Matteo is 10 Months!

I've been told he looks like a baby Marlon Brando.  He is dreamy, isn't he?

I adore him from spiky head to tiny curled toes. Knowing that he's probably my last baby, I am savoring him.  When I rock him or nurse him, I sniff him, kiss him, rub noses, and rub my cheek against his cheek with a big smile on my face. Maybe it's overkill, but I don't want to take his delicious babyness for granted.

Matteo at a Glance:

• Growing!  Thanks to the generosity of a friend, I am able to give him a few extra ounces of breastmilk a day.  Even that small amount has made a difference in his chub factor and his demeanor.  
• Scooting around on his belly across the room.  Has ventured out of his room a few times at Sisi's prompting (she sets up little toy "rewards" along the way).  But still not that ambitious about moving around.    
• As of today, pulls to standing, but still very wobbly!  
• Eating like a champ! Two solid meals plus 5 or 6 nursings/bottles a day. His recent culinary adventures include blood sausage, lamb brain puree, and ahi poke.  Now he prefers small bits he can feed himself over purees.  Good pincer grasp- even able to pick up those slippery salmon eggs. 
• Sleeping miraculously well. 
• Currently in the thick of Wonder Week 46.  Not seeing too much clinginess or moodiness right now.  Only  a few abnormal behaviors that I've noticed- he's crying himself to sleep lately, which is unusual.  He's so tired that the crying only lasts a few minutes and then he's out.  Also, he seems extra sensitive to loud noises (especially his sister's random outbursts.)  
• 4 teeth!  Sicilian gap tooth coming through :)
• Claps with one hand and one fist. 
• Imitating some consonant sounds.  For example, when I say Sisi, he will say "sss, sss, sss".
• Separation anxiety has melted away. For now, he's easy to pass around and doesn't mind being babysat.  This can change at any time. 
  
  

This video is kind of boring, but I've found that the videos I cherish most over the years are the ones of everyday life.  The everyday expressions, movements, and sounds that you can't consciously remember. When you see them on video, your heart remembers and you're brought back to those moments.  And then you cry because time is marching on way too fast.  

Matteo and Siena 10/2015 from kristin brancaleone on Vimeo.

Read more...