Surf's up!

I walked into the living room the other day to find our little guy surfing with Daddy.  I think the "Yee-Haw!" comment gives away the fact that we live in Indiana and not a coastal state :).

9 Months Old

Nine months (3/4 of a year!) feels like a big milestone, Little Man.  Maybe it's because it feels like we're well on our way to the one year mark.  We already have your one-year doctors appointment on the calendar.  And maybe it's also because you've now been out in the world as long as you were in utero.

Look at your first 2 teeth!

9 Month Stats

Weight: 17lbs. 9 oz.16th percentile

Height: 27.5 in 18th percentile

Head: 18.25 cm 86th percentile

Likes:

• Riding in the Beco on my back - you are so content just hanging out behind me
• Clicking your tongue
• Reading books
• Shoes - we have to keep these put away or you will find them
• Cuddling
• Music in the car
• Eating purees - you like everything we have given you so far except apricots!
• Playing catch
• Your pacifiers - not only do you like them so that you can suck to sleep, these things are your favorite toy and your comfort item.  I put 4 or 5 in your bed so that you can easily find them when you wake up in the middle of the night.  However, you like to have one in your mouth and at least one in each hand.  You like to cuddle a paci close to your chest.  Often before you fall asleep, you will circle your crib, gathering all the pacis into a pile. 

This is how I usually find you when I go in to get you from a nap.

A rare picture of you sleeping.  You can see your paci pile next to you.*



* You have always been the lightest sleeper.  When you used to sleep in our room, you would wake up when we would open the door no matter how quietly we did it.  Then when we moved you to your own room, you would wake up if we tip-toed in to check the temperature.  However, you must be starting to sleep a little deeper.  One Sunday, Daddy went in to wake you up from your morning nap so that we could get to church.  He turned off your sound machine, which typically wakes you right up, but you stayed sound asleep.  You even stayed sound asleep when he turned off your fan and opened your black-out curtains and blinds.  He came to get me to come see the phenomenon.  I came in and rubbed your back and started talking quietly to you, which woke you up - but only after a good couple of minutes.  You were out!  Luckily you were breathing very heavily, so we knew you were ok!

Dislikes:

• Diaper changes or being put on your back in general
• Being left in the nursery at church
• If you can't see Momma or Daddy

Milestones:

• You went to story time at the library for the first time.  Usually you take your morning nap during this time, but you slept late on this particular day.  You were the youngest one there, but Momma was very impressed (as were other mommas) at how well you paid attention.  I figured you would enjoy it since you have a long attention span.  You stood on Momma's lap at the beginning and watched the leader.  Then you sat on the floor behind all the other kids.  Every once in a while you would get distracted and try to pull the shirt in front of you, but overall you loved listening to the stories and songs.  At the end of the session, the leader said she needed to count how many children were there.  Each time she counted a participant, that kid could pull the tie on her Cat in the Hat doll, which made him talk.  When she got to you, you immediately reached up and pulled his arm.  It was very cute.  We also checked out some books for you, which you have really enjoyed.
• You got your first tooth last month and then your second one came in very soon after that at the very beginning of this month. 
• With regard to your new teeth, you also started biting while nursing!  We went through a week where you would bite every time you nursed.  I think you were bored, but it sent Momma to the doctor.  This leads us to another first for the month....
• You started drinking milk from a sippy cup :).  After pushing through 5 days of nursing with a bite wound, Momma needed a break.  I would let you nurse on one side and then offer you the sippy cup.  You would usually only take about 1 ounce, but it got you through a couple of days.  For a little guy who resisted a bottle so strongly, we were proud of you.
• You started crawling!  This was a huge milestone this month.  It happened towards the very end of the month, but now you are on the go all the time.  You love to get up on your hands and knees while you play and chat, but when it's time to actually move, it's all arms.  You are such a strong little guy.  You put your arms straight out in front of you, then pull yourself forward and push your chest up high so that your arms are fully extended.  You repeat this over and over and over again.  If you are stationary, you love to push yourself up so that you are balancing on just your hands and feet with your butt up in the air, kind of like you are doing a yoga position.

You love hanging out in this position.  You are such a strong guy!

• You can now balance standing up if we position you in a standing position next to the couch so that you can hold on.  You love this perspective.  
•  We started giving you finger foods, but it's mostly a fun activity for you right now since you still seem to prefer to be spoon-fed purees.  We have started making some of your purees chunkier though and you don't seem to mind.  You are really good at eating bite size pieces of steamed acorn squash.
• At the very end of the month, you started pointing and using just your pointer finger to examine things.
• You wave frequently now, and it gets a good reaction from strangers.
• You are riding in the stroller more often without the car seat and I think you are enjoying it more than you used to.  You used to prefer riding with your car seat attached to the stroller so that you faced us, but I think you enjoy being able to face forward now and see the world. 
• You had your first fever and throw up this month.  We took you to the doctor and found out you also had your first ear infection.  Poor baby!  You were such a trouper, still happy during the day and trying your best to play, but you needed to be held for naps and nighttime sleep. 

