The One with the Ten Month Update

Liam Michael you are

TEN MONTHS OLD!

  

This month has had one big milestone after another!  Your gross and fine motor skills are taking off like crazy!

What are your stats and what does the doctor say?

We saw Dr. G. two weeks ago and you weighed in at 25 pounds, 1 ounce, which puts you in the 95 percentile for weight.  You are 28 inches tall.  Your head circumference is still off the charts, but we knew that was coming!  Dr. G. was so very happy with everything you are doing and and you got great scores on your developmental profile.  We talked about what you eat, your newfound crawling and cruising skills, and your schedule.  You didn't even have to get any shots, but you did get some eyedrops for your first case of pink eye, which showed up the morning of your doctor's appointment.

What are you eating?

On the day you turned 9 months old, Mommy decided to try to cut you down to three 8-ounce bottles of Similac Advance a day.  Your sleeping schedule made it hard to get all four bottles and your meals in every day.  You did so well with this change and we haven't looked back since.  You now eat three meals a day in addition to your bottles.  This month, you tried mango, chicken sausage, pesto, grilled cheese, yogurt (on a spoon as opposed to frozen), pastina, oranges, French toast, mashed potatoes and spinach, French fries, and peanut butter.  You absolutely love strawberries and would eat them at every meal if Mommy would let you!  Some foods you always loved - avocado and banana - are not so high on your list anymore.  You always have water with every meal and you love to drink out of straws.  You are now having a 4-ounce bottle before bed every night.

Yogurt.everywhere.

When do you sleep and eat?

You continue to do well in your crib, although teething and growth spurts have reared their ugly heads this month.  You love to stand and cruise around in your crib, but usually only when you really aren't tired.  Mommy and Daddy added a gummy teething guard on the sides of your crib to stop the teeth marks, as chewing your crib is a favorite activity!  You have been waking up once a night for the past few weeks, but typically settle back down with a little soothing from Mommy.

You wake up most mornings between 6:00 and 6:30 but we do get a 7:00 morning every once and a while (never on the weekends though!).  Mommy gives your your first bottle and then you hang in the kitchen while everyone gets ready for work.  You have breakfast with Nana around 8:30 and then go down for your first nap by around 9:30.  That is typically a 30-40 minute nap.  You have your second bottle around 11:00 and usually eat lunch around 12:30 after Mommy calls from school to check in.  Sometimes you take a second nap between your bottle and lunch.  You sleep again after lunch, sometimes staying in your crib for longer, but usually spending half the nap in the crib and the other half in Nana's arms.  You have your third bottle around 3:30 and sometimes take a quick nap around 4:45 after Mommy gets home.  We have dinner at 5:30 and your little bottle right before bed.  You are fast asleep in your crib between 7:15 and 7:30 on most nights.

What do your routines look like?

Bedtime routines are very set in stone around here.  Bath with lots of splashing, lotion and jammies, bottle, story, song, and into the crib.  You have done so well with this routine since the beginning that Mommy is afraid to change it!

What size clothes and diapers are you wearing?

We can still squeeze you into some 9 month onesies, but the pants are definitely too short.  The majority of your clothes are 12 month or 12-18 month.  You are still wearing size 4 Pampers Cruisers during the day and size 4 Pampers Extra Dry Overnight diapers at night.

What are some things you love?

As we should have known from when you were an inside baby kicking Mommy's belly all the time, you love to be in motion.  You have been a wild man this month and are moving around like crazy!  You love to explore everything you can and Max's food dish has become your newest obsession.  You absolutely love The Weather Channel and watching the weather forecasts on the news.  You will stop what you are doing to watch the meteorologists and seem to be so focused on what they are saying.  You still love to cover your face with blankets and clothes and will kick and laugh whenever you do it.  

What are some things you don't love?

You still hate having your nose wiped (a popular activity this month with yet another cold).  You are pretty happy most of the time, unless you are tired or want something you can't have (like that silly dog dish!).  Eyedrops are not on your list of fun things to do.

What can you do?

What can't you do, little man?!  You are now climbing stairs and we are in full baby-proofing mode around here.  You pull up on anything you can get your little hands around and are cruising around the coffee table, playpen, crib, gate, and couch.  You can move between the couch and the coffee table by holding on with one hand.  You now play peek-a-boo, give high five, flush the toilet, and reach out and point with your hand for something you want.  

There goes the water bill.

How many teeth do you have?

You have seven teeth already!  Your top two middle teeth and the one on the bottom next to the middle teeth popped through this month (did Mommy mention that caused some sleep drama and cranky days!).

What are some firsts from this month?

You started climbing stairs and cruising around furniture this month.  We also celebrated your first Valentine's Day and you sat in the big boy part of the shopping cart for the first time.  You also had your first case of pink eye and a pretty yucky cold that Mommy gave to you.

I can barely see, Mama (and why am I wearing a Christmas bib in February?!)

What are some of your nicknames?

Still calling you Swiper and Stinker all the time.

What are we looking forward to in the next month?

This month, we are looking forward to some quiet time at home.  On the weekends, Mommy and Daddy like to take you out to run errands and get you out of the house for a bit.  We will also celebrate one of your friend's first birthday.

You are such a ham for the camera and obviously would not sit still for your pictures this month.

 Baby yoga, anyone?

This month has been one big ball of fun and you make Mommy and Daddy so very happy every day! We love you so much!

The One with the Nine Month Update

Liam Michael you are

NINE MONTHS OLD!

  

You have shown us so much new stuff this month little man!  You are moving around like crazy and are keeping us quite busy!

What are your stats and what does the doctor say?

