Miles is 9 Months

Say hello to the cutest little 9 month old I know!!

Growth Stats

Weight - 17 lbs 2.5 oz (11th Percentile)

Height - 28 in (35th Percentile)

Head Circumference - 17.75 in. (54th Percentile)

It's so funny because I was thinking that Miles was definitely on the smaller end of the

spectrum compared to the other boys when I looked at his stats.  But then I went back and

looked at Joe's numbers at 9 months and they are actually not that far off, which surprised

me.  I picture Owen and Joe as being so tall, but it wasn't until a little later that they

had their growth spurts.  So don't worry Miles, you have plenty of time to grow.

Developmentally he's growing more and more each day.   Because he is the baby of the

family I still think of him as being so little and forget all of the fun things he can be doing.

Who needs pureed foods when I can be giving him things like grilled cheese and mac n

cheese...doctor's orders.  :)  I predict a jump in the weight category next month.  

He seems to love being able to eat real food and more importantly feed himself.  He's doing

a great job with the pincer grasp and is enjoying trying various new foods.  The doctor

reminded me that at 9 months I can pretty much be giving him whatever the rest of us are

eating as long as I cut it into smaller pieces for him.  That little tidbit has made things so

much easier.  I had been trying to come up with "baby" foods I could give him, and forgot

that he can pretty much have anything.  She even said I could try peanut butter, which used

to be a no-no until one year old because of allergy concerns.  So one night for dinner I had

made Thai peanut chicken and he ate it right along with us.

Favorite foods - peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, pancakes, baby mum-mums, pears 

The other thing that is going to make eating a little easier is once he gets a few more teeth.

He still has just the two on the bottom, but his top four are right there ready to poke

through.  You can basically see the outline of them all.  Dr. Taback said she

guesses we'll see those four come out within the next month.

It's so fun watching Miles get older and more mature and discover new things.  He's not

crawling quite yet, but he can definitely get around.  He rolls and pivots and crawls

backwards to get where he needs to go.  He's started pushing up onto his knees

every now and then, so I don't think crawling will be that far off.

One of the things we need to work on a little is sitting up on his own.  He's still pretty

wobbly.  With three kids I'm not sitting still too often because we're either out and about, or

when we are home I'm doing laundry, making meals, straightening up, etc..  Miles is typically

on the floor playing with toys (aka building muscles to crawl) or in the jumperoo.  I've

decided I need to make more time to sit with him on the floor and work on strengthening his

muscles.  He's so close to sitting on his own that it won't take long for him to master it.

The other thing we're working on is talking.  He makes noises, but no real consonants. In his

defense, with his brothers around there are not many quiet moments in our house for him to

get a word in.  I'd like to think he's sitting back just taking it all in.

But I'm confident he'll find his voice in no time.

In the meantime I'm truly enjoying spending every minute with this little guy.  He is so sweet

and the most adorable little baby.  His smile can brighten anyone's day.  He's playful, happy,

and loves being around his brothers.  He loves when they come by him and make silly

noises or do funny things to make him laugh.  Another way we are guaranteed a laugh is if

we tickle him.  He's super ticklish...especially when you kiss his sides, armpits and neck.

There are a few things Miles does that when I look back at this time I want to remember.

One is when he hugs my whole head.  Typically it is when he is getting hungry or tired and

I am about to nurse him.  I'll pick him up and hold him up to my face.  He takes his whole

body and wraps it around my head.  His little arms wrap around my head and he pulls

himself in as close as he can get.  Then he legitimately tries to suck on my forehead.

We'll pretend it's kisses.  :)  The whole time he does that thing where he breathes quicker

in and out of his nose like when a dog is sniffing you, so it always makes me laugh.

Another one of my favorite moments is when I go in to get him when he wakes up in the

morning or from a nap.  He pushes himself up on his hands and gives me the biggest smile.

Then when I pick him up I hold him close to me with my cheek against his.  We sit like that

for a few seconds and neither of us move.  We just snuggle and there is nothing better. 

 I love you more and more each day little Miles and I am loving this stage of experiencing

new things.  You're getting bigger, learning and trying new things, and I am lucky to be able

to experience it all with you.