Dear Ellison,
You are nine months old! It's our last ever single digit month! You have been here in our arms just about as long as you were in Mommy's belly. Time is just zooming and you get more fun, more sweet, and more intelligent by the minute. It's going to be a lively summer! Here's what's new in your life this month...
Height: 27.5 inches (39th percentile)
Weight: 19 pounds 4 oz (52nd percentile)
Head Circumference: 43.5 cm (30th percentile)
We had a rough couple of weeks towards the middle of the month. You battled a pretty bad stomach bug that caused terribly amgry diaper rash. On top of that, you also had a double ear infection at the same time! It was so sad. You really felt miserable and there wasn't anything we could really do to help you other than give you extra snuggles and ibuprofen around the clock. You took your first antibiotic, Amoxicillin, to cure the ear infection. Your diaper rash just wouldn't go away, and we think that it was the worst part of the whole thing! We were introduced to a super diaper cream that will be our go to from now on....Calmoseptine. It's not really a diaper cream; mostly it's used for stomas, burns, or surgical incisions, but it did the trick when nothing else would!!
Due to the tummy bug that wouldn't quit, we had a rough sleeping patch. It wasn't terrible, but you were waking up at least once, sometimes twice, in the middle of the night needing a diaper change. The diaper changes were terrible because of the diaper rash, so it took a little bit to get you settled back down and back to sleep. Since then, we've been working back into your usually great sleep schedule and we're back to about 12 hours. We put you down around 7:15/7:30 and wake you up around 6:15 for school. On the weekends, you'll usually sleep till about 7:00. You are still taking two naps a day with us at home - one after your mid-morning bottle and one mid-afternoon. Your naps usually average and hour to an hour and a half.
Speaking of sleeping, your new favorite game is "Lay Down Stand Up." You LOVE to stand. You love it so much that you'd rather do that than nap! If you aren't super tired, you'll stand up just as soon as we lay you down. Your Sleep Sack doesn't slow you down for a second! You are so fast! Your little eyes just peek over the crib rail now that we've lowered your mattress to the lowest setting! Usually you get tired of standing and get sleep enough to nap. Sometimes, we play "Lay Down Stand Up" for 45 minutes before you (or we) decide to give in! We also started giving you a lovie to sleep with. It gives you something to entertain yourself with when you wake up or while deciding whether or not to sleep!
You tried some new foods this month too, although the tummy bug slowed your progression because we followed the BRAT diet plus yogurt for almost two weeks! New foods this month included kiwi, apricot, pear yogurt, banana yogurt, organic cheese puffs, watermelon, chicken with veggies (puree), turkey with rice (puree), apples with blueberry, strawberries, arrowroot cookies, and a few nibbles of a biscuit and the inside (not the glaze) of a doughnut! You really enjoy feeding yourself finger foods, and although it makes a huge mess, you do get a good bit in your mouth and are really starting to get it all figured out! We had corn on the cob one night and you discovered that it made a pretty awesome teether! We've been intorducing your sippy cup to you more and more and have started sending it to school with a little formula so you can practice. We've also put some watered down apple juice in it which you really enjoyed!
You are still on pretty much the same feeding schedule getting a six ounce bottle when you wake up and before bed and three more five ounce bottle during the day, every three to four hours. We are moving towards a three meal/two snack schedule with you. Usually you'll have a fruit with oatmeal or rice cereal, a yogurt, and a veggie every day.
You are still wearing size 3 diapers and will probably be in them for at least another month. You wear mostly 6-9, 6-12, and 9 month clothes, but a few 6 month and a few 12 month fit too.
Your hair is getting so long! It's still much lighter than we ever thought it would be.
You are officially on the move!! You crawled for the first time on May 10. You started out slow, but you are super fast now! You can get anywhere you want and you are so pumped about it! You actually stated cruising before you crawled. On May 6, your teachers told me that you had been cruising around the kitchen play set. You are a rockstar when it comes to pulling up. You are very strong. You're getting much braver and will hold on with just one hand to spin around or reach down to pick up your toys. I think you might be an early walker. Taking your monthly pictures has become quite the workout...for everyone!
You had to finally start wearing shoes to school since you're pulling up and cruising around. You have the tiniest feet! Pretty much all of your shoes are size 3 and they are all still and inch or so too big. You wear the same pair (gold boat shoes) pretty much everyday because they are closed toe and tight enough around the top that they stay on your feet!
Separation anxiety is starting to kick in for you. You were out of school for a week with the tummy bug, and it was a little rough going back. Every morning for about a week when I'd put you down in your class, you'd start crying and crawling after me. It was pretty terrible! Luckily, if one of your teachers picks you up or can get your distracted, you rebound pretty quickly.
You celebrated your first Mother's Day with me. Two days later I got a really great gift when you said Mama for the first time as I was getting you out of bed in the morning! You are so chatty! You love to talk. Your favorite things to say are dada, bubba, mama, tuh tuh tuh, hmmmm, oooo, yaya, voo voo, and lots of high pictched squals and screams when you're really excited!
We've started saying "No No" to you if you are doing something that might harm you or someone else. You think it's the most hilarious thing you've ever heard and giggle everytime.
You have five teeth now and one or two more on the way! The two that came in this month were your top front left and your top right lateral incisor.
You love to play with things that make noise. You like to shake rattles and your Baby Einstein balls with beads in them. You like to play with toys that aren't really toys too, especially the remote control and phones. You prefer to stand on the outside of your exersaucer now and play with the toys rather than actually getting in it. You love to be outside and especially enjoy stroller rides. We got a Bob this month so that I can take you out running with me. You are also loving any of Buddy's toys, much to his chagrin. You are all about some shiny things and usually find people's watches, necklaces, and earrings to play with when they are holding you!
You've started making the cutest scrunchy, wrinkly nosed face. We could just eat you up when you do it. You have also started bobbing your head, bouncing, and nodding when you are eating something yummy or when you get excited. Sometimes you'll dance to music when it's playing. You love to clap and do it everytime we say "Yay!"
You went out on your first shopping trip with mommy and Grammy and racked up on cute clothes. You also went to your first crawfish boil (you'll go to lots of those in your lifetime). You had your first picnic on Mother's Day and played in the grass for the first time. Paw Paw came to visit us too.
Ellie Belle - you are such a blessing. We just can't believe how lucky we are to be your parents. You are the most wonderful thing we've ever done. We love you to the moon and stars and back again. Happy 9 months, my love.
