9 Months

EH turned 9 months old on the 11th.  Three quarters of a year have passed since he came into our lives.  It seems like that was sooo long ago, it's crazy.  But even crazier is that he's going to be one before we even know it.

 

Here are his 9 month stats:
Height - 2 feet 4 inches (49th percentile)
Weight - 20 pounds 2 ounces (44th percentile)
Head Circumference - 46 centimeters (70th percentile)

He's finally starting to even out a little bit - instead of being a skinny baby with an enormous head, he's coming closer to being an average sized baby with a slightly larger than average head. 

Month 9 was a big month for EH.  He started embracing tummy time and finally made some progress in what will surely lead to crawling.  In the meantime though he gets around by rolling, an art form that he has truly mastered.  He uses the roll to get from one side of the room to the other, and it's truly hilarious to watch.

He started pulling himself up on his crib, and started moving his legs when he was standing and holding on to something.  Not quite walking, yet, but really darn close. 

Month 9 marked the first month that he started sleeping on his stomach, which terrified me at first, when I would go into his room and see him face planted into the mattress.  But he was always breathing, always fine. 

During month 9 he continued to love mealtimes, happily gobbling down anything that we put in his mouth, except for banana and the Gerber "rice with fruit" cereal, which he absolutely hated.  He mastered his "pincher" fingers and started consuming puffs by the handful.  He's still not interested in eating other solid foods and seems to happily prefer his purees that I make for him. His pediatrician wants us to start giving more solid foods, but for now we're introducing those things slowly.

He's plumping up before our eyes.  Our previously 8th percentile baby is now quite the little chunker.  His wrists and legs have creases and the rolls in his neck have his own rolls.  We've had to start making a habit of cleaning out these crevices, something we never needed to worry about when he was a skinny beanpole.

During month 9 EH decided that it was time to transition from 3 naps a day down to 2.  Neither he nor his parents particularly love this schedule, but at the very least it does give us more time with him.  He'll still take 3 naps on occasion though and it definitely makes everyone's day a little more enjoyable when he does.

He perfected his laugh, and his smile.  He gets so excited when he sees us and he seems to recognize my voice when DH puts him on the phone with me on my drives home from work.  He sticks his tongue out for all important activities - smiling, laughing, thinking, eating, and talking.

He also started really experiencing "stranger danger," and is definitely wary of people that are not us.  He's a charming until someone else tries to hold him, and then he screams, even if we're right there.  We're working on helping him realize that it's ok if someone other than us holds him, but I'm not sure he's convinced. 

Dressed like daddy!

He's our life.  Our pride and joy.  He's the reason we look forward to coming from work every day, and the reason that we don't really want to go to work in the mornings.  He is so much fun and so interactive.  He loves playing with us but will also happily play by himself.  He's really starting to notice Murphy, and Murphy is thus starting to notice him more as well.  He lights up our lives, and our home, with chatter and giggling and smiles.  I honestly can't imagine life without him at this point.