9 Months Old

Sam is 9 months old!  

Does that sound old to anyone else?  When anyone ever tells me that their baby is 9 months old, 10 months, 11 months....I automatically think, oh almost a year, which means they're probably on their way to walking, which definitely isn't a baby thing to do...I feel like he is growing out of his baby-ness, which is so sad.

But then again --- this time is such a blast!  Zach just said the other day "I think this is my favorite stage so far."  It is just so much fun to interact with him now that neither one of us are beside ourself that he is growing up so quickly.

Here is our 9 month old little guy.

DEVELOPMENT

Teeth: 4 teeth now!!  Has had the two front bottom, and the two middle top pushed through this month.  Those really make him look like a little boy.

Weight:  19 pounds 7 ounces (31%)

Length:  29.5 inches (78%)

Length to Weight: In the length to weight comparison he is in the 20th percentile....the printout they gave me says that 95th percentile is overweight and 5th percentile is underweight.  Our doc says he is obviously more on the slender side, but that is because he is so long....which is still so bizarre to me.  One of us must have a dormant "tall gene" that came out of hiding.  At 9 months, he is already almost half my height!

Sleeping:  Has become very inconsistent with naps.  Sometimes he seems desperate for a morning and afternoon....sometimes he refuses the morning one and takes a long afternoon nap....sometimes he just denies both and sits in his crib crying for a bit until I decide he probably isn't going to ever fall asleep.  Has become better with nighttime sleep --- wakes up maybe once --- he is usually sitting up biting his hands when I walk in, so we're guessing it is still a little teeth discomfort.  We tried everything that was suggested to us for teething relief, and the thing that we were skeptical of, but seemed to be successful with was the raw baltic amber necklace.  Sounded a little bit too much like an herbal hippie remedy....but we were sleeping full nights when he wore it around his ankle....so....we went with it.

Movement: Started using his knees to do a real crawl!!  Hooray!!  He did that stomach scoot thing for a long time (featured in pictures below) and it seriously looked so painful....we're thinking our hardwood floors hurt his knees, because he'll still do it occasionally when he is off of the carpet....but he is a pro at using knees on carpet.  He also transitions from crawling to sitting and sitting to crawling very easily, and does really well pulling up and getting back down (very cautious little guy!  He takes it slow until his butt hits the ground).

Stomach scoots

OTHER UPDATES

Is wearing 9-12 month onesies...the 6-12 month ones are way too short, which is odd.  I bought a 12-18 month outfit today at Old Navy that fits him great in the length, but is quite roomy in the arms, legs, and stomach.  String bean!!  He is in size 3 shoes, size 3 disposable diapers and still doing well in the cloth diapers.

Tried ice water and wasn't a huge fan.  I think it was too cold....although, regular cold water wasn't a big hit either.  Started with the little cereal puffs to work on fine motor skills and learning to feed himself.  LOVES them!  Still has oatmeal for breakfast with 8 oz. bottle, fruits/veggies for lunch with 8 oz. bottle, bottle around 4:00 for snack, and fruits/veggies for dinner.  We got the go-ahead from the doctor to start meat, yogurt, and cheese.  Should be a fun month ahead.

Ice water reaction.  Pamma came to visit while
dad was out of town for the week.

NEW HAPPENINGS

- He pulls up on EVERYTHING now.  It used to be soft furniture, but now it is bar stools, the stair banister, drawers and cabinets, walls, doors, the bathtub....we really watch him closely now.

- Chews on his crib, his changing table, our leather ottoman, the couch....so we have funny little line dents in our furniture.  Awesome.

- Started saying "dadadadada" a few days before Thanksgiving, but was really into it while Zach's family was here.  Happy FIRST Thanksgiving to Sam!

My little turkey

Playing with Grandi at dad's hockey game

Serious talks with Grandpa Mark

- Takes his toys out of the storage ottoman on his own.  It is hilarious to watch him take toys out that he doesn't want to play with....they come out of the box, but they get tossed to the floor so he can keep digging to find what he wants.

Just got done flinging something to his left

- Plays patty cake!  He will crawl a few feet, clap his hands, and then go back to crawling.

- Met Santa and Buddy the Elf at the squadron Childrens' Christmas Party.  He just seemed confused.

- Finger painted his first masterpiece.

Some homemade food coloring paints

- Cannot get enough of the Christmas lights, shiny ball ornaments, glitter wrapping paper and bows, opening and closing anything (his play cell phone, flap books, boxes, laptops), and sitting at the front storm door and watching the cars drive by (when he can see out....lately that door has been fogged up with an ice sheet).  

A little tree we put out that he is allowed to touch and pull
on as much as his heart desires

In his upcoming tenth month, we are excited to take him to see his first mall Santa Claus, trade out some of the "baby" toys for some more grown up educational ones this Christmas, and travel to both grandparents' house to celebrate the holidays.  Feel free to send any happy thoughts our way as we make our first 17+ hour road trip with Samboni.  :)