Friday, January 28, 2011

9 months!

Watching a baby grow up is a truly amazing thing. The first few months they go from not being able to hold their head up to rolling over to smiling. But as amazing as that was, I think I like this stuff better :)





















Jade is crawling absolutely everywhere, pulling up on anything, and getting into everything. She's getting much steadier when standing and has even let go of things a couple of times and not fallen immediately. She can "walk" from one side of the couch to the other, turn around, and walk from one side of the coffee table to the other. Her curiosity astounds me. We keep her trash can, diaper pail, extra medicines etc in her closet. So, of course, we keep the door closed. But she knows there's something in there she can't have and every time I open the door she makes a beeline for it. I have to pick her up before I can close the door because she is FAST and can dart through my legs for the trash can in .02 seconds. It's kind of hilarious.

Strangely enough, one of her favorite things is paper. Particularly magazines. Chuck and I had to do some major cleaning because if there's paperwork somewhere, she's going to eat it. And yes, you read that right... eat it. Everything goes straight to the mouth, and she has definitely swallowed quite a bit of paper.





















In the last couple of days, she has started clapping. It's absolutely adorable. Anytime I say "yay" she smiles and starts clapping. She's also started to give me "kisses". It's not quite as reliable, but if I put my cheek close to her mouth and say "can mama have a kiss?" about 50% of the time she leans in and slobbers on my cheek. It's really sweet :)





















She's finally started to get more comfortable with other people. My neighbor has been watching her so I can go on runs, which has been a sanity saver. Jade is finally smiling at her! She smiles all the time at home now, but is still the serious baby when we're out and about or around people she's not familiar with.

I went to MOPS for the first time Thursday and she actually stayed in the nursery the entire 2 hours and fell asleep for them. Nothing short of amazing, and I know it wouldn't have happened 2 months ago.















She is still eating anything I give her. So far, the only thing she hasn't liked was beef lo mien. But she has eaten roasted bell peppers and onion and reached for more. She's cut back on nursing again, so we'll see if that stays consistent. Right now, I'd say we nurse 4 or 5 times a day, sometimes less, sometimes more. I'm still feeding her once in the middle of the night as well.

She has 2 little teeth. One is all the way in and one is still coming in. They're adorable and she's learning how to use them some when eating. She's actually eating her apple peels now (she used to just spit them out). She bites down and pulls hard until they break and then she swallows them. Every time we go out to eat, people are seriously impressed by her eating skills.















Her sleep is so inconsistent it's hard to say if it's better. But she does actually have good days now, so that is an improvement, and I'm grateful for that. We have set nap times now, and she actually sleeps during those times about 75% of the time, which is also a huge improvement over previous months.

Another thing she's gotten better about is playing by herself. I've been able to start taking showers in the morning while she's playing in her room. It's not a 100% sure thing, but she's definitely learning how to entertain herself a bit. But if I'm in the room, most of the time she just wants to stand on me!















Her 9-month well-check visit isn't until Feb 10, but I'm guessing she weighs around 15 pounds. She's definitely growing, but she's still teeny compared to other babies we know.















At that appointment, I'm going to ask the doctor about giving her dairy. I am extremely happy to report that I have been able to fully incorporate dairy back into my diet without any kind of a reaction from her. But I still haven't risked giving her any because I'm not sure when I should do that. So all of our meals at home are still dairy-free, which makes cooking a bit more difficult for me. It'll be nice when we no longer have that restriction.















(this picture was taken while the camera was lying on the floor... but I just couldn't not include it!)


I'm just amazed at how fast she's growing and changing. The time is flying by!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My dear Erin, you are awesome! Thank you soooooo much for posting these wonderful updates and pictures — including how you and Chuck are doing and learning as our baby Jade grows! It's amazing what our "first-borns" teach us. We love you lots:-) !!!–
Grandma B-

Anna said...

The pictures are WONDERFUL!! I like the ones of Zoe and Belle too. They look like they are standing guard. It is amazing how fast babies grow up. You should post the 1 month pic next to this one for comparison.

Mom

Jessica Ilsen said...

I love the pictures! And she looks so cute sitting in her rocker-love that she tried to eat her 9 month sticker btw. :)