Baker Bea | 9 Months

Nine.
Nine awesome months with sweet BB. Goodness, ya’ll. How am I writing our nine month update? On April 8th, our sweet girl was nine months old and each month with Baker becomes more and more fun. She is such a silly baby-a little chicken timid, but the sweetest babe.

This month, we celebrated Baker being alive for 37 weeks (no, I’m not one of those mothers that keeps up with her age in weeks but my breastfeeding app tells me her age in weeks) which was as long as she was in my tummy since I delivered her 3 weeks early.

On the left was my last bump picture with her in my belly, the day before I delivered, and on the right was her exactly 37 Fridays later! What a difference 9 months make!

OUR NINE MONTH GAL STATS

Weight: 20 lbs (70 %)
Birth: 8 lbs 6 oz

Length: 27 1/2 in (50 %)
Birth: 21 in

Head: 17 1/2 in (70 %)
Birth: 13.5 in

Baker is still in size-3 diapers and in 12-months clothes. She has a few 9-month clothes but can only fit the shirts and onesies. 9-month shorts are all too tight around those thighs and booty.

She has the chubbiest cheeks…

And the rolliest of thighs…

When I came across this shirt on Etsy, I had to get it for her because it is Baker to a tee. Even though her hair is laying down now, it’s still very wild especially when she first wakes up. I think she’s gonna have curly hair like her mama!

Baker also (finally!) cut her first and second teeth this month! We knew it was coming as much as she was drooling last month and in the same week, they both came in (bottom left on 3/22 and bottom right on 3/28).

She is so full of personality–it blows my mind that we can see so much of it at only 9-months old! She loves to make others laugh and if you laugh once, she’ll do it over and over again.

She doesn’t meet a stranger either! People ask us all the time if she will cry if they hold her and the answer is always “no!”. Poor child gets passed around so much, she will go to just about anyone.

As crazy as this chick can be, she is still the snuggliest of snuggle bunnies. I can’t tell you how many naps have been taken with this girl. She just sucks you in and there is no way you can move from her snuggles.

In case you are wondering what real life looks like in our household, this is it. An unbuttoned onesie, a missing sock and no pants. But just check out those thighs!

LOVES Snorting and sniffing at people has become one of Baker’s favorite things to do. She thinks it’s really funny, especially with Cory’s Papa. Her nose gets all scrunched up when she does it and it’s the cutest!

Baker has also gotten very much into going outside and playing outdoors. She’s content to just walk around and touch trees and bushes or sit in the grass and play in the dirt. Cory’s grandparents take her on daily strolls through the woods and to the mailbox.

She also loves “talking” loudly, eating fruit, and her white teddy– she likes to rub her face and sniff the ears of it when she’s super sleepy. Out of all the little blankets and lovies we received, this one is always in her hand. Of course, the one that I can’t find a back up of anywhere!

About 74 times a day, Baker does her “fancy fingers” on  her lips.

HATES Mostly the only things she really hates right now are being hungry and being sleepy–just like everyone else! She’s starting to get into a little bit of a clingy phase and it’s difficult to leave her by herself for much time without her crying and reaching for us. We have to include her in everything we do, even if we’re in the same room. Of course, we don’t always mind that clingyness since we know it won’t last forever!

SLEEP Sleep has become more difficult this month. She doesn’t want to miss anything that’s going on, so she fights and fights sleep in any way she can think of, which is usually wallowing all over the place kicking her legs over and over and whining. At night she fights until she just can’t stand it, and then if she happens to wake up, she realizes she’s alone and either ends up having to be rocked for a while or she has to come to our bed so she’s not alone.

Having to get up at night is tough, but just like the daytime clingyness it sure is hard to be mad at her for wanting to be with us!

If we put her in our bed, she normally will knock right back out and sleep all night but co-sleeping isn’t really a habit we want to get into. (Not that there is anything wrong with it, we just sleep better if she’s not in our bed…she loves to sprawl out and take over our pillows!)

EAT Baker is still eating 4-5 5oz bottles of breast milk a day as well as a solid (baby food) for lunch and a solid for dinner. We slowly introduced the second solid for dinner because her little stomach had such a hard time adjusting a few months ago when we jumped up to two solids a day too quickly. She has become a pro of drinking water out of her sippy cups (our favorites are these and these because of the silicone nipple), and with the added benefit of a daily probiotic, her stomach is handling two solids much better! We have also started giving her the Happy Baby Puffs, Happy Baby Yogis and Happy Baby Teethers. Can you tell I really like the Happy Baby brand? Every once in a while, we will mash up some soft foods we are eating, like green beans and give them to her. She’s also had strawberries, grapes and blue berries in her mesh feeder and love the fruit!

I am still pumping four times a day, and other than a dip in my supply because of a cold, I’ve been able to keep up with Baker’s needs (plus some!). My goal is to make it a year of exclusively pumping and then use my frozen supply before introducing Baker to cow’s milk.

PLAY Even though Baker isn’t crawling yet, she is pushing herself backwards and scooting all over the place on her bottom.

When she is not being super clingy (or if we sit in the floor with her) she loves to sit on the mat and play with her toys.

She also started clapping this month.

A FEW FIRSTS DURING MONTH 9

First pigtails!

First St. Patrick’s Day

First “hair cut” even though it wasn’t a real hair cut. I just couldn’t take this rat tail coming off the back of her head anymore.

First time looking like a little teenager in her chucks and baseball tee.

First Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt but she was just there to see the Easter Bunny.

First softball game for Mama and Baker’s first time at the ball field and helping in the concession stand. :) We are running the concession stand as a fundraiser for our upcoming Rwanda trip and Baker has grown accustomed to hanging out with anyone that will hold her!

She also had her first trip to Sam’s to stock up for the concession stand. While we were there, we had to pick up our first pack of diapers. Can you believe we made it nine months and didn’t have to buy diapers??

This little stinker actually said her first words…she’s so smart! Baker learned how to say Mama and Dada and she mostly knows what they mean.  Sometimes she gets confused as to which word to use when, but it sure seems like “Mama” tends to come out when she’s mad, tired, or upset! She also said “bye” a few times but was just repeating what we said.

To Baker:

It’s been wonderful to see you growing so much and knowing who we are. Hearing your little voice call for us melts our hearts and we love it every time. You are beautiful in every single way, your eyes smile so big for you. We can see just how sweet and kind your heart you is, even now at your young age. Every time we think about a phase that you’re moving out of and get sad that you’ve outgrown it, you’re in a brand new phase that is just as amazing and wonderful as the last. We get to grow alongside you and enjoy every new development just like the last ones. You are so loved, and your sweet little heart makes it so obvious that you love everyone right back. Never lose that love for those around you, and always stay as sweet and as fun-loving as you are right now.