Seth: Nine Months Old

Seth continues to be a constant source of joy in our home, and I love him more with every passing day.  He is starting to really come into his own, and it is so fun to see his personality shine.  He has finally hit my favorite baby stage: 9 - 18 months.  This is, in my opinion, the most fun age with babies, and I plan to enjoy every moment.

This is one of the first photos I have gotten with my new camera that I really love! I still don't know how to edit, and it is far from perfect, but it is a far cry from my Kodak EasyShare.  :-)

Sleeping Patterns:  I think we are finally getting into some kind of routine, although it still varies a little each day.  For the most part, Seth wakes up around 7 AM, naps from about 9:30 AM until 12:00 PM, naps again from around 3 PM until 4 or 5 PM, and he typically goes to bed around 8:00 (although last night he fell asleep at 10 PM and the night before he went down at 7:30 PM.  We try to put him down around 8 each night, but when he lays in there and screams and stands up and jumps around, we eventually take pity on him.)

It is impossible to get an energetic 9-month-old to sit still for pictures.  Wrestling the prop is much more fun.

The only stinky thing about sleep is that he's currently teething and a bottle is the only thing that puts him back to sleep in the middle of the night.  Stinks for both of us.

Eating Habits:  Seth usually has a bottle when he first wakes up, another when he wakes from his nap at 12 PM, another when he wakes from his nap at 5 PM, and another before bed.  Sometimes, when he's had a really hungry day, I wake him around 10 PM to give him a bottle and put him back to bed.  He also has breakfast, lunch, and dinner in his high chair most days, but he kind of hates it.  He doesn't hate food, but he hates slowing down to sit in a high chair, and he really hates being fed baby food.  I try to alternate baby food and finger food throughout each meal so we are both satisfied.

First time in a restaurant high chair!

Seth's favorite finger foods right now are bananas, toast, and puffs.  We've given him real peas, chicken, noodles, and homemade macaroni and cheese, and he wasn't a fan of much of it.  He often tells us he is all done (we've taught him to sign) before he ever starts eating.

Another change in eating is formula.  I just wasn't convinced Seth was really allergic to his formula, and after a month on Nutramigen, I talked to the doctor and we decided to switch him back to regular formula.  So far he has been back on it for a week, and everything seems okay.  We are really hoping that it was a false alarm in the first place.  I do not want to avoid dairy for months on end, and I definitely do not want to pay $250 a month for formula for the next several months.

I'm loving Seth's hair.  It is getting tiny waves and is so soft!

Baby's Weight Gain:  At his nine month appointment, Seth weighed 18 pounds, 7 oz.  This puts him at about the 20th percentile for weight, which is decent.  You'd never guess he was small... he has a super cute little gut!

Accomplishments: On Christmas Eve day, Seth pulled up in his crib for the first time.  He was so proud!  Since then he has become more and more mobile, and now he is into everything.  It has only been three weeks since that first time he pulled himself up, but now he is upright more than he is horizontal.  He loves standing at his toys, the couch, chairs, and anywhere else he can think to pull up and find things to explore.

Places We Went:  On December 17th, Seth had tubes placed in both ears.  It went really well, and since then he has really taken off.  Besides the fact that he started pulling up nine days after the surgery, Seth has become more confident and started babbling more.  And when the doctor looked in his ears last week and told me they looked good - which is the first time since September I have heard that - I nearly cried with relief.

Those are fake beans on the floor by his feet, just so you know. :-) 

Memorable Events or Holidays:  Seth enjoyed his first Christmas.  It was slightly hard to keep him from crawling to all of the packages – and tearing into the ones that didn't belong to him – and he definitely preferred putting the wrapping paper in his mouth to looking at presents, but it was a sweet time to share a last first Christmas with one of our kids.

Seth Riggs, I cannot get enough of you (except maybe in the middle of the night when I want to be sleeping...)  You hold my heart, little guy.  I can't wait to see what the next few months hold for you.