9 Months *updated*

*I Updated her stats and a little bit about her appt today*

* 9/6/13 update- Doctor says she is looking and growing great! She dropped a tiny bit off her growth curve in weight but she wasn't concerned at all since she is so mobile.  She referred us to an eye specialist for her clogged tear duct in her right eye. There's a chance it might fix itself before we see the specialist in a month or 2 but we're going to go ahead and make an appointment just to be sure. Praying it fixes itself because she would be put under in order for them to do it. Other then that, she is right on track. She got 2 shots (1 being the flu shot) and didn't even cry! The nurse laughed because she walked in from weighing Collins right as the other nurse was asking if she had an separation anxiety. Collins was smiling away and could have cared less that the nurse took her out of the room. Definitely no stranger danger or separation anxiety for this girl. She loves people. I asked about getting her to sleep through the night and she said that a lot of breastfed babies wake up in the middle of the night. Not exactly what I wanted to hear but I wasn't all that surprised either. I guess she's got 2.5 more months to learn to sleep before I wean her. That outta be fun*

Rest written on 8/24/13
9 months in, 9 months out. I only wish pregnancy would have went as fast as these past 9 months went. And that my baby would stop growing so fast! I have a love/hate relationship with this age. I absolutely love all the things she's learning but I hate teething and the lack of sleep we are getting around here. Seriously though, she has slept worse the past month then she did as a newborn. Her bottom 2 teeth are in and I have a feeling the top ones are coming in, although I see know signs of them. Other then the screaming for 1+ hours some nights. But she's happy and her normal self during the day so I guess things could be going worse.

As far as learning new things, she's a freakishly fast learner. She can stand for a couple minutes on her own, walked 3 feet from me to Derek yesterday and can climb the stairs.  She still isn't saying much but has starting jabbering a lot more this month.

Still nursing 6 times a day with one of those being in the middle of the night. I was hoping she would night wean on her own but it wasn't happening. I attempted to wean her on my own right around 8 months but with these new teeth, the only way to get her back to sleep at night is to feed her. So if that's what it takes for us to get some sleep around here, I guess we'll keep doing it. She eats 3 meals and 1-2 snacks a day. This past week she has moved to eating table foods 75% of the time. We try to still do a 1 fruit and 1 veggie of baby food so we are sure she is getting some and she has yogurt almost daily. She has had chicken, ground beef, turkey, peas, cooked carrots, green beans, corn, rice, toast, plain pancake, noodles, hash browns, potato, pear, pineapple, banana, black beans, egg yolk and avocado. A lot ends up on her or on the floor but she's done pretty good with all of it with the exception of the egg yolk and avocado. She likes avocado mashed up though.

We took her in this week for what we thought was pink eye but turns out she still has a clogged tear duct. They weighed her at the appointment but didn't take her measurements. We had to reschedule her 9 month appt. due to the k-state football game (don't judge) so we don't go in till early Sept. We'll talk more at her 9 month appt. about her clogged tear duct and might have to have it drained by an eye doctor.

She goes to bed around 7:30pm and wakes up for the day around 7am. Waking once around 4am. Naps are at 9am and 1pm each lasting about 1.5 hours.

She loves her baby doll, the daycare kids, the dogs and their toys, chugging water from her sippy, going on walks and singing songs. She crawls super fast and starts cracking up if you say your going to get her. With mobility came the hate for having diapers and clothes changed. It's like wrangling a lion to get her changed.  She can be so sweet and give loves and kisses but she is a tough little cookie too. She is always trying to wrestle the daycare boys and isn't afraid of anything.

My sweet, sweet baby, thank you for the unconditional love and laughter you bring us. You amaze us every day with all that your learning and you can put a smile on a complete strangers face. We are the luckiest of all to have you in our life. Love you baby.

365: Days 206-234

My baby turned 9 months yesterday but I am slacking on writing the post so here's a photo dump instead

July 25- Our attempt at a head wrap. I think we'll stick to bows.

