9 Months!

My big boy turned 9 months the day after Christmas, and it seems like just in this month he's changed so much and learned so many new things. He is such a delight to us, and to all our family. I absolutely love being his mom!

What is SHH up to at 9 months?

Eating: Still a great eater, but he seems to be getting a little more picky... He's great with his bottles and still takes 5/day. We were doing 6.5 ounces of formula, but I've upped some bottles even to 8 ounces (his morning and afternoon snacks). Most recently he's started holding his own bottle! This makes our morning super easy - I feed him baby food, then he holds his bottle reclined in his high chair while I pack his stuff or put my makeup on. It's so great! He doesn't always want to... but mommy doesn't mind helping him a bit longer. He really enjoys his baby food, and really most of the kinds. I still think pears are his favorite, but he eats the heck out of everything else. Except the Gerber Stage 3 Broccoli, Cheese & Carrots. It's a little chunkier, and he just gags the entire time, then screams. Those have been removed from our pantry for the time being. He's also started eating Puffs! This is a lot of fun - with the new addition of our high chair before Christmas, I'm able to put him in it with some toys and puffs on his tray and keep him occupied while I cook or bake or get ready. It took him a little while to figure out hand-to-mouth, but he's got it now! And Puffs are Dixie's new favorite treat also - Sawyer is so good at sharing. Yesterday he even shared one with Aunt Amanda.

Sleeping: He's still generally a good sleeper. He'll go down around 7:30pm and is up around 7 or 7:15am. Sometimes we can squeeze out sleeping in until 8 on the weekends! Lately it's seemed he's been up more during the night, just needing his pacifier, but for a while he could self-soothe very well and fall back asleep. He's been pretty congested this whole month and has been sick a lot, so I'll blame it on that. And teething. Isn't everything teething's fault? He's still not a great napper at daycare, but that's no change from at home, so I still don't worry about it. He's seeming like he might want to move to one or two longer naps instead of short ones between each feeding, but daycare screws up any schedule like that from the weekend. He just moved up to the bigger infant class, and they do 1 nap a day, so we'll see how that works out!

Diapers: Size 3 Pampers Cruisers. Most of the time they hold through the night - but just barely!

Clothes: Definitely 12 months now. They leave him some room to grow. I'm not sure when he'll move up again to 18 month size... I can't even imagine! His 9-month pj's are starting to get a little snug, even just in the past 3 or so weeks.

New tricks: Lots and lots this month! Waving (when he wants to, and mostly at ceiling fans and the Christmas tree). Pulling up on things and standing - his favorite thing these days! Eating Puffs. Holding his own bottle. Drinking juice from a sippy cup - sometimes, mostly he just chews on the spout. Eating in a high chair - we truly went almost 9 months feeding him in his bouncy seat. Hitting 2 objects together to make noise - he loves doing this with his toys. Crawling very, very fast! Giving kisses, which are open-mouth licks on my cheek, really. I've noticed this month he really wraps his legs around me when I hold him, when makes me feel like he's such a big boy and not a baby anymore. Cutting 4 new teeth - he has his bottom two, now his top two have broken through, and his other two top ones are cutting through as well. Poor thing, but better to get them all done quickly!

Sickness: A new section, dedicated to all the germs at daycare. He's had a fever almost every week, at least one day, since he's started. First ear infection was terrible. Reaction to the amoxicillin - a rash that hung around for 2 days then went away. Cutting 4 new top teeth. Having the worst teething day I've ever seen where he was so clingy and sick all he could do was lay on me. As a result of teething and snot, first projectile vomit episode. He did it twice one night and scared me half to death. It was Exorcist pea soup style, except with sweet potatoes. Poor thing. First taste of Pedialyte - loved the grape flavor! I am hoping hoping hoping once this yucky time of year passes we'll all stop getting sick so often!

Sawyer is in general a happy-go-lucky kid. He loves his mama, and sometimes we just need special time together. He and his daddy have a lot of fun reading, watching TV, going on walks and chasing Dixie. Having him in daycare is a daily battle for me, but I love seeing him be social with other kids. He is apparently madly in love with Emmalee, though now they've been separated in different classes. I think his new class will be great since all of the kids are crawling, and some are standing and starting to walk. His is definitely opinionated - he will let you know when he's not happy with a loud grunt, he has preferences on toys and especially books right now. He loves to read, and right now he's really liking any book with flaps you can open. He is doing such a great job of pulling up and standing - it only took him a few days to get the hang of it. We made our living room into a play room with a big playpen set up with all of his toys in it, and though it's not attractive, it works great for all of us. He is full of energy and so fun to be with, I cherish our weekends together. I am already brainstorming 1st birthday party ideas - I don't want to wish the next 3 months away, but I am excited for it!

I took him to the pediatrician today and his stats are:

Weight = 19 lbs, 14 oz (50 %)

Height = 28 inches (25-50 %)

Head Circumference = 45 cm(?) (50 %)

(Sawyer, I'm sorry - tall genes are not on your side from mommy or daddy!)