Charlotte: 10 months old

Charlotte's first ride on a carousel

Height and Weight:
Charlotte is still topping the charts!  We had an appointment at the Monell Center today and she is 22 lbs, 14 oz and 29 inches tall.  She is delicious and has yummy thighs.

Clothing size:
Charlotte is wearing 12 months or 12-18 month sizes.  I need to stock up in fleece, footed pj's for winter, but other than that, we have plenty of hand-me-downs to keep her clothed and warm. She wears size 4 diapers during the day, but size 5 at night after a series of pee-outs and poop-outs that have roused us all too early in the morning.

Milestones:
So many!  Charlotte is walking, and can stand up from sitting in the middle of the room.  She can go up and down the stairs.  She waves bye-bye, and can sign for "more."  And, she finally got some teeth! She has 2 teeth on the bottom now.  I saw she might be getting an incisor on the top- if it comes within the next week, she will make a beautiful jack-o-lantern for Halloween.

Outings and Adventures:
We haven't ventured far in the past month, but Charlotte had her first train ride, and her first carousel ride.  We've been to our usual haunts: the playground, the zoo, the please touch museum, and our friends' houses.

Routine/Schedule:
We remain loose on the schedule.  She will often take a 45 minute nap in the morning, if given the opportunity.  Otherwise, she only gets one nap/day, and it's of varying lengths, but generally at least 2 hours.  Her bedtime is around 7:30.  We all eat breakfast together around 8, lunch around noon, and dinner around 6.  Charlotte eats a snack after her nap most afternoons, and still nurses several times a day.  She's STILL not sleeping through the night, although her sleep got much better while my parents were in Paris and she slept in their room (in her pack n play), but now that they are home, and she has a small cold, her sleep is terrible.

Favorite food:
Charlotte loves all her food!  She likes eggs, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, yogurt, peanut butter and jelly, clementines, strawberries, melons, applesauce, and pasta.  She loves fruit and vegetables, and if they are on her tray, will eat them before the other food on her tray.

It is funny to me the things I was strict with when feeding the boys that I no longer care about- I used to feed the boys only one food at a time: first vegetable, then protein, then fruit.  With Charlotte I put whatever it is on her tray as soon as it is ready for her, and she feeds herself everything.  I am also not regimented about whether she is getting a vegetable at every meal (she's not).  Life just doesn't work that way anymore.

Favorite person:
She is such a loving girl, with a smile for everyone.  She adores her daddy and her brothers (and me!), as well as her grandparents and my aunt Jane and uncle Ed.  As far as I can tell, she has no single favorite person.  She has just started to really seek me out for attention and ask for hugs and kisses, which I love.

Two of my friends have had babies in the past week.  I have found myself thinking about my fears at the end of my pregnancy with Charlotte- would I love her? Would the boys love her?  Would the boys be mad at me for having a baby?  I cannot believe how well things have gone.  The boys, after a very brief period of adjustment, have been absolutely wonderful with her.  I don't sense resentment or jealousy.  I'm not sure if it is because they always had to share me, or if I did something right, or what, but I feel lucky at how it has all turned out.  And, as for the question of whether I would love my baby girl...  I most certainly do.  She's such a pleasure to be with, a joy to have.  I have some sadness about the fact that her babyhood went by so quickly, but I love watching her develop, and receiving love from her, too.

On Sunday I got a haircut, and the assistant said, while she was washing my hair, "Enjoy your boys now! They're tough when they grow up!" Later, another friend, whose daughter is 18 months old, told me to enjoy Charlotte now, because these days are the best.  I do remember 18-24 months old being a particularly tough time with the boys, that is true, but in general, these 3.5 years have been good.  At every stage, something is wonderful and fun, and something else is difficult.  Right now, things with all 3 are going well.  I feel lucky every day- even the worst ones.