Lottie –
You are nine months old today! I say it every month, and I always mean it, how can you be such a big girl already?! I just gave birth to you!
According to the doctor this afternoon, you are 19 lbs, 11 oz and 27-1/2 inches long. You are our largest baby so far, but you're still tiny to me!
6-9 Month, 9 Month, and a few 12 Month clothes are what you are wearing. Most of the 6 Month clothes are too small for you now. You wear size 3 diapers, as well as special overnight diapers to keep you from having leaks at night. You can wear size 2 shoes, but you don't really like anything on your feet.
You are eating 5 bottles, and 3(ish) meals a day. You drink Similac formula, with a little mix of Similac AR to help with spit up. We ran out of the AR once, and tried just regular Similar formula. However, you started to cough and reflux pretty badly. Dr. V told us that you will probably grow out of it by your birthday, but for now to keep up the AR. We'll be exposing you to sippy cups more to see if you will be able to transition easily. You still prefer your bottles to solid foods. You don't always eat much solid for breakfast or lunch, but dinner you usually polish off with no problem! You also eat plain Cheerios and puffs. You are getting pretty good with grabbing them off your tray. Aside from texture, there does not seem to be a food you dislike the taste of.
You sleep from about 8 pm to 7 or 7:30 am. You take 1 cat nap during the day, and one longer nap around 2 pm. Your swing doesn't swing anymore, but that's usually where you prefer to have your naps. If we give you a blanket, and your sound giraffe, you'll sleep pretty well. We do have to keep the giraffe on if we want you to stay asleep. We may need to invest in a sound machine to keep you asleep for naps. We'll see though :) You usually sleep on your back, but have been rolling onto your tummy lately. Luckily, I know you're old enough that it's ok. You started to wake up once or twice a night, but that has since stopped. We think it was just the 9 month sleep regression because you've made such progress with physical milestones this month. Overall, you're a good sleeper, and we do not take it for granted!
Bath time is fine. You don't seem to dislike it, but you're not big on playing much. We're going to be switching you to the duck inflatable tub this month. Maybe you'll like that more!
You now have four teeth! The bottom and top two are out and about. You even have the cute little gap in between your top teeth that your siblings have too :) You chew on anything you can get your hands on, and chomp away. You especially like mama's hair, burp cloths, cell phones, and wipes. Still no pacifiers for you, though we tried one last time this month. I guess you just won't be a pacifier girl.
You are on the move, little miss! You can roll to both sides, scoot backwards, army crawl. spin 360 degrees on your tummy, crawl on all fours, and sit back up from crawling position. You even pulled yourself to your knees this afternoon! However, you have a little ways to go with strengthening your legs in order to stand for longer than 30 seconds. You'll get there soon, sweetie! You are quite the wiggle worm, and we have to watch you carefully so you don't get into trouble. Peering over the edge of chairs and high places is fun for you, but usually scares your mama. Also, your older siblings have a tendency to not pay attention to where they're going. Even the dog has accidentally knocked you over! You can clap flat handed, and it looks like you're trying to wave lately. That'll be next, I'm sure!
We are so thankful for your sweet disposition. You are a very easy baby, and seem to be very happy 90% of the time. When you're not, it's usually because you a) don't feel good, b) are overly tired, or c) separated from mommy or daddy. You just started showing separation anxiety in the last 2 weeks. We know it's a phase, but it is nice to be wanted so much by such a sweet baby :) You still don't laugh often, but you smile with your entire face constantly! We are complimented about you when we're out in public. You always leave a little sparkle wherever you go!
You got to celebrate your first Easter this month! You didn't seem to understand all the early morning fuss with the baskets, but you were a dream at church. You loved watching the older kids hunt eggs, holding/chewing on the eggs yourself, and didn't even mind meeting the Easter Bunny at an egg hunt :) You were ready for your nap after church, but I think we all were. Only 1 more holiday for you to experience before you've lived through them all!
Things you love: being tickled, food (especially your bottle), watching brother make silly faces, chewing on everything, getting attention from sissy, crawling, exploring the living room, "petting" Olive, blankets on your face, being with people (especially mommy and daddy), your sound machine giraffe, your special song mommy sings with your name, and being held. You don't enjoy: being hungry, being tired, being in a chair or swing when you want to be held instead, and loud barking.
Charlotte Eliza May, we love you so dearly! Your smile can brighten the darkest days, and your laughter is contagious! We are proud of all you've accomplished already, and look forward to what's in store :) Love you, Vanilla Bean Latte!
And now a few outtakes:
{Sweet girl!}
{Smiling at her brother}
{This is dedicated to everyone that has told me "I've never seen this baby cry!" LOL}
{Toy piggies make everything better :)}
{Trying to rock right out of the chair!}
{Well that's a nice face...}
{Her personality is really starting to shine through}
{Goodness! That smile and those eyes just melt me!}
And a few comparisons :)
{Months 1-3}
{Months 4-6}
{Months 7-9}
{Left: Jillian 9/2012 Middle: David 9/2014 Right: Lottie 5/2017}
