Nine Months Old

Note: Blogger is being a pain as far as pictures go, so if the spacing is all off, that is why. I'm tired of messing with it. :)

His doctor's appointment went well this morning--the Dr. said he looked good. He asked if we were sure he's only 9 months old, given his bigger size. :) The doctor also said that we could/should start to go ahead with a lunchtime solid feeding, too, and to include more finger foods, so I'll work on incorporating that into our daily routine. He had to get two shots (took them very well...just a few fusses)--his last Hep B and his flu shot. We'll go back in a month for a 2nd flu shot.

Good morning!
I'm Nine Months Old!

His stats:
Height: 31 inches (above 97th percentile)
Weight: 22.5 pounds (75th percentile)
Head Size: 19 inches (above 97th percentile)
BMI: 16.32


What he is doing this month:

• His favorite toy(s) are our rubber drink coasters. He likes to carry them around when he crawls, either in his hand or in his mouth. I think he likes how 'chewy' they are on his ever-teething gums.

• His favorite game is Catch Me If You Can...if we go after him, he'll pause, look over his shoulder, and then take off like a crawling monster again with a smirk and a smile. Like, "You can't catch me!!"
• He also likes to pull pages out of magazines and eat them.
• I've noticed that he's started noticing other children (those maybe 5 years old and younger) at the grocery, at Target, out at restaurants, etc. I've caught him smiling and/or craning his neck at them a few times.
• He continues to eat well--he nurses six times a day and eats solids at breakfast and dinner. Breakfast is typically yogurt, cereal, and fruit (half puree/half fresh i.e. mashed banana) and dinner is typically meat, cereal (or sometimes pasta), and vegetables (half Gerber puree/half my homemade puree OR finger food i.e. smashed peas). We are still introducing new foods every 3 days and working with Cheerios to improve his self-feeding skills.
• He is sleeping well for now.
• He continues to pull up and cruise around the furniture...still gets bumps and bruises, but not as often. He has been reaching higher and higher, and it's hard to keep up with his ever-expanding wingspan! What once was safe and out of reach is now being pulled down and put it into his mouth. He moves from one object to the next pretty seamlessly now. I've noticed him letting go a few times if there is something to put in his hands. Also, if he sees something he wants across the room, he'll cruise along a piece of furniture, drop to the ground, crawl to the next piece of furniture, get up and cruise some more, and eventually reach his target. It's so fun to watch him figure out the best way to get from Point A to Point B.
• On that note, he likes to cruise along the front of the couch, and if Hattie is laying in her usual spot (on top of the back of the couch, atop the cushion), she has started growling at him and has snapped at him a few times. If he is on the couch (on our lap) next to her, she's fine, will tolerate petting (at least for a little while), wags her tail, etc., but if he's at the front of the couch banging the cushion, she gets angry. We are keeping a close eye on her. Lewis, meanwhile, thinks her growling is hi-larious, which, of course, doesn't help matters.
• Still not saying a whole lot. He goes through chatty fits, usually in the evening, but he makes no sense and hasn't yet put syllables like da-da, ga-ga, or ma-ma together. 
• He is almost entirely in his 12 month clothes now. He still wears a few pairs of 9 month pants, but they are getting to be too short. The other day I put him in a 12-18 month size long-sleeved onesie, and it was a little snug! I think it stretched out as the day went on, but it's amazing how sizing can vary among brands.
• Current Tooth Count: 6 (4 on the top, 2 on the bottom)