Age: 8 months
Weight: 17 pounds 14 ounces
Length: 26 ½ inches
Clothing Size: He is mostly wearing 6-9 months, most sleepers, onesies, jeans, and we had to move up our sock size. However, there are some 3-6 month things that still fit- sleepers, short outfits from Gymboree), some pants, and jackets.
Likes: He loves to be outside, so going for walks continues to be a favorite. Often times it is something we can use to relax him and calm him down, and help him go to sleep if he is fighting it. (I am dreading winter and losing this…) He also enjoys bath time in the big boy tub, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and playing with his toys. His favorite toy is the remote control (go figure), but he also enjoys his taggie ball, and an old pop up thing that was mine (you know the ones that you press a button or spin something and the door pops up with something…ironically this one is Mickey Mouse, just from the 80’s!)
Dislikes: Being left in the room alone is still a dislike. He can go from happily playing to screaming because you are not in there. Strangely enough his does not care for his swing either. We bought a swing and hung it on the back porch thinking he would love it, nope, after 30 seconds he is not a happy camper (and I have tried it multiple times…).
Sleeping: Sleeping has been inconsistent this month, between his first ear infection, and going to visit daddy, he has been a little thrown off. He tends to go down pretty easily at bedtime (I mean who wouldn’t if you were in a milk coma, but he has been waking up in the night anywhere from 1-3 times, which makes for a long day for mommy. I cannot figure out what the factor is. I have tried nursing, giving milk with some cereal, letting my mom put him to bed, not letting him nap after we get home, I have no idea what gives. We have also got to get to the point that he can soothe himself back to sleep. I think some of the problem is that when he does wake up he doesn’t know how to get himself back to sleep.
Eating: Baby food is going great! He eats fruit with cereal for breakfast, then take 2-3 bottles during the day, and has 4 ounces of food for dinner! He is so routine, and you can guarantee that between 5:45 and 6 he is going to want to eat his dinner. He gets pretty into it, smacking the high chair and making noises if you aren’t going fast enough (worries me he is going to have a temper). After dinner he eats a few puffs, then we are good until his bedtime feeding (still nursing at this one and the 4:30 to 5 am one).
Playing: He has started crawling, but not making much progress. As always he enjoys bath time. In spurts he does well in his playpen, the jumper, or on the floor.
What we did this Month: We took a family trip to Branson, Missouri, which was some much needed family time. Connor loved the pool, even outdoors in October. He also enjoyed the open air tram ride and seeing buffalo, Texas longhorn, and elk up close. He was also a great traveler!
Age: 9 months
Weight:18 pounds 2.5 ounces (25th percentile)
Length: 27 ¼ inches (11th percentile)
Clothing Size: 6-9 months, and they are still fitting very well. I actually just bought another pair of lined jeans for him that were 6-9 months. He finally grew out of his sleepers that are 3-6 months, he just got too long for them. I have been putting hoodies on him that are 9-12 months, but he will be able to wear them for a while.
Likes: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse continues to be his favorite TV show, so much that there are shows he will not watch like Jake and the Neverland Pirates or Sophia the First. He has a new stand up toy at day care that he enjoys, it looks like a horse with toys at the top like a saucer. He loves food! He would eat as much as I would feed him, so I do have to watch how much he eats.
Sleeping: Sleeping has been hit or miss this month. After we got back from Branson we found out he had a double ear infection. Sleep was rough while in Branson, up several times a night and very fussy, the whole next week was rough. A week after finding out he had the ear infection we took him back to doctor thinking he wasn’t getting over it. He was healthy as could be (thankfully). This did give me the chance to talk with someone about his sleeping habits. The nurse we had that day suggested not getting him out of bed, he was already not getting a bottle in the night so it was frustrating that he was getting up. I tried the whole pat the butt and not get him, the first night was rough, then we had 3 great nights!!! I’m thinking progress. Then a rash showed up on his back, when I took him to the doctor it was strep throat! We went back to up in the night. After another week we have finally started making progress again at bedtime. There have been some nights that he sleeps all night, and others that he wakes up for the pacifier. While that is frustrating for me, I have to consider that I just recently stopped breastfeeding completely.
Eating: Shortly into the I stopped breastfeeding. While I had already cut down on pumping I was still allowing him to nurse at bedtime. In turn he was not doing so well at taking formula. I decided to stop breastfeeding all together, with school it made it very difficult. I had to try 2 different formulas to find one he likes, but now he takes 5-6 bottles a day, at least 30 ounces. It is a mixture between breast milk and formula, but he will not take them mixed any more, just one or the other. He eats cereal with fruit (2-3 ounces) in the morning, and gobbles it up. Day care has asked for more food, but it goes back to that he could eat and eat and eat. His fruits include apples, peaches, mango, blueberries with apples or bananas, and pears. I have started sending juice to make it go a little further. Since I am making his baby food I feel that he gets a good variety at dinner. He is eating 5 cubes of food now (5 ounces) and sometimes 6 cubes. Two have a meat in them such as chicken or turkey with apples, or chicken with peaches. I tried mixing it with white or brown rice, but I’m not sure he was ready for it yet. Then he has 2 vegetable cubes, generally both different. His vegetables include carrots, peas, green beans, squash, and avocado (I know it is technically a fruit). Then he will eat some kind of “dessert” such as blueberries with bananas, or pumpkin. He loves applesauce, and I have started keeping a jar of natural unsweetened applesauce as a backup. He is also eating “puffs” as a snack.
Playing: He has fallen in love with his new table toy. It seems to have been a great purchase from the kids consignment sale. He is doing great standing up at it, and has even managed to pull up at it (that took some practice too since it is top heavy). He did pull up in his crib first, I of course lowered his mattress, without realizing it was the only thing that was a height he could pull up on. He is “crawling” all over the house now. He is still on his belly, but we have decided that could be because of the hard wood floors. His knees and arms get so red, I can’t imagine it if he was up on his knees. We have to be sure to keep certain door closed, and we will shortly be putting up baby gates for the kitchen. We have also decided to move where we normally put the Christmas tree, and put it in the bay window in the kitchen since it will be blocked off. Even in the stored he loves to look at the trees. Depending on how much time he spends in a jumper at daycare, he does jump a bit at home. He also plays in his playpen.
What we did this Month: Connor went to his very first U of L Men’s Basketball game, it was just a scrimmage, but still at the YUM! Center. We took a trip to visit daddy, and got to go on a hayride, aside from being hungry he loved it, but we were outside after all. Our vacation to Branson overlapped into this month also. We did go shopping a few times, and I have to say he is a great little shopper. And, it was his first Halloween! We dressed him up as a lobster in a pot, and his dad was the cook, too cute!
