9 Month Update

A few things you should know about Macklin at 9 months old...

(and maybe some things I forgot since the 6 month update)

Weight: 17 pounds, 6 oz (8%)

Weird, I could have sworn our doc said he was in the 20th percentile.

She said he was doing great. So I will trust that. He does eat a ton!

Length: 28.5 inches (70%, still long and lean)

Head Circumference: 18 inches (60%)

Sleeping:

Macklin is still doing awesome sleeping. More times than not, he sleeps from 8pm-7am. Lately he has been waking up earlier and earlier (like 5am/6am ish) and I am not a fan of that. We are working on that by trying to cut out his late afternoon nap in hopes that he sleeps all the way to 7am. Also, we are going to try to put him down a little earlier (like 7:30pm) to try that too. But, night sleeping is awesome! One other thing, he started doing when we got back from STL, he cries every time we put him down for bed. He is good at calming himself and I can't think of a time that we had to go back in to put him down (at night time), so we just let him do his thing. Normally the crying lasts 5-30 minutes.

Naps:

Currently on the change. We were doing 3 naps a day (8:30am, 12:15pm, and 4pm) but are now going to try going to two longer ones around 9am and 1/2ish. This is only day 3 of my efforts, but I think we will be making the switch. He was hardly taking all three naps a day and the whole waking up super early thing is crazy. So, I will keep you posted on how it goes!

Eating:

Mack is a champ at eating! He likes almost everything you give him, although I do think he is getting more picky sometimes. He loves any kind of fruit. Our latest combo was honeydew melon, kiwi, and bananas - it tasted like a smoothie! I would put sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and peas high on his list as well as cheese, goldfish, bread, yogurt, animal crackers, and cheerieos. I am still making most items (minus all the snacks that I just listed) and can even put our dinners in the blender and he eats them! He really likes to eat anything that is on our plate.

He is on a new kick where he likes to feed himself with finger food and will refuse the spoon. So, we just find ways to do that. He also likes to feed the dog by dropping food in a pile. I have to pay attention because he seems to be sneaky! We are starting to do a lot of teaching in the high chair - We do prayer time before we eat and hold hands. We do sign language. I correct behaviors that are not ok. I think it is working so far :)

Playing:

Mack is EVERYWHERE! As stated previously, he just loves to explore everything. There isn't much that he doesn't like. He loves the Tupperware cabinets in the kitchen. He loves the things in his room and does awesome in the pack-n-play too. We started doing scheduled playpen time that will eventually turn into "quiet, alone room time." He does a great job playing on his own and with me. We do a lot of things with other babies and he likes to watch them play too. He loves to climb over your legs, the table legs, over pillows...everything is an obstacle course for him. Not much to update on the walking front. He is good at moving between couches and such, but no efforts to let go (and I am not sad about that either).

Learning:

Here is a new category for this month! Macklin is catching onto things more quickly now and it is a ton of fun! He returns high-fives to any high school kid that offers him one. He is so cute when he claps! He responds when I use a stern voice to say "No" to something (mostly the heater, toilet, and random things that he finds on floors). I think he is noticing the sign language, but I also might be dreaming too. He gives me his hands when I ask for them to pray before meals. He likes to turn the pages when you read to him.

I think before I had a baby I thought it took a while for babies to pick up on things...boy was I wrong!

Attitude:

Justin described Macklin as "carefree, optimist, and love milk." Haha. I will elaborate on those....Macklin has continued to be a very happy baby. He loves his food and his rest and thrives on routine. The only time he is unhappy is when we mess that up. He did go through his first sudo-illness with a slight running nose earlier this month. And while that didn't make him happy, he did pretty darn well! I love to see his personality come out more and more each day.

Favorite Things:

Playing with his walker, any kind of ball, his puppy Baxter, getting out of his crib by mom and dad, crawling, eating, pulling up on the furniture, unloading anything