9 Months

Dear Will,

You are 9 months old! This is the last month you'll ever be in the single digits, going by months anyway. I can hardly believe it!

 
You weigh 21 pounds (75-90th percentile) and are 28 1/4 inches long (50-75th percentile)! I could NOT believe how much you have grown in length! I don't know why I was so surprised- you are definitely outgrowing 9 month clothes quickly, and for the first time in your life, it's because of the length (usually in the stride of your outfits). You have gone from the 3rd percentile for length at birth to the 50-75th, which means you have grown a whopping 9 inches since birth. My goodness, you're getting so big! Your weight for length percentile is 75-90th percentile...no surprise there. And you still have a big ol' noggin that measured 19 inches (>98th percentile...no surprise there, either).

You are wearing 9 months, 9-12 months, and 12 months clothing, but I'm pretty sure the 9 month clothes will be retired soon. You can still technically where a size 3 diaper (especially in pampers), but we bought size 4 the last trip we made to Sam's.

This past month you have changed exponentially as far as your development is concerned. You started crawling at about 8.5 months, and you are into E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. I'm not exaggerating. You are all over the place, and can get ahold of things that I never even thought about before I realized we have our very own baby vacuum cleaner crawling around the house.

You still love clapping your hands, and making your "crazy call" noises. You and daddy can have a full out conversation together with your noises. He will make your noise, and then you will mimic him back, and this can go on for 5 minutes sometimes. I also heard you mimic one of your toys the other day when it made an elephant noise.

You are most definitely a communicator, and have added a few more words to your vocabulary. You started saying "momma" at about 6.5 months I think, but now you also say "bye-bye" (and wave your hands), we can sometimes get you to say "bama," and it also sounds like you say "baby" sometimes, although it will be at random times- not necessarily when you see a baby. I always ask you to say "up please" when I pick you up from your car seat or high chair, and I noticed that you started saying it the other day when you were trying to climb up my leg. You will say "up! up!" You try to say "uh-oh" after I will say it, but it comes out as "ohhh." You also know the sign language for "more" and "milk." We are working on "please," but I know that you don't have that concept of manners yet. But it never hurts to introduce those manners as early as possible!

You still love looking at yourself in the mirror, and you can be super tired and cranky, but it will most always get a smile out of you. You think that baby in the mirror is so funny, and you always immediately start waving your hand when you look in the mirror.

Your most favorite thing in the whole wide world (besides mommy :)) is the piano. Daddy had the great idea to show you how to play the piano a while back, and you are HOOKED. If you are down on the floor crawling around and notice the piano (it sits kind of behind of the living room where you usually play), you can crawl over to it in no time flat. I'm hoping this is a glimpse into your future, and that you will have a life-long love for music! You also still love playing your "drums" (pots and pans with a spoon).

You've had a rough month with a terrible ear infection. It lasted through 4 antibiotics, for probably a good 6 weeks. We went through amoxil, augmentin, omnicef (briefly), and bactrim. And Mr. Will, your tummy had a rough, rough time once we got to the omnicef. The other ones didn't seem to bother you that bad, but once we started the omnicef, we had to stay home all weekend, even missing church. I think one day we ended up going through every pair of pajamas that fit you. But once we realized it didn't seem to be helping the ear, we changed to bactrim, and your tummy went back to normal almost immediately. Needless to say, we introduced yogurt this month because of all the antibiotics, and you LOVE some yogurt!

Speaking of food, you are doing well with eating (clearly), and are loving feeding yourself. I've tried some small pieces of fruit, but I think I cut them up too small, and they were slippery so it was hard for you to hang onto them. The other day, I gave you a piece of my banana (big enough for you to hold onto), and you really liked that a lot. You love puffs and yogurt bites (I think you would eat the whole bag at once if I let you), and I just recently discovered that you get Ritz crackers at school, and apparently love those too. They said they let you have a green bean the other day, and you did "ok" with it. So I guess we are slowing getting to more table food. I still make your food (other than yogurt, obviously), and your favorites right now are pears, apples, or any kind of fruits for that matter, butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, and yogurt. You will eat avocado IF I hide it in something (like carrots). You also do well with squash and zucchini, but not a huge green vegetable fan just yet.

You still nurse early in the morning (between 5 and 5:30), and again at bedtime (~7:30), unless it is the weekend, and then you nurse at all feedings. But at school, you take 6 ounces at 9:00 and 1:00. You've started taking less and less at your 4:00 feeding, and I think you are probably weaning yourself from that one. I used to send 6 oz for that too, but I've been sending only 4 lately, and you still usually don't finish it. I think on average you are taking only 2-3 ounces at that feeding.

You still have just the 4 teeth, but I can see 2 more through the skin on the top. I'm pretty sure those will be in before you turn 10 months old.

You've mastered the art of "peek-a-boo," and think it's hilarious! We think it's hilarious when you do it too. :)

Every month I say this, but I think THIS is the best age. You are definitely wearing your mommy out, trying to keep you out of stuff and especially when it's time to change your diaper or your outfit, but it is so worth it. We are so blessed to have such a happy, healthy, active baby, and you are our world! We love you!