9 months (+1 day) you were 17 pounds (19%) and 27 inches long (49%)!
Nine months means that we head back to the doctors for a visit. The visit was pretty easy this time around. The only shot she got was a flu vaccine booster and then tested for lead/iron. She passed on both fronts, which I was happy about. The doctor thought that her top teeth would come in within the next month. She said that she wouldn't be surprised if she was walking fairly soon as well. Overall it was a good visit.
Sometimes I don't notice how much she has grown, since I get to see her most of the day. I was shocked to put on a onesie, that used to be huge and was now almost too small. That's when I decided I needed to go through her clothes and remove all the 3 month and even some 6 months clothes. Baby girl is getting growing away! She is wearing mostly 6 to 9 month onesies with 9 month pants. I've even gotten her in a few 12 month pants, but we have to roll up the bottoms, since they are still a little long. D and I have noticed that she's lost some of her baby fat she had around her face and thighs. We are still doing naked time with her at night and her little bum and belly are just the cutest. I might be a little bias, but she is almost too adorable to handle. We officially moved her diapers to the next size, which basically means that we snapped them up to the 2nd snap to allow for the diaper to extend around her hips. There were a few weeks where this was a little awkward, but now they are fitting her nicely. She still is wearing some normal diapers and the disposable inserts a few times a day. They are nice since they allow her more movement, but I still prefer the cloth diapers hands down. We've tried to put Isla in shoes this month, because this girl LOVES to walk EVERYWHERE. I estimate that she is about a 2-2.5, but she still doesn't like to have them on. She curls up her toes and makes it really difficult to get on. Mostly you'll find her running around in socks.
The schedule for Isla eating didn't really change this month, but her quantity increased. She is nursing still 4 times a day and then eating solids 3 times a day. The amount of solids is about 4 ounces for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast typically is Stonyfield plain yogurt with fruit that I've cut up or pureed. I was getting the flavored ones, but they add organic sugar into the yogurt and I think that's unnecessary. Her favorite yogurt combos are blueberries and banana or strawberries and banana in the plain yogurt. I also started giving her a small amount of oatmeal mixed with either of those combos instead of yogurt which she likes as well. I feel that the yogurt gets the bowels moving, so to me that's a great start to the day (avoiding constipation!). Lunch and dinner for her always involves a veggie and a fruit. I've tried to add meat in the mix, but she's not super excited about it. We've had some fun combos that she likes, especially kale and bananas. Her favorite veggie is still peas. She is happy with any fruit, but doesn't love anything super tart. She was crazy for pumpkin pie and actually really enjoyed turkey, potatoes and gravy left overs from Thanksgiving. She gobbled those up! The schedule that I use does suggest a slightly modified variation for her eating schedule as of 8 months old, but I don't think Isla is ready to give up one feeding with me (which is the main difference). I'm curious to see what the doctor says about our schedule, but it's working for us right now. She is getting better at chewing, but still can't handle hard, chewy pieces. She tries to swallow with out enough chewing and then chokes on it. She is fine with the chunky pieces, but nothing hard. So we will see what this next month leads to. I try and adjust her schedule when I'm noticing changes in her patterns, thus leading the changes.
The hardest thing for me this past month was, of course, leaving her for 5 days. I think it was good for both of us, but I sure missed that face. I was still pumping while I was gone, but dumping it out (which is the saddest thing ever!). I also went through my entire reserved milk while I was gone, so the last day she had formula. Moving forward, this means that while I'm away at work or for whatever reason, she will get formula. I will pump if I'm at an event and need to, but I'm no longer pumping extra to add supply. I probably should, but it feels unnatural to me and I don't enjoy it. I know she is still getting great nutrients form the formula and she's had only my milk for almost 8 months. It shouldn't feel like a failing moment on my end, but at times I still feel that way and I'm not sure why.
I would like to say that her sleep this month has been better, but that's not the case. She was doing pretty good before I left for 5 days, but now she is back to wanting me more throughout the night. I don't let her cry it out, but I do let her fuss a little before going in. The main element that I'm trying to get back in her routine is to have her comfortable with out me having to pick her up. Now that she can move more, especially on her tummy, she lifts up her arm and showing me that she wants me to pick her up. How do you say no to that? So I may love her a little too much, but I'm okay with that. She really doesn't want her daddy through the night, unless I'm not here. That means that I get to get up every time this munchkin decides she wants to be awake. Lately she is either sleeping through the whole night (not as often as I'd like) or she is up multiple times. I think the most frustrating one is between 9-11 PM. I know this one is just a comfort thing, so I should just let her be. She is getting through a sleep cycle and just wants me when she wakes. She typically falls asleep almost immediately if I do pick her up. So we are still working on this sleep thing, but overall she isn't the worst sleeper.
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| A little blurry, but this is how excited she gets for Usher's ABC song |
This month we haven't had any new teeth come in, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been chewing on everything! Those two bottom teeth that she has are so super sharp! I don't tend to stick my finger in there to feel around anymore! My favorite variation of her smile is when she crinkles up her nose and sticks out her bottom jaw showing her teeth. When I got back from my trip she was doing two new things. She was babbling like crazy. No real words yet, but she does love bababaaaba and occasionally I've heard a maaaa in there, but typically that's only when she is upset. I'm still waiting for the full on mama. I'm guessing she'll say dada first. I love watching her little mouth move when she is making sounds/words. Her lips are so cute as they curve and change for each of the new sounds. She has started to yell more, because she figured out that she can. The two main things we are working on currently with her are waving and clapping. Neither have stuck yet, but we will keep at it.
The second thing that she was doing when I got back was scooting herself backwards. She still has yet to crawl, but she will push herself back and rotate herself in a circle. She doesn't roll a ton, but is starting to realize that she can walk up on things and pull herself up. It's funny, she is perfectly content sitting and observing. Maybe it's because the dogs run around enough for her. In most situations she is more of an observer. She likes to watch everything before she really gets involved.
Bath time is still one of Isla's favorite times. She is officially bathing on her own. She sits in our claw foot tub on the mat and I pour water on her (to keep her warm) while D washes her. Isla has quite a few bath toys, so she is usually occupied by either a foam letter/number or the floating turtle that shows us the water temperature.
My little monster is really walking up a storm. I swear she would walk around all day long if you let her. She stands on her flat feet (not her tippy toes) and flies around the rooms. She chases the puppies and we really let her lead when she is walking. We try and hold her arms down so she gets a better idea of how it feels to walk on her own. There are times that she is walking so fast that her legs can't keep up. I call her a little penguin when she does that. Most days she is following a pup or wanting to look outside. I wouldn't be surprise if she is walking in the next few months. Once she figures out her balance, we are SO in trouble. She still likes reading books, which is what we do right before she takes a nap. We usually get through two or three before she is over it. When she is playing with toys, her favorite has been the stackable rings. She figured out that she can hold one in each hand and she was obsessed with doing that for about two weeks. She would just hold them and rotate her hands back and forth. We got to hand out with some friends and Isla was trying to keep up with her friend Jordan, who is almost two. It was really cute how she would just look up at her and follow her all over the place.
We are still in swim class until the end of January. In the past few weeks, she's gotten really good at kicking in the water. She will use both legs and kick at the same time. Sometimes she will even make excited noises as she is kicking about. We also love going to BookPeople's book reading they have on Wednesdays. I enjoy having her around other kids, so we try to get out when we can.
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| Had to include her Christmas photo with Santa - Note her hand all tangled in his beard.... |
My darling daughter, I adore you. I can hardly wait to experience the Christmas holiday with you!
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