9 Months

9 Month Check-in

Weight: 18 lbs 10 oz. He only gained half of a pound in a month and he dropped down a bit percentile-wise, but his doctor said not to worry. The important thing is that he is gaining!

Height: 29.5 inches 

Hair: Still rocking the mullet comb-over, still a little blondie

Eyes: Blue

Sleep: Another month in sleep hell  for us! I had flashbacks to our rock bottom four months ago. It's been the perfect storm over here - separation anxiety, teething, leaps. On our worst night it took me two hours to get him back to sleep, then he woke up two hours later and it took me another two and a half hours to get him down again. Fun. Most nights aren't that bad. It's tough with the teething because he gets super clingy. Sometimes I just give up and we sleep in bed together. We manage to get 5-7 hours blocks of sleep that way. In better news, he's been napping well! His first nap has jumped from 30-45 minutes to 60-90 and his second nap went from 25-40 minutes to 45-90. I'll take it!

Milestones: 1) He got his third tooth (Did he have that last month? I forgot to record it in his baby book.). He currently has three more coming through but they're taking their sweet time. 2) Still working on standing, but he can hold it for longer stretches. 3) He's taken a few steps. I definitely wouldn't call it walking, but they were really steps not just diving falls. 4) He waves! This actually happened at 9 months 3 days, but whatever, I'm putting it here. The first time he did it, he waved hi to my dad on Skype and it was like he'd been waving his whole life.  Then later that night, he waved bye to Seth at bedtime.

Likes: Reading, his dogs, skeletons (Halloween decorations), scrambled eggs, puffs, his snuggle bunny doll and book, swimming/bath time, club soda, drinking club soda out of mom's cup, birds   

Dislikes: I don't even need to change this one. Still hates - HATES - having his diaper changed and getting dressed. Also hates raspberries and kiwis.

What's going on: The biggest change has been with E's eating. We changed formulas and it has made a dramatic improvement. He eats! He finishes every bottle that I offer! I don't have to worry anymore! I'm not sure if he prefers the taste or if he knows this formula doesn't bother him, but something makes him like this one better. It has been an enormous relief for me. It used to be a battle to get him to eat 1 or 2 oz and now he will eat 6-7 oz in just a few minutes. He still spits up a lot, but it doesn't matter because he's eating enough.

We also stopped breastfeeding. It's been two weeks since he last nursed. My heart is still broken. It was hard, really hard. Probably more so for me than for E. I miss it so much. If I think about it, I start crying. I hate that I felt like I had to stop earlier that I wanted to. I hate that I felt like I was stuck with shitty options because of my endo (1. keep nursing, but stay on the mini pill and go crazy, 2. stop nursing and try different BC that doesn't make you crazy, 3. stop nursing and try to get pregnant). But this is how it is. I'm sure I'll feel better eventually. E seems okay. He sometimes tries to latch onto my chest and his new comfort mechanism is to put his hand down my shirt (fun), but overall I think he handled it well. Still. I'm sad. Did I mention that already?

What's Next: E will have to go in for his second flu shot next month and then hopefully he won't need to be seen again until his 12 month (12 month?!?) well visit. I've already started planning his first birthday party. We're going with the "Winter Onederland" theme. I'm making the invitations and decorations and I found a winter theme clip art set on Etsy with a little husky dog. I'm so pumped!