We don't go in to see Dr. G for two more weeks, but Mommy is thinking you are at least 25 pounds.  You seem to have gotten a lot taller too, so we are looking forward to seeing how much you have grown.  The blond hair and blue eyes are here to stay.  Everyone is always commenting on how much hair you have.  You are the envy of all the girls!

What are you eating?

You are still drinking four 8-ounce bottles of Similac Advance formula a day.  When we go to see Dr. G in two weeks, Mommy is going to see what he says about cutting down to three bottles a day.  You are eating two meals a day and usually have a third meal in the late afternoon.  Sometimes we skip that one depending on your nap schedule.  You are really loving all the different foods we have tried.  This month, you have tried cantaloupe, cauliflower, eggs, tomatoes, toast, egg noodles, meatloaf, chicken, hummus, quinoa, macaroni and sauce, and meatballs.  Mommy has found a lot of different ways to incorporate different foods into your diet.  You have had broccoli and cauliflower cheese bites, sweet potato quinoa patties, apple and cheddar balls, and will soon try pineapple and mango muffins.  You are still loving banana and blueberries and definitely prefer fruits to veggies.  You still have your 2-ounce snack bottle before bed and you love drinking water.

This is how the cool kids eat.

When do you sleep and eat?

Crib sleeping continues to be going very well.  You go down with very little issue and sleep through the night without problem.  You typically need a pacifier replacement or two throughout the night, but we consider that a big success.  You are rolling and moving around in your crib like crazy when you are awake, but usually settle yourself down without a problem.  You sleep with a Henry the Hippo lovey, a Taggies blanket, and Cecil (the Fisher Price Soothe and Glow Seahorse), which Mommy knows breaks all the "no sleeping with things" rules but they help to soothe you back to sleep when you wake up.

You wake up most mornings around 6:00 am, but did sleep the other morning until almost 7:00!  You have your first bottle in your room with Mommy and then you hang out in the kitchen with Nana while Mommy and Daddy get ready for work.  Mommy gives you some breakfast while she packs lunches and gets organized for the day.  You are usually ready for your first nap between 8:30 and 9:00.  You are still our cat napper and typically only do about 30 minutes.  Your second bottle is around 10:00 and you usually have some lunch with Nana around 11:30.  Mommy calls from school around noontime and you are typically getting ready for a nap around that time.  Sometimes Nana is able to get you to take a longer nap in the crib, but often you take half the nap in the crib and half in Nana's arms.  And sometimes, you take two shorter naps in the afternoon.  Your third bottle is sometime between 2:00 and 2:30 and you often go down for a nap again between 3:30 and 4:00.  You have your last bottle around 6:00 and you are asleep in your crib by 7:15 most nights.

What do your routines look like?

You still have a pretty strict bedtime routine.  It's bath in the little tub that we put in the big tub, lotion and jammies, little bottle, story, song, rocking, and then off to sleep in your crib.

For naps, we read a story, sing a song, rock a little, and then put you down in the crib.

What size clothes and diapers are you wearing?

You are wearing a few 9 months clothes, but are mostly in 12 month clothes.  You are wearing size 4 Pampers Cruisers during the day and size 4 Pampers Extra Dry Overnight diapers at night.

What are some things you love?

You are loving to explore your environment now that you are capable of moving more (details on that in a few).  You love to climb and roll around on the floor.  You would play with Max's toys all day long if Mommy and Daddy let you, but they are always going in your mouth.  You still love remotes, screens, and anything that lights up.  You like to rolled around in your highchair and still love to play on Mommy and Daddy's bed.  Anytime Max is around, you want to be close to him and you like to pet him and grab his fur.  Luckily, Max is pretty tolerant!

What are some things you don't love?

You are not a big fan of having your nose wiped, but do like the new NoseFrida booger sucker we got the other day.  The concept is gross, but it works so well!  You don't like it when something is taken away from you when you still want it.

What can you do?

Oh boy, it has been quite a month for your motor development!  You are now crawling around like crazy and you just love that you can move around so easily.  You had been doing a modified army crawl for a bit, but lifted that belly about a week and a half ago and nothing can stop you now!  You are able to push yourself to a sitting position from being on your belly, which makes it super interesting in your crib.  In fact, just last night, you rolled from your back to your stomach, sat yourself up and started to pull up on the side of the crib.  Speaking to pulling up, you are doing that all.the.time on everything you can.  You have pulled yourself up on your music table, the coffee table, the gate around the wood stove, and you are almost all the way up on your feet in your crib.  You are feeding yourself and you will sometimes use a spoon with help.  Your pincer grasp is really starting to develop and you can pick up smaller items easily.  You don't have any specific words yet, but understand the signs for water, eat, and all done.  You can also clap someone else's hands together and sometimes do high five.

How many teeth do you have?

You still have four teeth, but your two top middle teeth are right at the surface of your gums waiting to pop through.  When you have teeth about to pop, you tend to get a runny nose and one watery eye.  That is one way we always know that there are teeth about to come in.

What are some firsts from this month?

You started crawling, pulling yourself up, and opening drawers.  You ate lots of new foods and are enjoying making lots of messes.  You went to your first baby shower and continue to travel well in the car, unless it's dark out.  You took a bath in the little tub inside the big tub.  

What are some of your nicknames?

Swiper, Stinker, Pumpkin, Peanut

What are we looking forward to in the next month?

This month, we are looking forward to celebrating your first Valentine's Day with lots of love.  Mommy has a vacation coming up, so we are going to enjoy some time at home and maybe a day trip or two depending on the weather.

We had quite a bit of fun taking your pictures this month.  You were quite the wiggle worm and kept lunging for the camera!  And all of your pictures include some lovely head marks and bumps from your newfound movement and freedom.

 Complete with dirty laundry basket.

Mommy says this every month, but you really are the happiest and most fun baby and it is so enjoyable to watch you grow and change.