Amos's Nine-Month Check-Up

Age of Baby: 9 months

Size of Baby:

• Weight: 16 lbs 8 oz (down to the 3rd percentile), +8 oz from last month
• Length: 28 inches (up to the 42nd percentile), +1 in from last month
• Head circumference: 17.5 in (down to the 26th percentile)
• Height-to-Weight ratio: down to the 3rd percentile

Amos is still wearing a size 3 diaper and 6-9/6-12/12-month clothes. He wears a size 3 shoe.

Immunizations:

None this month.

Doctor's Visit Summary:

His visit this morning went well. Everything looked great...except his ears. :( Poor guy has a double ear infection, which is probably why he was running a low-grade fever yesterday and was up screaming the night before last. Sigh. Otherwise, the doctor said he looked good, just on the small end of the range. But, visually he looks nice and healthy, so no worries.

Picture of Baby:

Here is Amos's 9-month picture in the 12-month onesie. He's getting too big!! He has so much personality and continues to be his happy, easy-going self.

And here is a comparison of all three of the boys at nine months, just for fun. Ethan and Noah were still significantly bigger at this point (Ethan was 28.5 inches long and weighed 18 lbs 1 oz and Noah was 28 inches long and weighed 18 lbs 8 oz). He's still a good mix of the two. Not as crazy as Ethan, but not as serious as Noah was at that age. ;)

Ethan, Noah, and Amos (each at 9 months)

Accomplishments this Month:

• Crawling correctly (stomach off of the ground)
• Pulling himself up on furniture
• Walking along furniture (cruising)
• Saying "mom-mom-mom"
• Using a sippy cup for water

I love these animated gifs! Haha!

Amos has had an explosion of accomplishments this past month! Of course it all happened while Daddy was away in China for 3 weeks!

He has mostly given up his "army crawl" now for a "true" crawl. When he wants to go really fast, though, he still drags himself. He is really quick at it, so I guess that's why! ;) He has also started pulling himself up on furniture and walking around, hanging on to some of it. It didn't take him long to figure out the crib either, so that was quickly lowered! He loves this new standing position, as he can reach, and help himself to, all of the toys his brothers have been trying to keep away from him! Haha!

Amos is definitely saying "mom-mom" now. It usually happens when he is hungry at the table and wants me to give him food! Haha! He also says it a lot when he is tired and ready to sleep.

I finally gave him a sippy cup to try out. He is able to get some water out of it, but for now, prefers to use it as a teething toy. Sigh. I probably waited a bit too long on this one, but hopefully he'll get the hang of it soon!

New Foods tried this Month:

• Yogurt
• Pancakes (pumpkin, banana, buttermilk)
• Eggs
• Pasta/noodles
• Broccoli
• Bread
• Cheerios
• Cake
• Ice cream
• Chicken
• Pork

We've moved on to table foods for Amos now. He doesn't seem to mind being fed the purées, but it's definitely easier to let him feed himself, since he is willing and able. That may have been helped by the fact that Daddy was out of town! So, I let him try anything that he wants as long as I can break it into small enough pieces. I'm obviously avoiding things like honey and nuts, and other potential allergens, at this point. The boy loves pancakes just as much as his big brothers. Surprise! I already make double batches of those now. Soon I'll be feeling like a cafeteria worker with the amounts of food I'll need to prepare for these growing boys! Yikes! I've also continued to nurse him every 3-4 hours during the day (around 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 6 pm, 9 pm) for around 5-10 minutes.

Amos had a rougher month in the sleep department. He is still averaging around 13 hours of sleep a day (10.5 hours at night and 2.5 hours during the day). He is still going to bed between 9 and 10 pm, and sleeping until between 8 and 9 am. He has continued to wake most nights this past month, though, but goes promptly back to sleep if I feed him. Sigh. Half the time, he wants a morning nap, but half the time he waits until the afternoon to sleep. If he takes a morning nap, he usually goes back down later in the afternoon for a 2nd short nap. I thought the night waking was related to teething, but he has kept it up even after the bottom two teeth were in, so I don't know about that. :/ I'm hoping it'll get better again soon!