Sweet, sick boy still playing happily

• You have always noticed small details, but it really stood out to me this month.  You love to examine the carpet now that you can move about.  If there is even the tiniest piece of lint on the floor, you have to go to it and touch it with your finger.  Or one time, you kept poking at a tiny freckle on my shoulder trying to determine what it was and how to get it.  Or on your electronic toy that has many big parts that you can spin and slide, you will fixate on the little on/off switch.  When I see you doing these type of things, I really know you are my baby :). 

Momma vacuums 3-4 times a week, but you can always find something!



• I got you a soft basket for your toys b/c I didn't want you to bump your face on the hard edge of your old basket.  You love that you can tip over the basket all by yourself and pull out your toys.
• You learned how to pull the string in our closet to turn the light on and off.  Daddy taught you this. 
• One of the biggest ways I've seen you change over this last month is how you play.  I remember being impressed when you first started playing in general, but this last month your play became more interactive.  You play catch, and love to throw a ball back and forth.  I don't think Daddy believed me at first when I told him that you and I played catch during the day, but sure enough, when he threw the ball to him, you threw it right back.  (This activity is confirming our suspicions that you are a righty since you will catch with either hand but if you catch with the left hand, you always transfer it to the right hand to throw.)  You get games now, and you are starting to mimic us.  Towards the very end of the month, you started to use your pointer finger a lot.  You'll point to things in your book or use that finger to explore a new object.  One day, I stuck out my pointer finger and when you gently touched the end of it with your pointer finger, I made a buzzing noise.  You thought it was really funny, so now you touch the end of my finger to make it buzz. 

Touching the smallest speck of food on your tray

• Another way you have become more interactive is that you'll hold objects way above your head like you want to show them to us.  Sometimes you'll give them to us, so you and I practice handing things back and forth.   You love to hand us books to read.  You will look through your basket of books, pick one out, and hold it above your head as a sign for us to take it and read it to you.  This is probably your favorite activity right now.

It's a challenge to take your picture since you like to show me things :)

• You are also starting to understand how certain actions will elicit a specific response.  For example, you will click your tongue while looking at me with excited eyes because you know I will click back.  I think you also know that it makes me smile when you click your tongue.  Twice when I told you in a serious voice not to bite Momma after you bit me while nursing, you paused and studied my face and then clicked your tongue.  It was like you knew it would create a happy interaction. 

Your sleep was better last month, but the sickness sure didn't help.  We had to hold you for the majority of the night when you were sick, but you went back to sleeping in your own bed once you started feeling better.  However, you were waking up 2-3 times per night and often wanting to play!  For most of the month your schedule was similar to the schedule in your 8 month post, but at the very end of the month when you started waking up wide awake in the middle of the night, refusing an afternoon nap and nursing more at night than during the day, we knew we needed to make a change.  We got back on a rigid schedule to lengthen your days a little and help distribute your sleep.  It worked!  You went back to just 1 or 2 wake-ups at night where you would eat and go right back to sleep.  You started taking your afternoon nap again and it would often last an hour and a half.  Since you were eating less often at night, you started nursing much better during the day.  And you stopped biting while nursing since you wanted to use that time to eat!  Funny how it's all so intertwined. 

Here's the schedule we implemented at the end of the month:

7:00am wake up! (we are lucky that we always have to wake you up)
7-8am nurse (you usually like to split your morning nursing into 2 sessions)
9:30am morning nap
11:00am wake up (we wake you up since you are usually still sleeping)
11:30am nurse
12:00pm lunch (usually pureed fruit and yogurt)
3:00pm nurse and then afternoon nap
4:30pm wake you if you are not already up
5:00pm nurse
6:00pm dinner (usually pureed vegetable and oatmeal)
7:00pm bath and get ready for bed

7:30pm bedtime



Little Man, I love how this picture captures the joy you exude.  I prayed when you were in my tummy that you would have joy, and it spills out of you so effortlessly.  I know I sound like a broken record mentioning your joy once again, but I love that as you change and grow, it remains constant and contagious.  You have an innocent enthusiasm, a sweet laugh, and the brightest eyes.  I just love these things about you.  You are spirited and gentle, curious and content, loving, funny, energetic and handsome.  And I get to spend my days with you.  I can't think of anything better.

39 Weeks, 2 Days

You spent 39 weeks, 2 days in my tummy and now you've spent 39 weeks, 2 days in my arms. 

 

 

and a few bonus pics of you at 39 weeks, 2 days: