Hi Mommas and MTB,
So I know I promised this update LAST Monday and as hard as i’m trying to keep my consistent posting schedule (Mondays and Thursdays!) it has been difficult to find the time while fun-employed. Logistically, I’m having a hard time finding a good place in the house with enough natural light for her milestone photos. And then yesterday we were busy sharing fruit in the sunroom for breakfast and then dancing to the Trolls soundtrack while eating pickles in the afternoon. Life is so busy and also so peaceful at the same time. Tim and my to-do list of adulting is daunting – This week we’ve drafted our Estate Plan with an Attorney, combined our checking accounts, Tim’s purchasing a truck, we applied for Evelyn’s passport and some other things that we’re not ready to share yet. But on the flip side, my mom helps often throughout the day, I’ve become less glued to my phone and there really isn’t any reason to check my email more than once a day, and at night i’ve been enjoying East Coast sunsets in the backyard with family or neighbors – and puzzles while eating twizzlers with my sister and mom.
Evelyn is loving her new life with constant love and attention. My sister wakes up early before work to get some snuggle time in. My dad and mom spend time with her in the morning while Tim and I get an extra hour of sleep (Evelyn wakes up between 5:30am – 6am every morning). She loves everyone being home in the mornings and evenings. She’s constantly waving and laughing. She’s started giving hugs (and they are the sweetest!) and for the first time is favoring her mama over her dada (sorry, dada).
Her 9 Month Stats:
WEIGHT: 20 lbs!!
HEIGHT: 27 Inches
Likes: playing peek-a-boo, eating, being outside, “wrestling,” electronics and remotes.
Dislikes: Being away from mom
New Milestones: She’s been practicing standing independently for about 2 weeks, as of last week she’s started taking steps while holding on to your hands! And of course, in true Evelyn style, by taking steps I mean she’s practically running. There’s no wobbly first steps, she just grabbed onto my hands and immediately took off. This girl is a tank. With her personality, you’d expect her to be the youngest and only girl with a bunch of older brothers. She wants to wrestle, climb, play with match cars, and doesn’t cry when she falls down or bonks her head. She’s super determined and very observant. We work on games like practicing passing a ball back and forth and saying “thank you!” when handing off the ball. I’ve made up this dorky song where I sing “Evelyn has the ball. Can Evelyn Share the Ball?” Then she hands it over and I say “Thank You!“. And we laugh and then do this on repeat like 50 times.
It’s getting harder to keep her entertained. I’ve been using this post to help give my some ideas so we both aren’t stuck with cabin fever: https://www.babble.com/baby/15-activities-to-play-with-your-9-12-month-old/
I’ve been pinning DIY sensory tables and want to make one for the backyard as soon as we have a free weekend!
I’m also relying more heavily on play dates for both of our sanity and a change of pace. Evelyn didn’t have much interaction with babies her age over the past few months as she has become more active. With her bounds of energy we’ve booked several playdates for her and so far it’s going really well! All the babies are so sweet and she’s been good about sharing, not hitting so far and on her playdate today she stroked the little boy’s hair and it was the sweetest! She is definitely aware someone is playing with HER toys but she also seems excited to be social and have someone to play with.
Evelyn has FOUR top teeth coming in and it’s been super painful for her. She had her bottom two teeth come in between 6-7 months and she barely seemed to notice. But this time around has been brutal. Constant night wakings, constantly rubbing her mouth with her hands and a whole lot of drool. We’re managing with cocktails of tylenol & motrin, gripe water and mesh feeders with ice cubes or frozen fruit in them.
As I mentioned in a previous post she’s lost interest in breastfeeding. She still will comfort nurse at night and maybe take 2 ounces once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I’ve been pumping 3 times a day to keep a supply but I think in about a month we may just stop completely. When it first happened I was taken by surprise and sad. As a working mom, being able to nurse her when I was home was a special time for us. But now that i’m home all the time with her we are able to bond and play in other ways and I’m feeling better about breastfeeding coming to an end.
The hardest part these past few weeks has been a week and a half of sleep regression. I think we’re finally coming out on the other side but she still won’t go down awake anymore like she used too. Also, at 9 months babies are supposed to start going from 3 naps a day to 2. I think one of the hardest things for me as a new mom to get a grasp on is schedules. I don’t know why but it seems so hard to me? I’ve been trying to establish a schedule since 4 months and I feel like everyday Tim and I are like, “when did you last feed her?,” “When did she last take a nap?“. I’ve done a lot of googling and this is my favorite schedule i’ve found so far that seems realistic: http://www.weebeedreaming.com/my-blog/sample-schedule-4-months-up. The biggest takeaway for me is that she’s nursing when the baby wakes up which I wish we had started doing months ago. Trying to break Evelyn’s habit of wanting to nurse to sleep, especially now that she’s teething, is nearly impossible. And I got to tell you a teething baby gnawing at you is really not enjoyable.
If I could do it again, I would have gotten a schedule straightened out at 4 months. It’s really not Evelyn that’s the issue, is the lack of schedule in our lives in general. When I went back to work somedays Tim was home with her, somedays it was a baby sitter and my sister, somedays I was working from home. And we each did things differently. Or if Tim and I were both home on a Wednesday maybe we’d try to do a family day or errands and wouldn’t be at home during her nap time. Then there was the month of getting ready to move, then moving, and in a few weeks we’ll be setting out for the next adventure and I don’t necessarily want to be stuck to a schedule. So right now, i’m just trying to navigate what works for our family and also where Evelyn seems well rested, happy and thriving.
As of this past week she’s started taking naps that lasted longer than 30 minutes but it’s still not consistent. There’s only been a few and I am praying 1.5 hour naps start to be a trend as she transitions from 3 to 2 naps. But then today, it was back to needing 3 naps and each only being 30 minutes to the dot. And really, there’s nothing you can get done in those 30 minutes.
We have a lot of things coming up, and I think once we have everything set up, (and my new lap top arrives tomorrow FINALLY), I’ll be able to keep consistently posting. Lots coming up so thanks to everyone who signed up for the newsletter (ACTUAL newsletters coming soon but right now you can just get on the email list!), and if you haven’t you can find the newsletter sign up on the bar to the right. Also, make sure to like my Facebook page and follow me on Instagram for quick updates and cute photos in between posting days!
Xo,
M