Feels Like Home

Somehow, time is going much faster than I'd like and Miss Finley is now 10 months old.  I have been mentally writing down tidbits of her monthly development, but these tidbits haven't quite made it to the blog.  And since I'm planning on printing out Finley's first year on the blog, I better make up for lost time. 

Here goes:
First off, remember when I used to lay the number on her limp newborn body...and then she could hold it...and then she would chew it up...well now, she's too busy moving to care about some stupid number!

At 8 months, she is now army crawling.  It looks pretty uncoordinated because her legs are moving faster than her arms.  She also seems to be afraid of crawling on any floor other than carpet.

She has mastered the stomach< >sitting manuever.

She laughs out loud when you tickle her tummy or toes - its so cute

Finley is babbling even more and has a high pitched voice (close to a dog whistle sound) that she uses when she's really happy.

She now bathes sitting up in her little tub.  She is pretty stable, but will occasionally dive for a toy out of reach and send my heart racing and into baywatch mode. 

Finley has 6 teeth and is still exploring everything with her mouth. 

She has started "eating" puffs, but her hands are usually covered in drool and she has had a hard time getting the puffs into her mouth because of coordination and also because they melt in her palms!

Finley is now solely on formula - no more breast feeding/pumping for me.  I didn't realize how much this was stressing me out (the pumping, not being done with it) until I stopped.  I'm so happy with how long I kept it up, but the weight of the world seems lighter now :)

Fin is eating baby food 3x/day.  We've added in meats, as well as some soft big people foods - bananas, cottage cheese, etc. 

This month was rough with Finley's first ear infection, hand/foot/mouth disease, and impetigo.  Plus, continued teething.  The impetigo was the worst of those 3 because it was so contagious and spread all over her body really quickly.  But, she is all healed up :)

Finley's sleep was horrid during the 2 week illness period.  We were getting back into feeling like we did at month 1, but some antibiotics and tylenol saved us.  That and bringing her into snuggle in our bed (bad, I know!)

Otherwise, Finley has been napping at 9 and noon but it varies on the amount, usually about 2 hours total though.  She is happy when she is awake, so I can't complain.  She's back to sleeping mostly through the night now that the illnesses are gone.

Finley's favorite toys are her piano, an old TV remote, and catepillar pieces.

9 Months:

She is still the happiest baby on the block, despite being slightly annoyed at my picture taking above. 

She has filled out some and I love her chubby little legs and beer (milk) belly.

At her 9 month check up:

Weight: 17# 14 oz - 30%

Length: 27" - 30%

Head: 35%

We were pretty excited she was up from the 15%ile at her 6 month check.  She is still pretty proportioned!

She is eating chunkier foods, including cheerios and kix, pieces of bread, and bananas/avocados which she will actually pick up and put in her mouth - as many as she can get her fists on. 

I have attempted some easy recipes (oatmeal, sweet potato bake) and both times she has spit them out emphatically so I've stopped trying so hard and just fed her the good ol' jarred stuff if it's not fresh produce.

She likes to ride in grocery carts and has started playing the game of dropping things on the ground and then doing it over and over again laughing as mom picks it back up each time.

She is crawling all over the place on her hands/knees - and she is gaining confidence when she is on the hard wood floors. 

Finley is also pulling up on whatever she can.  She has taken a few nasty spills, but she seems content to smack down on her butt without too many tears.  She's a tough little girl and reminds me of my sister, Michelle, who used to climb the outside of our 2 story banister and run barefoot through the landscape rocks ;)  The crib has been lowered and it's pretty common to find her standing up at the end of her naps!

She loves to bang toys together and anything that makes noise.

Grandma Zenz bought her a jumparoo (bungee corded exersaucer) and she loves jumping up and down now that her short legs can touch the ground.  She'll be playing in it and I'll look over when it gets quiet and she will be trying to eat the light up parts!

She is so interactive with us now - she learns how to open something or lift something that we show her and then immediately she is doing it on her own.  It's been so fun to watch.

Her sleep is still improving and she is back to 9/10 times sleeping through the night, although daylight savings time was a nightmare.  For a solid week she wanted to wake up at 5am and that wasn't going to work, so she got to hang out in her crib either playing or crying until 6 and within a few days the old schedule was back on!

Finley is loving the world around her and occasionally only settles for a 30 min morning nap, but every few days she needs to catch up and then takes like a 2 hour morning and afternoon nap - which is glorious for all involved.  

We've tried to move her bedtime back to make our lives a little easier, but with the amount she is moving around now, she seems to need an even earlier bedtime, so she has a bath at 6:15 or so and then a bottle before bed at 6:45 or 7pm.   

She doesn't want to snuggle anymore :(   unless she's really tired.

I now know why people have multiple children.  In the beginning, I questioned how I would ever do this again, but Finley has been such a joy the past few months.  I swear once she could move herself around, she was instantly more at peace.  She will sit and entertain herself for 30 min blocks of time or play happily with us for an afternoon.  We can't get enough of her.