9 months

Happy 9 months to me!

We just can't believe we have a 9 month old. It's all going by just too, too quick. The main change from month 8 to month 9 is how much this little girl loves to stand up. For the past few days, I would wake up because I could hear her moving, check the monitor, and see her just standing there. Some mornings, I don't hear anything but look at the monitor just to be sure and there she is standing up in the corner bouncing away. We're wondering how long she's been awake.

Another change is she has 1.5 teeth. Her first tooth started to rear it's ugly head on November 18th. She had been sleeping until around 8. Well, she awoke around 6:15 with no intentions of returning to sleep anytime soon. (It's hard to believe I once woke up at 5:15 on a regular basis.) Sure enough, when I felt around there was something poking through her bottom gums. While we were in Abilene for Thanksgiving, we ended up having to give her Advil after she woke screaming in the night. (which is totally not like her at all....we were both looking at each other like what do we do she's never done this before) The other night we gave her the Advil before bed and she slept great. Her second tooth is coming in right next to the other. It has brought with it a snotty nose which lasted for about a week. I purchased a humidifier for her room which has seemed to help her quite a bit.

The third big change is success with a sippy cup....finally!! It had dawned on me at her 6 month check up that the child rarely has taken a bottle since I quit work. There is really no need and honestly it's easier not scrubbing bottles or cleaning the pump. First, I thought I would just give her the sippy cup since she wasn't attached to the bottle. Well, that was a bust. All she'd do was gum the spout and start to cry. So I back tracked and decided on baby steps....learn to drink from bottle without help then transition to sippy cup. She's gotten really good at drinking her juice and water from a bottle all by herself. I would randomly try the sippy cup with no success. Then I saw a sippy cup at Babies R Us that had the words Magic Sipppy cup, great for transitioning breast fed babies. Well, I thought to myself...it's not a 2 pack, it's yellow (gender neutral), and it's magic! I'll give it a try. The 1st time I gave it to her I made sure she knew it had her juice in it and she had no problem sucking from it. I was so proud of her. I clapped. I praised. I called in her daddy to witness. We snapped pictures. She drank an ounce then quit. She would have no more of it. So I put it in the fridge. I didn't want to give in and pour it in a bottle. She had shown me she could do it if she wanted to. We tried again later that day, same results. Madeline just did without the rest of her juice that day. Also at her 9 month check up we were able to say she CAN drink from sippy cup :)

Other things she loves to do at 9 months

• give great big soggy kisses
• crawl around on Mommy and Daddy's bed (she's been doing this for months)
• visit her daddy

Hey there Daddy!

• play on the recliner with her daddy

Come on dad...pleeease

• turn the pages of books super fast...we have become speed readers

Ready to read

• read her 10 Little Ladybugs book (If she's in her room she crawls right to it sitting in her chair and pulls it down.)
• hang out at the coffee table with the coasters (of all the things she has to play with and the girl plays with these the most)

I heart coasters....

a ton!!

Her routine at 9 months

This month she went from nursing 5 times a day to 4 times a day by her own choice.

(It almost seems like she's starting to ween herself which is bittersweet for Mommy.)

7:30 - 8:30 Wake Up/Morning feeding

9:30 Breakfast- usually yo baby yogurt and a banana with 1-2 oz. water in bottle or cup

11- 12 2nd feeding and nap- usually for 1 to 2 hours

1:30 Lunch- usually Super Porridge made from rolled oats and 2 food cubes (loves broccoli and sweet potatoes) followed by bottle or sippy cup of apple juice ( 1oz. juice to 3 oz. water)

3:30 - 4:30 3rd feeding and nap usually 1 to 2 hours

6:30 - 7:00 Supper- She has 1 food cube or half an avocado before we eat and then feeds herself cheerios and bananas while we eat with 1 -2 oz. water in bottle or cup

7:30 - 8 Last feeding and cereal

8:30 Bedtime

She tried kiwi fruit this month and here was her reaction.

Not a fan

Another highlight for her was helping her Great Grandmother celebrate her 98th birthday on December 8th.

Happy Birthday Great Grandmother!

Let's party!

One thing is for sure as soon as I think I have this little girl and her schedule all figured out she goes and changes on me, and that's ok. It keeps me on my toes. We sure do love this little lady and cannot believe how fast her first year is speeding by. It seems like not too long ago, I was sitting on the couch with a huge belly and swollen ankles wondering what baby bedding I was going to get for her room and now I'm starting to plan her 1st birthday party. Our lives have changed, and we can't believe how much joy she has brought into our lives.

Little Lady

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love

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