9 month old babies are pulling up to stand (yep did this at 7 months and is now cruising around the furniture!). They love to bang things together to make sounds (ALL THE TIME! And he laughs about it). They may say "dada" and "mama" (and "nana" and "lala", occasionally "baba" and sounds like "hi"). At this age babies learn what "no" means. Say "no" calmly and firmly. (Did this for the first time a few weeks ago and got a big lower lip pout and cry. Now he typically just pouts or makes a scrunchy face and protests, but then he is over it!) Take away the item that Ethan should not be playing with or remove him from the situation. (all day long...) It is a good idea to be both gentle and firm. Encourage Ethan to use his emerging language by talking to him frequently and begin daily regular reading (check!)
Give lots of hugs and kisses (Absolutely! How could I not kiss that precious face?) Peek-a-boo is a favorite game (so is chase, patty cake, and throwing or dropping just about any toy). 9 month olds have a lot of energy and it requires a lot of energy to take care of them (hmm... you are telling me!). Make sure you get enough rest. Ask friends and family for help so you can take a break and rest (this is why I nap a few times a week with the boys). If you are rested, you will be better able to take care of Ethan.
Many infants this age cry when parents leave their presence (this started 2 weeks ago). Such behavior is normal and relates to their cognitive and social development. They are not "spoiled". Infants grow socially from separating from and reuniting with their parents. Short or regular separations are important for teaching infants that when parents go away they also come back.
Pretty neat huh?! So, other news in Ethan's world starting with stats: 19lb 10.5oz (50th%), 29.75 inches (95th%), and head circumference 46.00cms (75th%). He is wearing size 9 month and some 12 month clothing, size 3 diapers, and size 3 shoes (when I can get him to keep them on).
New Foods:
Strawberries, barley, chicken, corn, mild cheddar cheese, tofu, nectarine, re-introduced whole milk yogurt, cheese tortellini, black beans, couscous, tomato, cherries, & toast.
Regarding foods, Ethan is picking up a majority of his meals now. It is rare that he will eat actual baby food, but probably go through one jar every 2 days. He will still eat oatmeal and yogurt on a spoon and loves them both! He is getting so much better with a sippy cup and is IN LOVE with water. I let him try juice two different times and he made quite the face. He does not seem to be a fan, so we stick with water! I wish you could see how excited it makes him to get his water cup. (or to share your water... so cute!)
Ethan has been very busy cutting teeth this past month: 5th tooth- upper middle right appeared May 25th, 6th tooth- upper middle left appeared May 29th, 7th tooth- bottom right one over from middle- June 12th. Poor guy (and poor Mommy's sleep...It has not been great)
Ethan is fascinated with turning on and off lights as well as closing doors. He will crawl over to a door and purposefully close any and every one he sees open, easily entertained... As mentioned above, separation anxiety has begun, but isn't too bad most days. He just started fussing at drop off at church, but doesn't seem nearly what I remember Ryan doing (perhaps that is still in the future). Sibling quarrels seem to start early- if Ryan hugs on him too tight, Ethan will stiff arm him and pull away. If Ryan takes a toy away, Ethan will make a whiny cry and take off crawling after him to get it back. (quite humorous to Mommy actually, Ethan's way of saying "give that back!") Ethan loves throwing things and banging ANYTHING together especially if it makes a noise. Ethan is also startled lately by loud or sudden noises. His brother was the same way, so I am very familiar with this stage. His fear/startled crying occurs generally after cheering, clapping, yelling, screaming, or other children crying. It was probably a positive thing that the Texas Rangers played so poorly at his first baseball game last week so he only cried twice (because we only cheered twice!) ;)
Another change this month is Ethan's dislike for bath time. He used to LOVE to splash around with brother and chew on his duckies, but for some reason the past 4 baths I have given him he just tries to stand or climb out of the bath and cries and fusses for the whole bath (which is as quick as I can manage). I have tried everything cooler/warmer water, with/without brother, careful to not get water on his face, sitting really close while I bathe him, etc. I really don't know what it is other than a (hopefully short) phase. We took him in our community pool at the end of May and it was really still pretty chilly and he did NOT like that. Tried in our backyard kiddie pool one day (also chilly) and he wanted nothing to do with it. So, I wondered if our two pool experiences may have brought about the change in love for bath time. Perhaps? We will try the pool again as it warms up (shouldn't take long) and hopefully he gets back to enjoying it for his sake and ours! (and brother, Ryan misses his bath time buddy!)
Ethan sleeps 12-12.5 hrs overnight, but typically wakes up once after 6-9hrs... sometimes he fusses for awhile and goes back to sleep, but often I wind up having to go in because he is standing and screaming. We are trying to get back to a full night's rest, but just can't seem to shake it lately. (After typing all this yesterday Ethan slept 11hrs straight last night! Yay! Hope it continues) He naps twice a day a total of about 3-3.5hrs. Naps while out running around are becoming increasingly more difficult due to all the stimulation, but he can still fall asleep in the car. Car naps are not preferred as they generally result in only 45min-1hr. When at home he will sleep 1.5hrs in the morning and 1.5-2hrs in the afternoon.
Ethan has begun signing "more" and "all done" though more looks closer to clapping and all done is arms high in the air. Ha! At least he is making an effort to communicate. This past week I showed him "please" and "thank you" and I am still repeating "milk" when I remember. He used to sign "milk" while nursing, but I haven't noticed him doing that recently. Instead, he prefers to stick his fingers up my nose, pull my hair, poke my eyes, or check out my mouth and teeth. Ha! He really doesn't know how to sit still anymore unless he is asleep. Holding on to him is so hard, he would much prefer crawling all over the place or holding on to hands and walking around. He pulls up on anything possible including sofas, tables, bookcases, the crib, and even just the sides of cabinets. I am wondering if he will be an early walker like brother, only time will tell. Ethan is starting to show interests in his books, other than just eating them (though he still does that). His favorites include the "That's not my..." series (touch and feel) & anything with flaps he can open, but one particular boxed set of 3 where a baby is looking for it's Mommy, and in the others for body parts that are hiding. (I don't recall the specific name) Hopefully he will continue loving books as he grows!
It has been a busy month, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I would prefer a little more sleep, but one day I know I will sleep again. :) Until then, there are always naps and a 2 night "kid free" get away in September that I am definitely already looking forward to!! We love you sweet Ethan and are so proud of all your developments and growth this month. We are getting in all the hugs and kisses and laughter we can while you are still little. It is so hard to believe that you are only 3 months away from being a 1 yr old!
1 comment:
What a cutie! Love all the details!
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