when she threw one of her toys back in the toy bin. It had some speed and power... Aw, my little softball player :)
• Clap, clap, clap! That's how she shows her excitement now! She also does this little stiff arm vibrating thing with a grunt when she is happy. It really is hilarious to watch.
• Saya now helps out with putting her shirts on. No longer does she fight me, she straightens her arms out one by one when needed.
• Bath time is a happy time. She splashes endlessly! Thank God for shower doors :)... This is also her time to play with her squirt toys which she now can squeeze the water out of.

Challenges:

• Still not sleeping through the night. About a month ago she was still waking up 2 - 4 times a night. Our feeling was that Saya was hungry, especially since she ate small meals throughout the day. She was drinking 6oz bottles every 2 hours. And yes we tried everything including cereal in the bottle but that didn't work at all. So at her 9 month visit, the doctor had confirmed that she was just hungry and that is why she woke up during the night. So we tried a little something different and it has helped out. She gets up maybe 2 times the most.
• She is not a morning eater or at least for us she isn't. She will get a bottle usually between 6:30 and 8:30 am, depending on when she wakes up. We try to feed her some solids or even a bottle by 9:30 am and she will maybe drink an oz or have a couple cheerios or whatever is for breakfast and that's it. She starts her big eating after 11:00am.
• Saya is constantly sick. Right now she is fighting another chest cold and head cold. In addition, we think she is teething again. So her temp is elevated, she can't breathe through her nose and she sounds like a smoker when she babbles. Poor girl can't beat this. My mom and MIL seem to think she is suffering from allergies. They may be on to something!

Appearance:

• Many still have differing opinions but no one can deny that she is her father's twin. Of course she has some of my features (squirrelly cheeks and nose) but they aren't noticed too much unless I am holding her. Saya is her father from her looks to her little attitude!
• Her hair has grown in significantly in the last few months. I can start putting little alligator clips in her and he it takes. The front and top are fairly straight with little wave but the back is starting to curl like mommy's hair. The color is more like a light to medium brown similar to her Daddy's hair.
• Love her blue eyes. OK, well they are a different shade of blue. Blue-grayish with a tint of green? So she didn't get her daddy's gorgeous blues or my boring browns. She has her own shade. That perfectly describes our little girl. A little of both (or most of her dad) BUT truly her own person.
• She is still pretty pale in complexion. Her beautiful soft skin replicates the color of her daddy's skin that never sees the sun (upper leg, upper arm).
• She has teeth! Miss Saya has 4 teeth, two on top and two on the bottom. It's been a month since we have seen any teeth break through so I think she is about due for more.
• Depending on the store brand, she fits just right into 12 month clothing. With help from G'Ma, she is totally ready for the summer.

Easter 2011 - 10 months old

{Phone pic by Titi Tanya}