10-12 Months: C's Milestones

10 Months

• Fourth tooth (2nd on top). 
• Loves emptying toys from their bin and the books off the shelf. 
• Mimicking what we do. 
• More hair. 
• Standing for several seconds on her own with confidence and without thinking about it.
• Sticking tongue out. 
• Switched to flats for cloth diapering. 
• Tilts her head to the side to make us laugh. 
• Walks when her hands are held but she loves crawling fast to get places. 
• Way more chatty.

11 Months

• A week before her birthday started climbing up the ladder without help and can come down the slide as well without help 
• Flips container in pack-n-play over and stands on it
• Lays head down frequently for a few seconds on pillows, our shoulders, etc. 
• Mastered sign language of "more"and "milk" 
• Pats our backs in excitement
• Plays with our hair while drinking bottle
• Started walking on Father's Day
• Starting to prefer Geoffrey over me 
• Super happy
• Tries to climb up the slide on her own
• Understands "It's bedtime" and normally starts whining/fussing that she doesn't want to go to bed.
• Understands "Will you put your head down?" and lays it down on my shoulder.
• Uses index finger to flick lip... Halfway into the month discovered making noise while doing it is a lot more fun.
• Finally mastered sippy cups and drinking out of a straw.  Berry smoothie from Costco did the trick with the straw.

12 Months

• Finally understands she is supposed to run when I say "I'm going to get you"... Before she would simply run to me.
• Plays hide and go seek
• Brings books over for us to read to her.  We are doing good if we get through three pages before she moves onto something else :)
• Has discovered the door stopper by the front door is fun to play with.
• Finds great delight in playing with Bella.
• Now understands what the following words mean: Daddy, Mommy, Auntie Kali, food, milk, more, ball, book, bed time and shoes
• Has mastered the sign language for: more, food, milk, water and please
• Growth in communicating when she does not like something :)
• Loves when we play music and bobs her head to the tune (even if it's slow haha)
• Understands mommy and daddy are interacting with their iPad or phone and now tries to grab the devices to look at them
• Understands the remote controls the TV
• Started ISR Self-Rescue Swim lessons.  Quickly mastered holding her breath under water and swimming to the pull up bar.
• Tries to delay bed time by resting her head against Mommy's should because I'm a sucker for cuddling
• Also tries to delay any nap or bed time by now asking for milk, water or food whenever I change her diaper

4-12 Months: Solids

Resources

• Loved this website!
• Printed this LIST and had it inside cabinet to help think through what feeding Carmen.
• Super Baby Food is an overwhelming book that friends swear by... maybe try getting through it with second kiddo.

Real Food for Baby

• Introducing Liquids
• Never gave juice because didn't want baby to have so much sugar.
• Use small see through cup of water to have baby learn how to sip out of it.
• Also use sippy cups: 
• Do consistently and at most meals.
• Model how to use it.
• Try a soft straw in a cup with the next one.

• Introducing Solids (Mainly Veggies)
• Tried to do a lot of various veggies and non-sweet foods before fruit.
• Month 6 & 7 only did veggies and avocados with Baby C.
• Order of foods started with Baby C: oatmeal, avocados, acorn squash, butternut squash, green beans, rice cereal, carrots, peas, apples, bananas, pasta
• Used formula with solids to make them less thick instead of trying to pump for it.
• Used oatmeal before bed for the first couple of months to help with sleeping through the night

• Introducing Fruits
• Think through what fruits are binding and which ones break down.
• No citrus, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries until after a year.

• Introducing Dairy 
• Start with whole fat yogurt (banana flavor is especially mild, watch out for berry flavors!), mild cheese (like mozzarella), then not as mild cheese...
• No milk until after a year old.

• Introducing Finger Foods
• Started at 8 months.  Maybe do earlier with next one.
• Finger Food Ideas
• Don't put finger into mouth to pull out food baby is choking on unless you can see it.  Do a hooking motion to pull out food.  Swatting baby's back is best!  Don't want to accidentally shove food further down the neck.

• Foods to Watch Out for and Avoid:
• Highly allergenic foods: dairy, eggs, peanuts, strawberries, wheat
• Peanut butter and nuts
• 6-12 months
• Maybe give baby right before doctor appointment in case swells?
• Not until after a year: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, citrus, honey, eggs, whole milk, shellfish/crustaceans
• Grapes and hot dogs are super big choking hazards!

Mommy Reflections

• Be patient!  Baby is learning!
• Know what allergies run in the family.
• Wait 3-4 days with introducing new foods to see if there are any allergic reactions.
• Baby C had big time rash with poop changing for 1-2 weeks.

Parenting

• Flick the side of baby's mouth if spitting food to nip that practice in the bud right away. Don't do it hard! Even a little flick hurts.
• From beginning of solids hold baby's hands down in lap while feeding him/her. This keeps baby from from grabbing the spoon and pulling on the bib.  Down the road as you no longer need to hold the hands he/she won't grab the spoon when being fed.

4-9 Months: Baby Food Making Supplies

Must Have Supplies

• Stock Pot and Strainer/Colander
• To steam the fresh foods.
• Used the strainer that came with our stock pot and it worked great instead of needing an additional colander.
• Blender
• To puree the steamed food in.
• If food is already frozen just follow the directions of how to cook it on the bag.
• Ice Cube Trays with Lids 
• Use initially to freeze baby food.
• Silicone Muffin Pan
• Use to freeze baby food once eating more.
• Loved this over a normal one!  So easy to pop the food out after it's frozen!  
• Use saran wrap to cover it to keep it from freezer burn.  Must be BPA free.
• Skillet
• To reheat the food up since the microwave zaps all nutrients.

Additionally Useful

• Pack of 4 oz Jars
• Place frozen ice cubes of pureed food into them to defrost the food in the fridge before heating it up.  
• Moved so quickly to the muffin pan to store the pureed food that probably would get a couple bigger glass jars instead for next baby.
• Or skip this altogether and just go straight to using the skillet to reheat the food.  It only takes a couple minutes longer :)
• Sili Squeeze
• To take homemade baby food on the go in.  
• Make sure have a way to keep the food in it cold.

Thoughts & Resources

• How to Puree & Store Baby Food
• Start with small batches to make sure there aren't any allergies first.