Stats:
Weight - 21.3lbs, 77%
Height - 29in, 76%
Head - 17.6in, 41%
Hank has grown and changed a lot this month. He has been loving cruising around and uses whatever he can to push and walk. He has also been getting a lot better at standing without holding on to anything and will take one step forward but immediately falls. It seems like he is getting close to walking - at least I'm hoping he is because the park/library/pool will be so much better with a baby who walks (rather than dragging all over the germ-y floor)! He LOVES balls and learned to throw them this month (so funny to see the difference between boys and girls - at this age Lucy was so into baby dolls and had not interest in balls). His favorite things to do are push his walking toy, find balls and throw them, go outside, and snuggle with his mama.
SLEEP: He continues to be an extremely happy baby, although we have definitely had several days this month when he didn't nap well and would be cranky most of the afternoon. I really think he needs at least two 1.5 hour naps in order to feel well rested, but lately he has been waking at the 1 hour or 1 hour 15 minute mark and I can just tell he is still sleepy. I've been trying to brainstorm what could be causing this, but I can't figure anything out and am hoping this phase just passes. He typically will go down around 9am and 1pm.
He also officially started sleeping all the way through the night this past month. At the beginning of the month he was not sleeping well at night and had been waking a few times. At first I was pretty sure he was sick or teething (he got 6 teeth this month!) but after a while I decided to let him cry it out and I think after crying for 30min-1hr at 2am, he slept on through the 5am wake time and kept doing it the subsequent nights. Hallelujah! I was so ready to kick that feeding. Unfortunately that lasted for about 2 weeks and this past week Hank has been waking at 6-6:15am every morning (as opposed to 7am), which is really just an awkward time because it's not early enough that he's ready to go back to sleep after nursing, but it's definitely too early for him to be waking up. So I've kind of been changing my approach every day this week, but nothing seems to be working - some days I go in and feed him right away and try to get him to lay back down. Some days I let him cry for 30minutes, feed him and then get up with him. And some days I let him cry for 30 minutes, feed him and then lay him back down. No matter what, it really throws our whole day off and makes for a cranky mom and a cranky baby, so again, I'm hoping this phase passes soon too!
EAT - Hank is still doing really well on the food front. He is nursing 4 times a day now and still seems to really want to nurse and enjoys that snuggle time. He is now completely eating whatever we eat. Usually this is a good thing and helps remind me to make healthy choices for our family as a whole, but there are a lot of times he is eating things I would have never let Lucy eat at 9 months. I guess that's what happens with second kids. He seems to like meat and carbs the most, but he will do a pretty good job eating other foods as well. He does like the squeeze pouch baby foods a lot, so that has been convenient when we are on the go. And Lucy seems to really like them to, so I love having those with me. Lately I've been having an internal debate about whether to feed more organic foods (right now I rarely feed organic), so that's something that has been occupying my mind. We'll see where that leads!
I took a couple pictures of Hank sitting in Lucy's chair for a better comparison shot.
And here's
Lucy at 9 months...
I still think they look pretty similar!
The below picture is what this kid looks like all day long. All smiles, and always on the move (ok, I should actually say most of the time. Lately with his funky nap schedule he has definitely been a little more cranky)
He loves his sippy cup and I'm hoping this is a good sign for when he eventually weans. I know we are still a couple months from that time, but I also know it will be here before I know it!
Oh yes, and how could I forget... he LOVES the vacuum! Seriously, I could leave these two to play with the vacuum for a good 20 minutes and they would be completely content.
And now for some of the regular monthly shots. The below shot is kind of a funny face, but you can see a glimpse of his top two teeth. As I mentioned above, he got six new teeth this month. He now has four on top and four on bottom.
I love the below face. I think he's saying "oh no you didn't girl"...
Tried to get a couple with the bear in the crib. You can see how that went...
I figure I need to have at least one shot of this guys pout face!
And at least one shot of his sweet hair line.
Just like Lucy, I truly fall more and more in love with this little guy every day. I have been enjoying each stage we have gone through and have learned to let go of some of the frustrating things, knowing they too will pass! He is such a snuggle bear and will cuddle with me tons, but also likes to play by himself and be on the move. I'm so thankful I get to spend every day with him, watching him grow and change.
From left to right - Lucy, Ben (whose parents are in our small group), Ellie, Hallie and Addie (at least I think that's the order they are in, they are identical twins, so it's a little tricky telling them apart!)
