Well, this one really snuck up on me! My sweet baby boy is Nine Months Old! He is such a happy baby and we are having the most fun with him during this stage of life. Unfortunately he is sick right now with a cold, his first one yet (he had some type of virus a while back which gave him red bumps all over his legs and a high fever, but that didn't last very long). He is coughing, congested, and just all around doesn't feel very good. He's happy and playful during the day with Ms. Genia, which is great, but by the evening time when he gets home, he's ready for bed. He actually begged to get OUT of the bath tonight, which is not like him.
He still isn't crawling yet, but is working hard on getting into position. However, when he does get into position, he just falls on his tummy and rolls over to his back. He is just scooting and turning on his bottom to get where he wants to go right now. I know it won't be long though, and I'll be chasing him around the house!
Drew Man is still a very good eater. He is eating more table foods now: bananas, green beans, apples, carrots, baked potato, blueberries, grapes, and he tried grits, but did not like those at all (he actually made the funniest face with his nose scrunched up when Genia gave him some). He loves cheerios for a snack. He is using his "pincher" finger and thumb to grab food and can pick up most anything.
One of my most favorite things he does now is dance and "sing" to music. His Grammy and Gramps gave him a toy piano that plays songs. When it's on he just moves all over the place and laughs. It's so funny! His Nanaw also gave him a bunny (for Easter) that sings Jesus Loves Me. When I play it for him, he "sings" along with it.
I have completely stopped breastfeeding. I'm proud of myself for going 9 months and do feel like it was beneficial and worth it. Andrew has 3 bottles a day now (2 are 6 oz and 1 is 8oz). He just went to the Doctor this week (because he was sick) and weighed 19lbs 5oz; he's a growing boy! He has definitely gained weight since he's switched from breast milk to formula, but I think that's because he wasn't getting enough breast milk. That's the main disadvantage to breast feeding: you don't know how much they are getting.
He has started showing a little bit of shyness towards strangers now. At the doctor's office, he buried his head in my neck when he saw the nurse and the doctor. He has always been a really friendly baby, but I guess he's starting to learn the difference between strangers and people he knows. I love watching him learn! Speaking of that, Ms. Genia started some sign language with him, so I have been doing that at home, too. He knows the sign (or the word, not sure which) for milk and he gets SO excited when it's bottle time. It's so neat to watch him grow, change, and learn new things. He is also saying more sounds that are more word-like, and more sounds with consonants, such as Mamamamaa and Dadadadada, which we LOVE! =)
His favorite things: playing on the floor and taking all of the toys out of the basket, observing everything and everyone around him, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sprout TV, fruit, bath time, his paci (he is REALLY attached to that now), rocking to sleep, moving his legs and hands non-stop, playing peek-a-boo, and turning the pages of his books.
We are so blessed to have such a happy, healthy baby!!
