9 months Milestones

Beginning of the month:

You have started to sleep sideways in your crib. Sometimes you manage to scoot up to the very top of the crib. Every time I go in there I have to find you amongst the toys and blankets.

Today (3/10/08) I felt teeth poking through. Finally! You won’t let me see in your mouth though. You’ve been terrible cranky and crying and your sleep sometimes during the night. Those darn teeth!

You’ve started to play lots of game with us. Peek-a-boo with your blankets, bite Ella’s fingers where I make biting noises with my teeth and you laugh, throwing a toy down repeatedly and giggling when we pick it up and hand it back to you. It usually takes mom awhile to catch on to this one. Also waving your arm up and down. You used to do this while holding your lamaze toy Celeste the Sun and I would hold onto it to and we’d bounce it up and down.

You are started to feed yourself and we have cheerios and banana chunks every day. I can tell you are getting interested in trying new foods. The other day you ate noodles for the first time. Today you had chicken for the first time mixed with some yams! You are also drinking out of the sippy cup finally!

We bought you a fancy new highchair because you have outgrown your travel booster seat that we’ve been using.

I’ve noticed that you are also mimicking people around you. When I laugh or smile, so do you! It’s very delightful.

You are almost crawling, any minute now. You cannot be still for one second. Tonight for the first time you successfully pulled yourself to standing in your crib. We are in for some thrilling adventures!

You are so busy now that I can barely change your diaper. I’ve learned how to put a new diaper on while you are sitting up.

This month and at the end of last, your hair has started to get darker and longer. It’s straight with little wispy fly-aways around your ears. When I look back at your pictures I can’t believe how sparse your hair was, like a newborn baby penguin.

I’m so glad that you are giggling and laughing every day now. I finally am making you laugh and it’s usually when I’m not trying to. The other day in the bathtub the soap bottle slipped out of my hand and fell into your tub. You laughed so hard you had to lay down sideways with your cheek resting on the side of your bathtub. We played this new game for awhile longer and woke up Dad with our hysterics!

You had a doctors visit this month and weigh 19 1/2 pounds. You measured 30 inches long and can already wear toddler pants. Your legs are soooo long, just like your Dad’s. I was hoping you weighed at least 22 pounds so we can move you into your larger carseat. The infant one we are using is getting way too small.

The changes this month are coming very quickly. You are almost crawling. I’ll leave you in your play area and come back a few minutes later and mysteriously you are in different spot. You are using a combination of rolling and scooting to move around.

I think you will skip crawling, at least forward on your hands and knees. I think really soon you will be able to stand on your own. You do move across a room, just by scooting, rolling, and flipping around. You also are lurching forward on your hands and knees and rocking.

You’ve started staying up much later, and usually finally go to sleep around 9pm. By this time you are very tired and cranky. You flop around like a little fish in your crib getting tangled in blankets and toys. After a few crying spells you put your hands behind your head and throw yourself back on the pillow. Then you are up and down again for another 20 minutes or so before you finally pass out from exhaustion.

You are still of course growing out of all your clothes.

You have been helping out in the garden – eating leaves and other plants, oh my!

End of the month:

You are starting to run, not walk, in your walker. Boy are we in for it. I think you’ll be a runner.

You are now pulling yourself up to standing in your crib and play yard and no longer prefer to sit still at all.

Not long away are the days where we will have to make sure every thing is put away and out of sight that we do not want you to get into. You are already investigating everything.

You have begun blowing spit bubbles. This is an impressive skill!

Every time you are surprised or experience something new you open your mouth in a perfect little “o”. It is the gosh darn the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.

You are still flicking your wrists and bouncing in your seat when you get excited.

You only want to feed yourself now and are making big messes. I am now regularly finding bits of broccoli and noodles in your diaper and clothes when I change you.

I’m worried that you are watching too much tv, and I’m not spending enough time with you. I’ve had a very busy month and will soon be done with my part-time job so we can be together more.

We had fun times this month visiting with friends and interacting with other babies. It’s fun to watch you share toys. You aren’t at the stage where you cry when someone takes something away, you just seem like you are wondering what’s going on.

Now whenever you cry and fuss you say “ma maahh, mah”. Hmmmm, I wonder if this will be a trend?

You are starting to cuddle into my shoulder for comforting when you get upset about something. I love this, but it only lasts for two seconds, and then you are off being busy again.