When did we get to Ten?

I'm sorry, wasn't I just posting about 9-month milestones? How did we get to 10 months? I know Luc never stops moving when he's awake (and even when asleep, honestly). But I think he came with a time accelerator.

 I keep thinking that when I was pregnant with Luc time seemed to drag on. I felt like I was pregnant for a whole lot longer than 9 months. But when you have this little guy to care for everyday, I can't grasp time at all. Every hour, every minute, every second is consumed. Life is in a whirlwind. I feel like I'm back on that high-speed train in Europe, missing every train stop for a chance to sit back and reflect on this journey. I just keep going and going, watching life flashing by outside the window. Yet, I look next to me at my guys, and it's all calm and smooth sailing.

Luc & Cali

Luc is a wonderful baby (almost toddler- Ah!). Mom keeps telling me he's the happiest baby she's ever met. Guess that means I wasn't so swell as an infant. haha! But it's true, he is one happy-go-lucky babe. He finds pleasure in the simple things in life. He's never more content then when he's with a bunch of his family members. And you can get him to laugh almost anytime.-even when he's sobbing to get his way.He thinks it's funny if you start imitating him.

Luc eats well, for himself. I make it a point not to force Luc to eat more than he wants (so as not to live in frustration). He has a decent appetite, and we're slowly working on exposing him to different foods and textures. He's slowly moving into fruit and veggie finger foods. He's more apt to eat it if he's 1. not confined to his high chair, and 2. you're eating it as well. Luc's growing and is reaching his milestones. And looking at Daddy, it's just not in Luc's genes to be a sumo wrestler- so why add stress to our lives trying to force food down his throat?

There's only one thing about Luc that brings utter frustration, stress, and anxiety into my day: he doesn't fall, and stay, asleep. It breaks me down to tears, a clenched jaw, and literally, hair pulling (my own, not his). I feel that if Luc had any other "issue" at this stage, I could take it on with more patience and strength. But when you're sleep-deprived, over-worked, and exhausted, there's little chance of not loosing my patience and questioning the cruelness of being a Mother.
Luc's gotten into the habit of being held, a lot and when he's sleepy. Or taking advantage of a moving car to catch some Zzzs. So now that he's bigger it's harder transitioning him to nap in his crib. At nighttime, we've worked on this at home, but he still goes through phases (name any new reason as to why) of waking in the middle of the night and welcoming the new day way too early.

The moving of the car and sound of your music makes me sooo sleepy...

The last thing I wanted to resort to was letting Luc cry it out. On numerous occasions he would get so upset he threw up all over the crib and his pjs. After a night of standing, then sitting, then finally laying next to his crib from 2am til 6am (on a weekday). The next night, totally exhausted, Luc awoke and started to cry for comfort. I was in no mood to spend another night on the floor instead of my bed. So I decided to go into his room, give him his pacifier, lay him back down (once), and then walk out. Tough Love. I was expecting Luc to cry for hours; he fussed, whined, and cried for 5-10 minutes before passing out. Wow. Okay, had I known. We'll see how well it goes and for how long it lasts... until the next phase comes along, right?

*Luc's Recent Big Accomplishment: taking 1 or 2 steps by himself.
And so it begins...