recipes

Baby’s First Year: Month 10

Sep 10, 2021 admin

Hello, moms and dads, and welcome to Month 10 with your baby and Month 10 with my baby, Bracey. Bracey is now 43 weeks old, but only 33 weeks old in terms of his corrected age. So with regard to baby milestones he’s closer to a 8-month-old baby than a 10-month-old. He continues to catch up, though!

Growth and Development of a 10 Month Old Baby

Bracey’s 10 Month Checkup with the Pediatrician

Most babies will not see their pediatrician for a visit at 10 months of age. Bracey’s doctor wants to see him every month since he was a premie. His doctor checked his ears, throat, and lungs, took his weight, and measured his length and the circumference of his head. He sat Bracey up to assess his strength and examined him during tummy time. He advised me to continue the same diet, which I will expand on below. And he showed me Bracey’s position on the Spanish growth charts for weight, height, and head circumference. Bracey now sits comfortably within each of those curves, albeit at the lower end of the curves. What a relief!

Growth of a 10 Month Old Baby

The average 10-month-old baby boy weighs 20 pounds 3 ounces (9.2 kilos) and the average baby girl weighs 18 pounds 11 ounces (8.5 kilos). At his 10 month checkup, Bracey weighed approximately 8 kilos (17.6 pounds), up from 1.490 kilos (3.278 pounds) at birth, so he has gained a little over 6.51 kilos or 14.3 pounds since birth.

Intellectual Activities for a 10 Month Old Baby

Since babies display tremendous growth at around this stage, you likely will find that your 10 month old is ready for slightly more sophisticated activities than they were a month ago. Giving them a toxic-free crayon with which to scribble onto a big white paper can be fun. Stacking, sorting, and arranging blocks helps develop your baby’s fine motor skills as well as memory and logic. Continue to sing with your baby, opting for songs with good rhythm and beat. This type of music has been proven to stimulate language development in babies. Encourage your baby to imitate gestures such as waving good-bye and clapping. Experts claim that imitating helps with long-term memory and social and emotional bonding. Peek-a-boo is an old favorite and can be played anywhere and with people or objects.

How to Read to a 10 Month Old Baby

We’ve been reading to Bracey for a few months now and sometimes you wonder whether anything is sinking in, let me tell you! I remind myself during those moments that the idea is not that Bracey is following along with the story. This is not a Harry Potter situation just yet! Rather, the goal with reading is to keep putting more words into your baby’s ears. Interestingly enough, when I pull out a book, Bracey starts babbling more, showing that somehow his little brain is connecting to the language. Fascinating!

Reading during Feeding Sessions

One of my new tricks is to read to Bracey while he is burping since it seems to take him longer to burp now. I pull a book down from my shelf, hold it at a bit of distance (so that he does not put it in his mouth), and tell Bracey the story, pointing things out on the page. When Bracey burps, I put him back on the breast and nurse him some more. Then, I finish the book. I figure this is pretty good time management!

Physical Activities for a 10 Month Old Baby

Depending on whether your baby is sitting up, crawling, cruising, or beginning to walk, you’ll want to orient physical activities around their level of physical maturity. If your baby is not yet crawling — Bracey is right on the cusp of crawling — continue to put your baby in tummy time as many times a day as possible. Blocks and finger foods will offer your baby a good opportunity to perfect their palmer grasp (pulling the fingers in towards the palm), raking grasp (raking over an object with the fingers and pulling it into the palm), and pincer grasp (using the pads of the thumb and index finger to pick up objects with more precision).

Baby’s Vision and Speech at 10 Months

What Does my Baby See at 10 Months?

Your baby’s vision will continue to develop over the course of their first year, and by 10 months most babies can see comfortably from greater distances. You’ll catch plenty of smiles from across the room.

How Much Should my Baby Talk at 10 Months?

At 10 months, many babies can say a variety of sounds, some of which might even sound like real words. A few babies might be using words as a representation for things like baba for bottle. None of my five older children spoke this early and Bracey certainly is not uttering real words, although he is now using two-syllable sounds like mama and dada. (Many babies say dada earlier because the “d” sound is actually easier to say so don’t take that personally, fellow moms.) Some babies will respond to their own name and some to the word no. If you are concerned about your baby’s level of speech, talk with your doctor.

