I am perpetually behind with these blog posts (!), so while the pictures above were taken on Matthew's actual nine-month birthday, I am writing about him at the nine and a half month mark.
We took him to Picture People at Clackamas Town Center for a nine-month photo shoot (we have done this so far at three months and six months and plan to round out Matthew's first year with a twelve-month shoot). He did really well, all things considered. They were extremely busy for a Sunday and squeezed us in. I think he was hungry by the time it was our turn, so the first few pictures in the shoot are pretty good, but toward the end of our session he was definitely not a happy camper. We did get a free sheet of photos for waiting such a long time, so that was nice. We were able to get two poses instead of the one it would have been otherwise. :)
It seems like Matthew is changing even more rapidly now, if that is possible. He is all about pulling himself up on furniture, boxes, our legs, any toy more than an inch off the ground, etc. The boy wants to be upright! But don't try to stick him in the exersaucer--he would rather stand and play at it, than sit in the little saucer seat and play. We still use it as "emergency" baby corraling gear: for bathroom breaks, dinner prep, etc. He complains loudly and arches his back and head when we attempt to put him in the seat, but once inside settles down and plays with his toys.
He and I discovered a new game that is so much fun: I get on my hands and knees while he is in the saucer and I say, "I'm gonna GET you!" and slap the carpet with my hands. He squeals and takes off running in his saucer. The activity center is in the middle and the baby seat circles it---I say that he is "orbiting" his toys--and we now have a ring of carpet that has been worn down from the baby making laps in the seat. Too funny.
Matthew still loves his books and loves being read to (I am so glad!), and will sit by himself and look at the pictures in books. It is the sweetest thing ever. Favorite books right now are all of the Little Pookie ones by Sandra Boynton, really all of the Sandra Boynton books: Snuggle Puppy, Barnyard Dance, Moo Baa La La La, But Not the Hippopotamus, The Going to Bed Book, etc. He seems to love best books with "cartoony" pictures. It usually takes a few attempts to get him interested in a new book, and even then, if he doesn't like the pictures, he'll crawl away mid-read. That's my boy, already a book snob. :)
He talks and talks and talks now. And not just single syllables anymore either. Now it's "Buh buh buh buh" and "Duh duh duh" and "muh muh muh." Michael says that "Duh duh" is Matthew's first word. We are both good-naturedly vying to be the first person Matthew calls by name. I told Michael that "Duh duh" doesn't count since Matthew isn't saying it to refer to him, but just likes playing with the sound. Besides that, Michael wants to be called "Papa," and I'm pretty sure the "puh" sound is a lot harder for a baby to make than the "duh" sound. So whether "Papa" or "Mama" is the first name uttered remains to be seen.
Matthew is growing socially too. He has been spending about four hours every weekday at an in-home daycare run by a very sweet young woman named Kassie. She and her daughter and her husband all ADORE Matthew. I think they would like to adopt him! He is quite spoiled by them (since he resists using the high chair, Kassie holds him to feed him the purees I bring), but I'm glad he's getting so much attention. I think it makes the transition away from me easier. Kassie only has a few kids at a time, which is good, because even with just a few kids, it's become apparent that Matthew does not like the noise and general hullabaloo that goes along with kids in a group. He cries if someone is too loud with a toy or if voices are raised. Our house is fairly quiet although I talk and sing to him all the time and play music for him. It's just a new environment, and it's only been a couple of weeks so far. He definitely loves all of the toys at Kassie's house and she sends me pictures of him while I'm working, so I can see him playing a bit too. We got really lucky to find Kassie, and while I hope I won't be working outside the home forever, I'm glad we found her and that Matthew does so well at her house.
Our boy is still breastfeeding like a pro (yay!). I hope to continue at least through his first birthday and hopefully longer. I treasure this time when he is small and wants to snuggle with his mama, because I know it won't always be that way. Besides milk, he likes banana (the favorite food), carrot, broccoli, sweet potato (another fave), pear and apple. We've given him a little squash and a little avocado but not recently. The one time I gave him a piece of watermelon in his little food pouch was SO funny. He loudly slurped and slurped and slurped. Matthew was in the kitchen in his high chair, and Michael could hear him slurping all the way in the living room. Guess he really liked the taste of the watermelon juice!
He doesn't drink from a cup yet, but practices with a little blue Green Sprouts sippy cup that has an alligator on it. I take it to Kassie's with a little breastmilk in it and it helps keep him busy when he wakes from his afternoon nap.
The sleep situation has improved tremendously from what it was, but this mama is still not getting a whole lot of consecutive hours of sleep. A typical night now looks like this: baby goes to sleep between 6 and 7PM, then wakes about thirty minutes later (almost like clockwork). He nurses briefly and goes back to sleep, only to wake again every 30-40 minutes (sometimes even more frequently) until about 10PM. Then he wakes every 2-3 hours. He's usually up and ready to play between 6 and 7AM. The nice thing is that he takes two (although short) naps--one around 9AM and one around 1:30PM. So we're settled into a little routine and he seems to do okay, even with all the waking. I'm pretty confident that when he's through teething, he'll sleep better. I really don't mind getting up with him so he can nurse because he goes right back to sleep. The tough part is in the evening before Michael and I go to bed when the baby is up so often. Hyland's teething tablets seem to help some, and I think in another couple of months, the worst of the teething will be behind us (I hope!)
Speaking of teeth, right now Matthew has his front two bottom teeth, with his two upper front teeth on their way in. When we saw Dr. Pritchard last Monday for his nine-month wellchild check, she said he has about four or five teeth all coming in at one time and that he would likely get his "laterals" on top before he gets his front teeth. She said he "gets a pass" on the poor sleep routine until the teeth are through. :)
He is healthy, according to Dr. Pritchard, although he's still got the eczema on his back, arms and chest. It looks somewhat better than it did when it first made its appearance. I am not eating dairy and I think that is helping. Matthew only weighed sixteen pounds at his appointment, which is down about a pound from his six-month checkup. Dr. Pritchard said not to worry though, because many babies gain and gain and then lose a bit. She also said the weight loss could likely be from how active he is, crawling and pulling up on everything. I think he has Michael's body type: long and lean. Michael was a stringbean until his twenties. Matthew was 29 inches long which is still fairly tall (80-90th percentile) for his age. Dr. Pritchard also said that his head is growing just right. It was 17 and some odd inches. So that is good too! His little brain is growing.
When I think that in two and a half months, he will be one year old, it just floors me. This child is such a delight, even when he is exerting his will and trying Mama's patience (this occurs mainly with dressing and undressing and the dreaded diaper change). I think it has just been within the last month or so that I feel like Matthew really knows Michael and me as his special people. He is so tuned in now. In his younger months, as he explored his world, I think we existed more as environment than key players. Now we are the people he recognizes with smiles and excited arm flapping and jumping. Those little arms squeezing my neck and that little head on my shoulder are the very best feelings in the world to me.
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