Just popping in to say hello! I am due for our 9 month update and struggling to find time to write it. So I’m going to have to make this one much more brief than usual, but I guess it’s better than nothing!
Baby talk:
Baby talk is in full force. She says dada, mama, yaya, nana, baba, etc. on the regular. It’s super cute! She calls Eric, me, Sketchie all dada right now…haha…but occasionally she’ll say mama when looking at me (or when crying)!
She loves to scream at the top of her lungs when she’s tired. I call it a protest cry! It sounds like AHHHHHHHHHH, AHHHHH, AHHHH.
When she’s happy after a good sleep, she “sing-songs” her baby talk (see this video). Melts my heart every single time. I said to Eric it’ll be so sad when she doesn’t talk like this anymore! It’s such a cute stage. I’m glad we caught it on video.
She still loves to growl. She growls when she’s being a “stinker” and wants to play or be silly.
We just never know what sound is going to come out of her mouth! She is quite vocal!
She still likes making “poooooof” noises by blowing air through her lips.
Her personality is emerging more and more these days. She is very active, always wants to be moving, and dislikes being held more and more. She stopped going in carriers and wraps months ago because she just squirms and wants out. She is happiest when she is on the move and playing. Loves going out and seeing people so we try to do that lots! We’re also joining a baby activity class soon. She is also very curious, observant, playful, and easy going (with a fierce stubborn streak). When she wants something, she wants something. Sounds just like her mama!
Waving:
She LOVES to wave. At us, the cat, strangers. It’s maybe the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!!! Melts my heart.
Sleep:
She has slept through the night about 4-5 times over the past 9 months (but who’s counting?? haha…ME!). However, she is only waking up to feed once a night now. It could be worse, but I’m ready to start sleeping again. I often struggle to get back to sleep after the overnight feed so I can be up over an hour before I’m finally back to sleep. My mind is on my work usually, so I need to find a way to turn off. I feel pretty burned out lately.
Before 8 months hit, Adriana used to go down to bed quite easily. The past couple months putting her down at night has been a struggle. She will often fuss or cry and refuse to go to sleep. Sometimes it’s a good 1-2 hours before she is finally asleep. She seems to be going through big developmental leaps right now so I’m sure those don’t help. We have never sleep trained and I hope things improve naturally.
Still taking 2 naps a day. Lately she has been refusing naps once in a while which she never did before. It’s still hard to read her sometimes. Is she sleepy or not? Overtired or not tired enough to nap? I would’ve thought we’d have it down by now, but every week it changes! We take it day by day. When she does nap they tend to be 1 hour each. Once in a while we’ll get 2 hours out of her, but 1 hour is the norm.
Breastfeeding:
I’m still nursing on demand. I think she went through a growth spurt a few weeks ago and she was eating every hour or so. Very tiring on both of us!
Teeth:
No teeth yet. I can’t believe it. I think we have finally given up saying, “I think she is going to cut her first tooth any day now.” Maybe she will be one of those late bloomers that cuts a bunch of teeth at 11 months?
Food:
Solids have been very challenging. We are doing a mix of purees and baby led weaning. (I don’t think you have to choose between one or the other). She doesn’t seem to be super interested in eating yet though…it kind of breaks our heart because we put so much time and effort into making homemade purees and steaming finger foods, and most of it is thrown out or spit out.
We’re still working on the sippy cup. She loves to blow into it (to make a loud bubbling noise and then all the water shoots out) instead of sucking the water out. She is such a stinker, I tell you!!! I think she gets a real kick out of it.
We gave up on bottles. It just wasn’t happening after trying for 7+ months consistently. That’s why we moved on to the sippy cup. I’m hoping she will take to the sippy cup soon. I honestly can’t believe I have been exclusively breastfeeding for 9 months now! We have her 9 month check up next week and I’m going to talk to the doctor to see if she has any tips.
On the move:
As I mentioned in the 8 month update, she is crawling. She’s quite fast now and we have to watch her like a hawk! She’s into everythaaaaang!!! We did some baby-proofing last month, but there will be more to come.
Celebrations:
I mentioned in a blog post that we celebrated my grandparents 50th anniversary last month. Over 100 guests came out…it was like a wedding! So awesome. It was such a great day. Anyway, at the end we had a huge family photo. Adriana was already over-tired and needing a nap badly, so she yelled AHHHHHHHHH AHHHHH through the entire photos. We got some pretty hilarious photos of my mom and I trying to soothe her (while avoiding a hot flash, no doubt). These are the photos you look back on and howl!
Father’s Day was also awesome! I treated Eric to a huge pancake breakfast, and Adriana got him some nice sentimental gifts.
Well that’s all for now. My sister and her family are visiting the next couple weeks so we’re looking forward to having them here with Adriana! I’m feeling quite burned out with my recipe development for the second cookbook (I’m about 90% done…the last bit is always the most difficult), so I think it’s just the mini break I need.
Hope you are enjoying the start of summer! More soon.
I have an almost 9 month old. He refused bottles and sippy cups did not work. He tried to steal my water glass one day and tried to drink from it like me. I let him try and it worked although a bunch spilled out. He will drink breast milk from a tiny medicine cup!!!!!!
Hi there. I just recently found your website and I am enjoying reading your monthly posts about your life with your baby. I was wondering if you could give me some tips or tell me how you got your little one to sleep through the night. We are breast feeding and she’s been on solids for 2 months now. She is still waking 2 X a night to feed and some times more fussing. Please help! I’ve tried reading about the Ferber method and I’m in a few groups on facebook. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Christina
Hi Christina, I’m so happy you’ve found Oh She Glows. Unfortunately my 18 month old stills wakes in the night, so I’m probably not the best person to give advice! I hope your little one starts sleeping for you better real soon.