Oh my, sweet boy, where has the time gone?! You are getting so big (waving to the camera in the above picture) and you are such a delight!
This has been a big month for Jack. He started pulling up on everything, cruising, waving, standing alone, pushing a walker, eating lots of finger foods, and even saying a few words!
Stats: At his 9 month appointment (when he was 9.5 months), Jack weighed 18 lbs, 5 oz (no diaper) and measured 28.5 inches long. The little guy is in the 10th percentile for weight and 50th for height and head circumference. He has 5 teeth (plus 3 coming soon), wears some 6-12, 12M, and 12-18 month clothing, and wears a size 4 shoe.
Sleeping: Jack continues to be a great sleeper. He had a stretch of 10 days or so in the middle of the month when he was waking up once at night (due to teething or a cold), but thankfully, he would go right back to sleep after a little milk and some Boiron Camilia (if the wake up was due to teething). He (and we) got sick twice this month but he is a little trooper and hopefully we're done with colds for the winter. Since daylight savings, we've adjusted our schedule by about 30 minutes. He sleeps from 7:30 pm - 7:30 am, and takes his morning nap from 9:30-10:30 or 11 and afternoon nap from 2:15 - 4:45.
(his poor gums turn PURPLE right before the tooth comes in... he currently has two on the top that look like this. poor baby!)
Eating: Jack has made a lot of progress in the finger food department this month but is nowhere near as adventurous as Baby Elise. He generally eats all finger foods for dinner, but still enjoys purees or yogurt for breakfast and lunch, with a side of Cheerios :) I've tried tons of different finger foods but he has so far refused all fruits and most vegetables. He does like chicken, ham, turkey, sweet potatoes (cut into strips and baked with some olive oil and cinnamon), cheese, and probably a few other things that I can't think of right now. I still make a lot of baby food with the Babycook and try to replicate the combinations found in squeezy packs. I usually do some combination of orange vegetable (pumpkin, squash, carrot, etc), green vegetable (spinach, peas, broccoli, etc), and fruit (apples, pears, blueberries, bananas, etc). I bought the Sili Squeeze with Eeeze pouches last month and we love them. I make one for both kids several times a week... it works great for lunch at the park or a snack while on the go. Jack also LOVES drinking water or milk out of a straw.
He still nurses 5 times a day, but I think we are about to drop the late afternoon feeding. He hasn't been very interested in it this week and has no problems waiting until 6 or 6:30 for dinner. Other than that, nursing is going well and I expect to continue through the summer.
Playing: Jack is happy almost all the time. It is unreal. He is such a good independent player that it almost makes me feel guilty. He doesn't even mind being gated in the playroom or living room by himself. His favorite toy this month is the B Parum Pum drum/music set that John gave Elise for her 1st birthday. Every time I get this out, he will sit and play with it for 30 minutes without getting distracted by anything else. We went to a music class at the children's museum last week and he sat in one spot for the ENTIRE class, just shaking the instruments. He was mesmerized and the teacher was amazed. He also likes playing with the Chicco baby activity walker and still enjoys his Fisher Price musical table. He loves putting the balls and shapes into the hole at the top of the walker. He's also interested in anything that Elise is playing with. One of his favorite activities is pulling up on something, letting go to stand for as long as he can (up to 10 seconds), and then grabbing it again. He has no fear of falling and will just let go and lunge for someone if they're close enough. If he's playing by himself, he'll just stand, let go, and plop on his bottom. He's just now getting interested in pushing a walker and walking with our hands. He will cruise to something specific but won't just cruise around for the heck of it. I remember that Elise used to cruise laps around the coffee table and couches just for fun :)
Learning: Jack has been inconsistently signing 'milk', 'more', and 'all done' for over a month now. During one recent meal, he used all three! He was in the playroom and it was almost time for lunch, and he signed 'milk'. Then, in his booster, he signed for 'more' Cheerios, and when he was finished, he raised both hands in the air for 'all done'. He understands a lot of language and will usually respond to a command like "crawl to Mama" or "go get the ball/table/walker/drum/book/whatever toy". He also started waving and playing peekaboo this month.
He still doesn't babble a ton, but he does talk in his own language ALL the time. It really sounds like a different language, complete with inflection, pauses, gestures, etc. It's so cute. He really tries to communicate and will study my face after he says something, like, "Did you get that, Mom?". In the past few weeks, Mike and I have both thought that he's been saying a few words, but now I am positive. I have a few videos to show it. They include: dog (gog), duck (uck or guh), Boss (bah), book (ook), hi, and yay. Today I heard him say "sssss" several times when looking at Elise and "gar" several times when we were walking through a parking lot (he was in the Beco so I could hear him), so those might be the next words. After the parking lot, we entered Barnes and Noble and he kept looking around saying "ook ook". He waved and said "hi" to Mimi on the webcam. I also think he said "gog bah" today, which I often say in the adult version when Boss joins us.
I need to take some 10 month photos this weekend while I have Mike home. It's getting harder and harder! Here are some from the past month.
Oops, mom, you forgot to close the gate!
Trying to restack his cups
Anything that Elise has is fair game, right?
so sweet!! Can't wait to see him and Elise again... very soon!
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