April 27, 2011 - 9 Months!

I can't believe that my little Monkey is 9 months old. Turn another corner and he'll be a year old! He's such a growing little man. He woke up a little late this morning, so he stayed up a little later this evening. When I got home he was in a great mood and J was actually already feeding him his dinner. After he ate, he and I played for a while in his room - I was cracking him up by singing songs and dancing around with him. We had a lot of fun. Bathtime was fun, but short, since he was starting to get pretty sleepy and then we snuggled for a bit before he went to bed.

I've been working on the 9 month old questionnaire for his pediatrician appointment next Monday and it's pretty clear that while he's doing great on his gross motor skills, his fine motor skills could use some work. The kid can move around like no one's business and he is always standing up to get into something new - but he's still working on his pincer grasp and the more delicate skills. The kid's hands are so big, it might take him a little longer to master. He loves to stand up all the time, and he's gotten great at sitting back down with control. He gives me low fives when I ask and he raises his right hand over his head when he gets excited about something.

As far as communication, he's making a lot of sounds, but nothing purposeful yet. Whenever I say "Mama" to him, he'll stop whatever he's doing and either give me a big smile or crawl over to give me a hug. So he knows who I'm talking about, but he hasn't tried to actually say it himself. I also point out "dog" and "cat" when he is playing with the animals and J works on "Daddy" all the time. He's just happy making his own consonant sounds for now - and he does that a LOT.

Sleeping and eating has been a little different. His napping is going so well, he's back to 2 naps a day, usually one long one (2 hours) and one that is half as long (45 min-1 hour). He's not eating as well, we just can't get him to finish a bottle at all these days, which means he's up 1-2 times a night for extra ounces. We were doing 5 6oz bottles a day, but now he's barely finishing 4 at a time and this morning he didn't want his first bottle when he woke up at all. This has been going on for about a month now and I kept thinking it was teeth, but it's gotten pretty clear that he just doesn't want to sit still that long. Sometimes I can get him to finish a bottle if we sit on the couch together and watch a Baby Einstein DVD while he eats. It can be frustrating at times, but we have pretty much adapted by now. It would be nice to sleep a straight 8 hour block one of these days, but at this point, I would probably still wake up at feeding times, even if the kiddo didn't. I've been trying the sippy cup here and there, but he's not too interested. I know the doc will recommend that we really start working on the transition, so I've been trying to use it more, especially when he doesn't want to finish a bottle.

Overall he's doing awesome and even though he's not doing everything on that questionnaire, he's such a happy, healthy and smart kid that I know he'll pick up things when he's ready. This weekend we are doing Gymboree again, we have a walking date at the lake with a friend and her kiddo and then on Sunday we are hitting the park with one of my cousins. G and I are getting out and about!