Dear Nicholas,
You turned 9 months old about a week and a half ago-- and what a whirlwind your 9th month was! The biggest events were that I went back to work and you began daycare. This has been an enormous change for our little family, but you have handled it like a champ. You have already stolen the hearts of your two teachers, and they tell me that after a few days of quietly observing the action in the classroom, you warmed right up and are now a happy, social little guy who loves to play with the other babies.
The other big event during your 9th month was that you got sick for the first time. You contracted a cold within the first week of daycare, and then by the second week it had morphed into an ear infection and fever. I received a call from your school, and we had to pick you up and take you to the doctor, and then you were home for two days. Despite being sick, however, you remained your usual cheerful self.
The following week, we took you back to the doctor for your 9 month appointment. At 9 months, you weigh 20 lbs. 8 oz. (50th percentile), you measure 29 inches tall (75th percentile), and your head circumference is still off the charts at 48cm (98th percentile). During your 9 month appointment, you had to have some blood taken and you barely made a peep as the nurse pricked your finger and then you sat very still and stared in fascination as she squeezed out the drops of blood into a little vial for close to a minute. Such a big boy! (You were not quite as tough about the two shots you received immediately afterward.)
Despite all the hectic busyness of my new job, you starting daycare, and preparing to move, we were able to take one fun family outing this month. During the third weekend in October, we took a day trip out to Stonewall, Texas, to picnic at the LBJ state park and visit the pumpkin patch. You loved the picnic and happily munched on a slice of baguette, a few pieces of Manchego, and-- your new favorite-- puffs. You weren't quite sure what was going on at the pumpkin patch, and you didn't love us depositing you in the dirt for our photo opps, but you sure looked cute!
You are increasingly verbal, constantly shrieking, giggling, and cooing with lots of ba-ba, da-da, guh-guh consonant sounds. When pulling up on our hands you also sometimes say puh-puh-puh. Whenever I pick you up, I always say "up!" and so I wonder if this may be you trying to say your first word: up. However, it's not a consistent thing, so it may very well just be coincidence. Time will tell.
On the food front, you continue to branch out and try new things and we've started introducing more finger foods. While you still prefer your baby food purees (out of jars or pouches), you have discovered a love for broccoli and puffs. We also gave you some small bites of roasted salmon and Franklin BBQ's brisket, both of which you loved. You now nurse 2-3 times a day, and I pack 3 bottles a day for you to drink at school. I am pumping at work, but you usually have 1-2 bottles a day of formula.
Although I miss you quite a bit while you're at daycare, and the transition back to work has been challenging in many ways, the one silver lining seems to be that you don't nap well at daycare and it just wipes you out, so you've started sleeping through the night a lot more consistently. We still put you down around 7pm each night and you still frequently wake up around 5am for a feeding before going back to sleep until about 7 or 7:30am. But those middle of the night wakings have essentially been wiped out, which makes me extremely grateful. Mommy is extra tired these days and needs her sleep!
At 9 months, you love crawling all over the place, singing songs, eating puffs, pulling up on our hands, bath time, playing peek a boo-- either with us placing a towel over your head and then quickly pulling it up, or with us hiding behind furniture or doors and popping out to surprise you-- and spending time outside. You do not like lying still and are increasingly fussy when we change your diaper or try to put your clothes on.
Nicholas, you are a funny, cheerful, silly little guy, and we love watching your personality grow and develop. You bring joy to everyone you meet, and I hope that never stops. What a wonderful gift!
All my love,
Mommy
