Charlotte's 9th Month

Firsts: First time going to Lakeview (it was the longest you’ve been away from mommyL), first time at MOPS, sleeping in a pack n’ play, trip to the McWane Center, Ice cream on your 9 month birthday

Mommy and Daddy’s Favorites: You have started dancing every time you hear music or a beat you like. As soon as you notice it you start bouncing and smiling.

Milestones: You’re becoming quite the little climber and pull up on everything you can! You also are a champ at crawling and are always trying to keep up with Aubrey.

Measurements: You wear size 3 diapers and are in mostly 9 months and 6-12 months clothes. We get your exact measurements at the dr. Wednesday. You actually seemed to have slimmed down a bit because you are SO mobile. You were 17lbs 6oz. and 26.75inches…50% for everything.

Like Mommy: Me and Caitlin “Aya” think you have my eyes.

Like Daddy: Most people say you look like Daddy.

Like Aubrey: You love music

Unlike Aubrey: you’re a really good eater so far. You eat almost anything we put in front of you and always try new things. You’ll even eat things like tomatoes, olives, and cucumbers.

Challenges: Still diaper changes!! I’m ready for this phase to pass. Also, it is honestly physically exhausting to hover around you all day to make sure you don’t smash your face or head on something. You are into everything these days and would just crawl right off of the couch if we’d let you. Finally, the biggest thing is mommy leaving you. We went to MOPS for the first time and you basically screamed for an hour until they came to get mommy. You were content as soon as I was holding you. It was awful and broke my heart when I came to get you because you had obviously been crying for a while and were snubbing and congested. I know I have to leave you sometimes, but it breaks my heart when you get like that. You have gotten to where if mommy can’t hold you that you’ll settle for daddy over other people not in the family.

How we spend the day: You wake up about6/7:30…this changes daily for some reason and sometimes it is as late as 8:30. You take a morning nap about 2/2.5 hours after that and then an afternoon nap 3/3.5 hours after you wake up from the morning nap. For the most part you’ve dropped that last nap about 5 unless your other two naps were both only 30 minutes. And you’re getting your bath and going down about 7:30. You eat solids about the same time as we do, but sometimes you don’t eat all 3 meals and will nurse instead. We are just gradually trying to ease you in and continue to nurse on demand.

Feedings/Eating: Your feedings throughout the day are still so random. I never really got you on a strict schedule and it worked for us. I always nurse you before you go to bed and at least once or twice in the middle of the night. You normally eat when you get up and sometime in the afternoon. I offer it several times because I never know when you’ll actually be hungry enough that it is worth it to you to be still and eat! You are doing really well with solids. I’m trying to offer almost everything that we eat so that you get introduced to all kinds of flavors. There are some things that you like better than others, but overall you’ll eat most foods we put in front of you. We give you small bites and you are able to pick them up and feed yourself.

Sleeping: You do okay I guess. You still wake up at night, but generally go right back to sleep. You have had a little bit of a stuffy nose which has affected your sleep a few nights this past month, but for the most part you wake up about twice and go back to sleep. Your naps range from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours…it just depends on the day. You are pretty consistently down to only 2 naps a day, one about 2.5 hours after you wake up and one about 3 hours after you wake up from that nap.

Personality: You are so silly and have such a fun personality. You want to be big like Aubrey so you can do everything she does. You already like to ‘play’ and have fun with her. You kick your little feet when she’s around and get the biggest grin on your face. If you get one of her Kitties or babies you look at her and smile until she comes to get it back. If she squeals, so do you! You are generally happy unless you are really tired or you want mommy and someone else has you.

Likes: most food especially grapes and strawberries, being independent, taking a bath, Aubrey, Mommy, Daddy, being outside, watching other kids, exploring and pulling up on everything, putting things in your mouth

Dislikes: when Mommy leaves you, when you’re tired, diaper changes/getting clothes changed/being made to be still,

Mobility: Fast crawling and climbing and pulling up on everything. We’ve really had to watch you lately everywhere, but you even try to stand up in the high chair and bathtub.

Favorite toy: You love Aubrey’s babies and get so excited when you finally get your little hands on one.

Upcoming Events: You’ll get to meet ‘Papa in a few weeks for the first time.

New Explorations: tabletops :/ You have been pulling up on everything these days so you are able to get to everything that was once hidden and out of your reach. You are also crawling around and eating every little thing you see on the floor.

Sounds, words, and communication: You aren’t saying words yet, but you are very expressive. You definitely recognize your name. You babble to us like you are telling us a story and we know exactly what you mean. You let us know when you are excited, chatty, angry, sad (you still poke that lip out and put your head down if someone hurts your feelings), or just playful. Your favorite sounds are still “AAAAAAaaaa” and you say this very loud, squealing, and dadadada.

Teeth: Two bottom teeth