How to Respond to your Baby’s Gestures

Your baby’s gestures such as pointing to things and saying no with a nod remain an important form of non-verbal communication. When your baby uses these gestures, talk back with words. Intonate to catch your baby’s interest while seizing every opportunity to use complex words. When Daddy goes out the door, rather than say “Daddy, bye-bye,” try “Daddy is leaving through the door and going to work.” The idea is to keep throwing words and concepts at your baby whether they understand them or not because you want them to be challenged to learn more. In other words, employ baby intonation but not baby talk.

What Solid Foods do I NOT Give a 10 Month Old Baby?

At 10 months, my doctor advised me to continue with the diet he prescribed during prior months but also suggested I continue to give finger foods. In month 9, I give a comprehensive list of finger foods you can give your baby from 9-12 months. Here is a comprehensive list of foods to avoid:

hard raw fruits and veggies
grape tomatoes, even when cut (they can stick in the throat)
raisins
hot dogs
chunks of cheese
pieces of bread (some say ok but I have noticed that they can stick in the throat)
any kind of gummy or hard candy
cookies and cake (avoid processed, sugary foods)
popcorn
marshmallows
grape tomatoes

My general rule is that if you have any hesitation regarding giving your baby a finger food, do not give it! It’s not worth the risk and there will be plenty of time for trying that food later on in life when your baby is more mature.

Breastfeeding, Solid Foods, and Sleeping Schedule for a 10 Month Old Baby

How Much Breastmilk does my 10 Month Old Baby Need

As I explained in earlier months, my doctor advised that given the introduction of solids, babies this age need less breastmilk than previously, and said to aim to give Bracey between 16 and 24 ounces (480-720ml) of breastmilk a day divided between four feedings, so figure 4-6 ounces (120-180ml) per feeding. Some experts recommend giving 6-8 ounces per feeding for a total of 24-32 ounces (720-950ml) per day, although my babies never consumed this much. By this stage, your baby is getting alot of the nutrition they need from solids although breastmilk or formula will remain their primary source of nutrition until 12 months.

Breastfeeding, Solids and Sleep Schedule for 10 Month Old Baby

During Month 10, solid foods will remain one of the cornerstones of your daily schedule. Here’s the schedule that is working nicely for us. I continue to give Bracey a wider array of vegetables, fruits and proteins and more mixtures. I’ve adjusted the amounts below to comply with American guidelines.

7am — breastmilk then multigrain cereal mixed with breastmilk or formula. Sleep 9:30-11am.
11am – breastmilk then 2-3 tablespoons of protein (fish, chicken, meat) mixed vegetable puree w/ egg yoke and olive oil 2x per week. Can add finger foods. Sleep 1:30-3pm.
3pm — breastmilk then 2-3 tablespoons of mixed fresh fruit puree. Can substitute for finger foods. Sleep 6-7pm.
7pm — breastmilk then 2-3 tablespoons of multigrain cereal mixed with breastmilk. Sleep 8:30-11pm.

Bottle Feeding an 10 Month Old Baby

How Much Formula to Give a 10 Month Old Baby

As is the case with breastmilk, at 10 months, the amount of formula your baby consumes likely will begin to decline based on the introduction of solid foods. Ten-month-old babies should be consuming about 6-8 ounces (180-240ml) of formula per feeding over four feedings, sometimes five.

Formula Feeding, First Foods and Sleeping Schedule for a 10 Month Old Baby

7am — bottle then multigrain cereal mixed with breastmilk or formula. Sleep 9:30-11am.
11am – bottle then 2-3 tablespoons of protein (fish, chicken, meat) mixed vegetable puree w/ egg yoke and olive oil 2x per week. Can add finger foods. Sleep 1:30-3pm.
3pm — bottle then 2-3 tablespoons of mixed fresh fruit puree. Can substitute for finger foods. Sleep 6-7pm.
7pm — bottle then 2-3 tablespoons of multigrain cereal mixed with breastmilk. Sleep 8:30-11pm.

Bracey Update

At his 10 month appointment, Bracey weighed approximately 8 kilos (17.6 pounds). He is almost crawling! He tends to rock back and forth on his hands and knees with a smile of anticipation, looking like he wants to pounce. He’s having fun sitting up on his own. We no longer have to buttress him nor place soft pillows nearby since he does not topple. He enjoys practicing walking or rather running.

Bracey has begun to speak in double syllables. Mama and dada are his two favorites.

He met his first cat.

I am so delighted with our little boy, and hope you are with your little one, as well.

My baby’s first year is speeding by.

See you back next month for Month 11. Wow!

Resources