Can it really only be three more months until this little babe's first birthday!? Say it isn't so!!!
I am loving Acelyn and this stage of her life. As much as I miss the newborn cuddles, smells, sleepy smiles and delicacy, I sure do love seeing this little chick move and groove and learn all the new things she's been doing, lately! Her personality is really developing this month, and she is definitely making her presence known with lots and lots of happy screams and screeches (as well as a few feisty diva screams, when she's angry)! Her and Nolan have started playing "together" and they have both sweet and sour moments together, as any sibling duo- it begins! She still idolizes her big brother and she wants to be around him at all times. Her favorite thing is to play catch with him, and she's learned how to throw the ball back which is adorable and Nolan loves it. She's also learned to scream bloody murder when he takes a toy away from her, and throws quite the dramatic fit, complete with a trust fall backwards, when it happens! She has found a new love for music, and can often be found shaking her head, waving or clapping her hands, or bouncing up and down when she listens to music or a song. She's grown a particular fondness for Sesame Street over the past couple weeks, and the second she hears the theme song (even if it's not on T.V. and we just sing it), she drops what she is doing and searches for where she can find her Sesame friends! She is obsessed with a Sesame sing-a-long book that we have, and it's the first toy she goes to grab when we're in the playroom. She gets so excited, she yells at both the book, the show, or whatever type of Sesame toy we are playing with. At first I couldn't tell if it was an angry scream or a happy one, but she also does this with animals, so I'm thinking it's just her way of sharing her excitement!
Baby girl finalllllly cut her first tooth right before her 9-month birthday, and quickly followed two days later with tooth #2! Both that came through are the bottom teeth and she sure does look adorable when she shoots a cheesy smile and they peek through!
She's become quite the explorer now that she's mobile, and absolutely loves getting into trouble and going places she's not allowed. A few of her favorites are the bathroom, the pantry, the sliding door blinds, and any lamp she can beeline towards! She's gotten herself stuck under many things including the dining table, Nolan's lego table, our front entryway bench, her exersaucer and our beds. With the weather warming up, we've been venturing outside to more parks and going on walks, and she really enjoys being out in the sun and experiencing new surroundings. She loooooves to swing and lights up with a crinkle nose giggle each time. She's a pro at crawling everywhere, but she also enjoys walking with someone holding her hands or using her push-walker. She's not big on cruising furniture but definitely likes to practice any other way. She has stood up unassisted on a few occasions, too! She loves venturing out and about to go shopping or run errands, and will either give a shy smile or a mean muggin' stare to people when they talk to her... she's hit or miss! With familiar faces, she's still a complete goof ball and loves to giggle and slowly reach out to you to grab her.
Here's what else Acelyn is up to at 9 months:
Height, Weight and Sizes:
Acelyn had her 9 month well check this time around and clocked in at 17 pounds, 13 ounces (31st percentile), measured 27.5 inches long (44th percentile) and had a head circumference of 16.5 inches around (2nd percentile). She is wearing mostly 9-12 month clothing, with most of it closer to 12 months, especially leggings and bottoms, which are strictly 12 months. She's quickly outgrowing her 9 month jammies so we need to size up and get some new, lighter ones for spring! We switched to size 4 diapers and will be in those for a while. Her hair has finally started getting a bit thicker in the back and around her ears, but still not growing up front (haha!), and like stated above, she's cut two new teeth on the bottom!
Feeding:
Acelyn has enjoyed more and more table food this month, and we're starting to get in the habit of feeding her a little bit of what we are eating (if possible) at every meal. Girlfriend is not picky when it comes to food- she will pretty much eat anything and everything she can! Because we've been introducing finger foods and "real" people food, she has become pickier with her purees and being spoon fed, because she wants to do it all herself! We introduced pouches to her this month and she loves the independence that way, plus they are a great way to give her meals on the go. Her favorites include: breakfast: toast with butter, scrambled eggs, bananas; lunch: grilled cheese and veggie soup, pieces of peaches and apricots, string cheese, avocado, macaroni and cheese; dinner: bbq (or any other type) chicken, pasta, any type of rice, quesadillas, and soft steamed veggies like peas and carrots. She typically will eat one half to a whole puree container, plus pieces of whatever we are eating, so she's definitely a foodie!
She still nurses 4 times during the day, once before bed, and most recently sometimes started sleeping through one of her nightly feeds. When she does wake, I think it's more out of habit rather than hunger, but because she sleeps right next to us, I don't foresee her giving that up until she's out of our room (which I'm in no hurry for... can I keep her next to me forever!?) Her nursing habits have taken a turn this month, becoming much more rough than they used to be; lots of kicking, scratching, pulling, twiddling... needless to say she beats me up when she's nursing! It's a hard habit to kick and I've tried lots of things to distract her hands, but again, I think it's just a comfort habit that's here to stay until she weans! I'm thankful we are still going strong with breastfeeding and it amazes me the stark difference between kiddos- I can't believe the huge sacrifice I made exclusively pumping with Nolan- I haaaate pumping now and do it very, very infrequently!
Sleeping:
Acelyn's schedule is pretty consistent to exactly what it was last month. Like stated above, she sometimes will sleep through her early AM feeding which is a welcome break when it does occur. Her naps during the day are shortening, and she will typically nap for 45 minutes to an hour in the morning and usually about an hour in the afternoon, not a second longer. Again, another stark difference between my babies- Nolan loved (and stills does) his sleep, and this girl can go on very little and still be full of energy! She's still flexible about running errands or going out, and can easily take a nap in her carseat, which we usually try to plan our trips out around (roughly). Of course, she's always more rested when we stick to our schedule at home, but it's nice to be able to get out every now and then with no issues, too!
Likes:
Exploring through crawling!
Dancing
Sesame Street
All foods!
Playing with the blinds
Pushing her walker, walking with holding hands
Pulling books off the bookcase
Swinging on the swingset/playground
Screaming and screeching during dinner
Eskimo kisses
Dislikes:
Changing her diaper/clothes
Being put in something stationary- this girl has places to go!
Still hates initially getting into the carseat
Being left alone for a second
Stranger danger, it's hit or miss
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