9 Months Old

"Wait, what does this say...how old am I??

 That's right!  I'm 9 months old!!"

Weight - 18 lbs 1 oz (25th Percentile)

Height - 28 in (35th Percentile)

Head Circumference - 18 cm (75th Percentile)

Joe is growing pretty consistently right around the 25-35th percentile.  I keep waiting for a 

growth spurt to push him up on the charts because in my mind the 25th percentile seems so

little to me.  Or maybe since his head is in the 75th percentile I feel like his body is just

waiting to catch up.  Either way he is healthy and happy and that is all the matters to me.

He still gives out the biggest smiles and shows off his two little bottom teeth.  There is

now a third tooth on the bottom that is starting to poke through too.  He is super ticklish

and can't help but laugh when you run your fingers up his spine.  Or when you kiss right

under his little neck or on his sides, he lets out the cutest belly laughs.

  

 He isn't the biggest fan of solid foods these days.  It doesn't really even matter what it is.

I try to approach him with the spoon and he stays tight lipped and moves his head from side

to side dodging the best of my sneak attacks.  I try to get at least a little in his mouth

thinking I can entice him once he tastes how delicious it is, but that only works a handful of

times.  Even when he does have a good eating day, he only eats an ounce or two of food

at a time.  One of the smaller to medium size baby food jars lasts me at least 3 feedings.

What can I say, he's just not a big eater yet.

He loves playing with the puffs I put on his tray, but those don't get eaten either.  He does

great with the pincer grasp, gets the puffs to his mouth, but then he gums it for a second or

two and spits it right back out.  He gets so excited when they are in front of him though and 

really does love making the effort.  Eventually he'll grow to love food as much as we all do.

Favorite Foods - Pears, Peas with brown rice, Apples

 Least Favorite Foods - Bananas (he seems to steer clear of anything that has banana in it)

I wish I had better news to report on how he's been sleeping, but unfortunately he's still

up two times a night, occasionally three.  The only good thing is he eats for a quick 7-10

minutes and then goes right back to sleep.  I would love for him to sleep through the night, 

but I also realize it could be worse, so I'll take what I'm given.  I'm hoping within the next few

months he'll realize how great it is to sleep a solid 11-12 hours at a time.  I know I would

love a good 5-6 hour stretch.  That would be fantastic!!   Waking up every 2-3 hours

is getting pretty tiring.  Ha!  Nice play on words, right?  Lack of sleep is good for some

slap happy humor if nothing else.  ;)

The best news this month is Joe gets his helmet off next week!!!!!  I am so excited (if the 5

exclamation points didn't give it away).  It hasn't seemed to bother him too much, but I know

he will be more comfortable without it.  Especially with the warmer weather.  And I, for one,

am looking forward to cuddling his cute little head without a hard plastic barrier in the way.

In the back of my head I'm also holding out hope that maybe, just maybe, the helmet is

what is keeping him up at night.  Perhaps once he is a little more comfortable he will

sleep more soundly and not feel the need to eat in the middle of the night.  

A girl can hope, can't she?

One of the funnier things Joe has started doing is screeching at the top of his lungs.  He

clenches his fists, tenses up his whole body and lets out this silly screech.  It's like he just realized that he can hear himself and he is so proud to let everyone else hear him as well.

It might get old after awhile, but right now I find it cute and pretty hilarious. 

As far as other developmental milestones, Joe is moving around on his belly like crazy.

He can basically maneuver around the entire living room by rolling and circling on his tummy.  He can do a full 360 in just shy of 4 seconds.  He sits up on his own but hasn't quite

realized he can't simply fall back when he gets tired.  He's also started pushing up onto

his knees every so often.  He stays on his forearms, but then pushes his little butt into the

air.  I can only imagine that crawling is not too far off, but I'm not rushing it.  I'll savor the

moments where I know he can't move much further than one room.  

We love you our little 9 month old and can't wait to see what next month brings!!