July 26- Playing in her bed

July 27- Poolside snack

July 28- Not wanting Harper to go home

July 29- First time at Monkey Bizness

June 30- So much fun being pulled by Braxton

 July 31- Park day with my friends

Aug 1- She can't get her own feet to her mouth so she'll just chew on her baby doll's

 Aug 2-Making a mess while mommy gets ready

Aug 3-Teasing the dogs with their ball

Aug 4-Breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Where she had hash browns for the first time

 

Aug 5- Wresting with Aiden

 Aug 6- Starting to stand for a long period of time

 Aug 7- Happy mail day

Aug 8- Watching TV and chewing on my finger

Aug 9- Just being cute

Aug 10- Egg yolk for the first time. Despite what it looks like, she didn't like them.

Aug 11- Pic fail

Aug 12-Pretty baby at the park

Aug 13- Just woke up at 8am. Wish we were all lucky enough to sleep that late after being up for 2hrs in the middle of the night!

Aug 14- Zoo day

Aug 15- That outta be enough pacifiers for the night

Aug 16- Ready for her first Chiefs game

Aug 17- Sitting on the window sill watching daddy mow

 August 18- No afternoon nap Nancy

 Aug 19- Ready to go grocery shopping

7&8 month favorites

 

 

Baltic Amber teething necklace/bracelet- LIFESAVER! And I have convinced Derek that these things work. I got her bracelet from the linked website but after she started chewing on it, I went to a local store and got a necklace.

Gerber yogurt melts- She loves them and they just melt in her mouth so we don't have to worry about her choking.


Cart Cover- A must!! Carts and highchairs are full of germs so we always use this.


Laugh and learn home- She plays with this all day long. She'll crawl through the door, open and shut it, etc. There's so much to do on it.


Aden and Anais blankets- We stopped using sleep sacks and use these instead. Their breathable so we don't have to worry about her suffocating. And their really light so their perfect for these hot summer nights.

Nuk mash and serve bowl- This is great for foods I don't blend up and freeze like bananas and avocado.


Gerber puffs- Again, they melt in her mouth and she eats them by the fist full.


Nuk infant tooth and gum cleanser- We started using this as soon as she got her first tooth. We try and remember to do it every night before bed and she loves chewing on it.


Shea Moisture wash and shampoo- This stuff smells sssooo good and doesn't make her break out. The only downfall is that it's organic so it's not tear free. She won't sit still in the tub so it's hard to keep it out of her eyes when we rinse it out.

5 on Friday: Basement edition

Since Collins' is mobile, we spend the majority of our time downstairs. I never cared too much about anything down there because the daycare kids just snot on the furniture and drive their cars on the walls. Well, we finally got around to fixing it up this last weekend. We still have some work to do but it's looking ssooo much better. And the kids are learning to use Kleenex's and drive their cars on the floor. So rest assured if you come over, you won't sit in snot :)

ONE:  Oh Etsy, you get me every time. I got on there to look for pillows for our basement and 2 hours later (thank you naptime), I have bows, outfits, invitations and pillows for the entire house picked out.

pillows

TWO: I was a nice wife and let Derek paint the downstairs purple. It's as close to a man cave as he'll get for now, so purple it is.  We had Collins caged in the playroom so we could paint but nana Jana came to her rescue and played with her all day. I don't know what the brand of paint was but it had absolutely no smell. We told Lowe's we wanted something safe for the baby to be around while we painted and they worked their magic. Playroom makeover is in the near future.

THREE: I used every muscle in my body to help Derek mount the TV. A 50 inch TV is not the lightest thing. Neither was the entertainment center we moved down from upstairs. We were both sore the next day from painting and moving furniture. That's what  happens when you haven't worked out in over 2 months.

FOUR: Someone actually bought our furniture we had downstairs. Just picture red and green plaid couches that used to be Derek's parents forever ago and that he took to college with him. Yeah, they had seen their better days. We bought Derek's aunt and uncle's tan sectional and it makes the world of difference down there. And it has a fold out bed. Bonus!

FIVE: Now we need to do what I am awful at. Decorate. We're going to do Collins' 9 month pictures in k-state stuff so we'll put a couple of those down there and then I found a couple prints on pinterest and etsy I'd like down there. Nothing too crazy because there's a good chance it might get a ball or toy thrown at it.

Kansas print

  

Now we just need some k-state football! Derek is trying to convince me to put a kegerator down there. Not gonna happen. I'm sure that would really pass daycare legislations.