My Baby Is 9 Months Old

Today my little baby turned 9 months old.  WOW – 9 whole months.  Ari has now been a part of our every day lives for as long as I was pregnant with him?!

His 9 month stats:

22 lbs 14 ounces in weight (90th percentile)
30 1/2 inches in length (95th percentile)
19 1/4 inches for head circumference (95th percentile)

In comparison, his older brother Cory was a whopping 27 lbs and 30 inches when he was 9 months old?!

Cory at 9 1/2 months.

November 2005 when Cory is 9 1/2 months and Keri is 4.

And because somehow I put my lower right back out on Thursday (so. much. pain.  OUCH!) and because somehow sleep has become a luxurious hobby for me – at least continuous sleep, sleep where you get at least 2 to 3 hours uninterrupted (the two youngest have been having difficulties lately) – this post will be brought to you by bullet points.  (After all, years from now I will be really grateful I took the time to jot this stuff down).

• Ari’s top right tooth finally broke through today!  Yay!  Once his other top tooth comes in M.A.Y.B.E. he will get back to sleeping well again.

• Lately, Ari constantly looks tired.  He has been fighting his naps (I don’t think he wants to miss anything) and even having trouble at night staying asleep.  He will arch and scream like no other.  Thankfully, most of the time he doesn’t wake up his 3 year old brother, Eli, who sleeps in the same room as him.  And yes, we have tried the hold-and-put back down method and the cry it out method and the nurse-back-to sleep method.  I feel like things are slightly improving?  Hopefully?!  He gave up the binkie at 6 months of age so we don’t even have that as an option. I just keep telling myself that this too is a phase and it will soon pass.  By the time he is 1 and weaned I know things will be better … only 3 more months until then!

• He likes to snuggle with his soft and cuddly Aden and Anais blankets.

• He loves to splash and kick in the tub.  I normally end up soaked when he is done bathing.

• He still has the best belly laugh.  Ever.

• He sits really well by himself.

• He kind of, so it seems, waves hi and bye.

• He likes to suck on his fingers.

• Ari is not crawling yet, but I don’t think it will be too much longer … darn, I have truly enjoyed this non-mobile stage.  Just today he got up on his hands and knees and rocked back and forth a bit.  He also tolerates his tummy a whole lot more now and he is always trying to get things out of his reach.  I can tell he very badly wants to be able to move around – his siblings will be in for it when he does find his freedom.  For the last couple of weeks he also has learned to scoot backwards.

• He adores his siblings and loves playing and giggling with them.

• He loves to look in mirrors.

• He likes to coo and sing to himself.   He is starting to babble with consonant sounds.

• He still is very social and as of yet he has no stranger or separation anxiety.  (Knock on wood!)

• F.i.n.a.l.l.y. he is liking solids.  Can I get an hallelujah?  HOORAY!  He enjoys yogurt and still loves fruit. He even scarfs down fruit when it is mixed with vegetables – sweet potatoes, carrots, avocado, peas, etc.  He has a bit of a gag reflex when it comes to non-puréed food, but he is doing better with tiny pieces of table food.  He will feed himself Cheerios and Gerber puffs.  He also likes rice husks.  Hopefully this month I can get him to eat a wider variety of food and hopefully he will start tolerating more textures.

I can’t believe my last baby is so close to turning one. That just means I need to get as much baby snuggling in with my toddler-sized little one as I can – everything else can wait!

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