9 Months Old!

James turned 9 months old on February 23rd! He is growing way too fast, I would like to push pause and just enjoy this time a bit longer.  He had his check up on the 28th.  His current stats are 18lbs 2oz, 27 1/4 inches long. I can't remember his exact head circumference, but it was a little over 18. He is in the 12-15% range for weight, 15% range for length, and 60% range for head.  The doctor was happy with his weight gain and said he is very healthy!

The doctor did say that he would like me to be feeding him 4 meals of food a day as well as his nursing, but I don't think we will be changing up his feeding schedule anymore.  Right now he is eating big people food for breakfast and lunch, and fruit at dinner time. I feel like it's an adjustment for him to start eating more, so I'm not giving him a full meal at dinner yet, but am working up to that. 

His current schedule is:
7-7:30am- wake up and nurse, eat breakfast after
9am- go down for nap
11am- wake up and nurse, eat lunch
1pm- nap time
3pm- wake up and nurse
5:30-6pm- dinner time
7pm- nurse and then bedtime

James started saying Mama just before turning 9 months old, and he says it all the time!! I love hearing him say it.  I think that he knows that I am mama, because if he sees me he says it.  Just this week he has started saying baba. I keep trying to get him to say dada, but he won't do it yet.  He loves to clap, crawl, climb, and dance.  He just started dancing while we were in GA visiting family. I need to get it on video, cause it's cute!  He loves to climb up into his chair and look out the patio door.  He has started walking behind his walking toy, so I think that walking is in the near future. 

We are having to start some slight discipline/redirecting. He thinks that the dogs water bowl is a toy, so we are working on getting him to realize it's not something to play in. It's hard to discipline a 9 month old, cause they don't fully understand what you are telling them. But he will learn over time. 

James update

James had his 6 month appointment today.  We are running a few weeks behind on them, but since he won't get shots at his 9 month we should be able to get back on track then.  The last time I gave an update on James he had lost weight. I took him to the doctor on Nov 19th, for a weight check and he was up to 15lbs 4oz, from 14lbs 3oz. He had gained 1lb in 2 weeks.  Well today he weighed 15lbs 3oz, and is 26in long.  His head was 17inches. 

The doctor is not concerned that anything is wrong with James, and thankfully is very supportive of me continuing to nurse him.  He has recommended that I start giving him fruits or veggies after each time I nurse him. He has me nursing him every 3 hours, and I have been giving him fruit or veggies twice a day.

A typical day for James has been:
7am- nurse, oatmeal and fruit or veggies. Nap at 8:30-10
10am- nurse. Nap at 11:30-1
1pm- nurse, 2 veggies. Nap 2-4
4pm- nurse. Sometimes nap around 5-6 if other naps have been short and he's tired
7pm- nurse, go to bed for night

Now the doc wants me to add the fruit or veggies after each nursing session, and also offer him oatmeal at least once more during the day.  I have to take him back in Jan to check his weight, and see what the next step is if he hasn't gained any. 

I'm not concerned that anything is wrong with him. The doctor confirmed that he is meeting milestones for babies of is age, and is very alert and active. He did say that he might have to send us to Cincinnati Children's Hospital to see a nutrition specialist if he doesn't gain weight. 

I've been taking a prenatal vitamin, and also taking Gaia Lactate Support. I know that James is getting milk, I constantly hear him swallowing. He never comes off the breast crying like he isn't getting anything. I think that if I could get him to nurse for longer it would be very good for him. I will have to figure out how to make him stay on longer.  Any advice on getting a baby to nurse longer is welcome!

Schedule

I should be packing, and getting ready for our trip to GA but I'm a procrastinator. Football is on, and I'd rather be in the recliner watching it. So I figured I'd multitask and put in writing the schedule I have James on, so I can look back at it when baby #2 comes WAY down the road.

Typically James will wake up right around 7am. I'm not strict when it comes to his wake time. I do have an alarm set on my phone, and if he is stirring around when it goes off I will get him up. But if he's still sound asleep I let him sleep longer.  Normally we are up no later than 8am. He eats every 4 hours, so after he eats I will put him on his play mat, or a blanket on the floor.  I don't have to initiate tummy time anymore, as he will roll over himself and do it! 

I have some trouble with getting him to nap well for each nap time. I have not done Cry It Out at all yet, but am considering it.  I will not try it until we get back from GA. I don't think it would be good to try something new when we are out of town. 

I was putting James to bed every night around 9:30 or 10, but he would always wake up around 2am. He doesn't want to eat when he wakes up, he just wants to cuddle with me in my bed. Bad habit I know!  I asked The Baby Sleep Whisperer on facebook about him waking in the night and she mentioned putting him to bed earlier.  So now I will always nurse him between 7-7:30 and put him to bed by 8.  I haven't noticed a difference in his night time sleeping yet, but hopefully he will start to get much better at staying asleep through the night. 

I do not normally put him in his Woombie for naps, and just today he took two naps on  his belly. Normally he's on his side or back.  So I'm not sure if he will continue being able to be in the Woombie at night. If he starts going to the belly at night I will have to give it up, or get him the convertible version so that his arms can be free. 

Here is what a typical day looks like for us:

7am: Wake up/diaper change, nurse
7:30-8:30 or 9: playtime
9am: Nap- sometimes he will nap for 2 hours, sometimes its much shorter
11am: Wake up/diaper change, nurse
11:30-12:30 or 1: playtime
1pm: Nap
3pm: Wake up/diaper change, nurse
3:30-4:30 or 5: playtime
5-6: Nap
Around 7pm: Bath time (depends on how tired he is on the exact time of the bath, could be pushed earlier if he is acting really tired)
7:30pm (sometimes 7pm): Nurse
8pm: Bedtime

I normally won't nurse him again, unless he wakes up crying, which he sometimes does at 11-11:30pm. Which would be his normal 4 hour schedule. I don't mind feeding him then, cause then I don't need to pump before I go to bed. 

I do not try very hard in the middle of the night to get him back to sleep in his bed. It's something I really need to work on.  I will try for a few minutes, but just end up putting him in bed with me. He sleeps so good with me, and I get decent sleep. So it works out for the both of us.

 Snuggled up in my Woombie

 

I just started the earlier bed time over the weekend, so I'll have to update in a few weeks on how that is working out for us.