Rooney, 9 Months
Rooney, 9 Months
- Loves to look at herself in the mirror
- Knows what a kiss is, and proved it to a boy at day care!
- Forcefully spits out her pacifier when she sees something else she wants in her mouth
- Has now been out in the world longer than she was in utero (crazy!)
- Tilts her head sideways to see new angles, and realizes that she can crawl under things
- Gets so excited she squeals when she sees us (we've waited for this for so long!)
- Finally has long enough hair for it to get messy!
QUICK STATS
Weight: 23 pounds, 3 ounces (97th)
Length: 29.3 inches (95th)
Head: 17.25 inches (48th)
Rooney officially turned 9 months on Sunday, but I wanted to wait until after our doctor's appointment to do her monthly update. We were looking forward to the 9-month checkup because there were no shots* scheduled, but then they suggested having some blood work done to rule out petechiae for the rash she has had on her chest and back for a few months. Boo. Rooney hates to lay on her back nowadays, let alone be held down, so it was honestly pretty terrible. I felt so bad for her. And then they had to do it again because they couldn't find her vein the first time. Oh, there were so many tears. My heart still hurts when I think about it. But I guess it was worth it because her blood work came back completely normal, and we don't have to worry about anything. She is just perfect. I can't believe we (hopefully) won't be back at the doctor's office until she's a year old.
On to the good stuff!
Clothing: Rooney is wearing 18 month clothing and 12 month pajamas. I'm finding that she has a very long torso (like me) so I have to size up her shirts or put her in onesies to keep her covered. The 18-24m leggings from Old Navy are a bit long, but they are snug on her thunder thighs. Eric calls them Turkey Toms ;) On Monday she picked out her first oufit! Eric says she crawled over to her dresser, tried to open it (he helped her), and she pulled out a pair of black leggings and a pink shirt. So, that's what she wore! My little fashionista.
Diapers: We are using up the rest of the size 3 diapers we have and then we will move on to size 4. We have been using size 4 at night for a while now, but will start to use them 'round the clock now.
Teeth: Still just two, on the bottom. We've been anticipating the top ones, but I can't feel anything.
Naps/day: 2 or 3, though sometimes I swear she needs 4 ;) When she is tired, she lets you know! Her naps have gotten consistently longer as she gets more used to her new day care, which has been wonderful. Her first nap happens before she goes to day care, and then her first day care nap is usually 45 minutes long. Then her afternoon nap is usually longer. She took a nap that was 2 hours, 20 minutes one day this week!
Night sleep: She's stayed consistent with 11+ hours of sleep per night. In the past month she outgrew her Halo SleepSack so we got her a new one. This time we got the Aden + Anais Sleeping Bag and really like it. She definitely knows what it means when you put it on her!
Words: She still says baba and mama, but doesn't know what they mean, I don't think. She has gotten a little more vocal recently. I love listening to her try high and low voices. Eric says he is calling mama her first word. It is the word she says most often, and sometimes it's directed at me and sometimes it's not. She's usually crying or fussing when she says it, and repeats it like "mamamamama." Melts my heart regardless!
Cruising: This little girl has officially started cruising. Which means she is quicker at getting what she wants and has more access to things!
Health: Three weeks ago Rooney got her first fever - she was sent home from day care midday on a Tuesday and couldn't go back til Friday. Her temp got up to 103.4, at which point we caved and gave her acetaminophen, and then (thankfully) we all got a full night's rest. I think that strangest part about her fever was that we don't really know what caused it (no other symptoms or teeth popping through), but the same day we went to the chiropractor, she got better. Thank goodness for daddy's sick time and mommy's day off! Being home with a sick kid is no fun at all! Rooney boycotted naps so it was hard to know how to comfort her. But we feel lucky that Roo made it 8 months without a fever or illness - I think she got her daddy's immune system!
Friends: We got to meet Megan and Luna (6 months) a couple weeks ago! (Megan made the yellow wallflowers in Rooney's nursery, but we've only been online friends until now!) Meeting Luna made me realize how different baby personalities can be even at this young of age. Luna has oodles of energy, and Roo is more reserved and laid back.
Rooney has also made close friends with Adah (1 year) at day care. They love to watch each other, and it is so cute to see them play together. They are the only two moving babies in the room, so we get very sad when Adah doesn't come!
Our best friends Brenna and Justin welcomed their baby girl - Ivory Ann - into the world this week! She will be attending the same day care as Rooney (I work with Justin), and we were so excited to meet her.
Looking forward to: Rooney's first Christmas!
Eating
- 4 bottles (8 ounces each) and 2 purees - a fruit midday and a veggie in the afternoon, at the same time as her bottle.
- And just when we were finally happy with an infant formula, Earth's Best went ahead and discontinued it. No! I realized this last week after visiting Buy Buy Baby, Whole Foods and Babies R Us, who were all mysteriously out of it, and my 12-can order from Amazon hadn't shipped for weeks. Earth's Best replaced it with a sensitive formula (purple can), but I don't like the ingredients list (syrup solids is first!), so we decided to go back to Similac, but this time use their organic kind (green can). Aaand then Amazon shipped the 12 cans so I guess we are back to that until we run out again in two months! Thankfully Roo didn't even notice the five-day switch.
- We are working on exploring food tastes and textures. We had fun at the ol' Pizza Ranch buffet, giving her carrots, pickles and cucumbers to chew on. Her favorite BY FAR were the pickles. Just like her mama! We gave her puffs a couple weeks ago and she choked, which is always terrifying. Need more teeth for those, I guess!
New Developments
- She has given me kisses a number of times. It makes me feel so special! She holds her face close to mine and opens her mouth and either kisses me on the cheek or lips. Oh man, that has got to be my favorite thing ever.
- Rooney has shown a little separation anxiety lately. It is very normal for this age (she is starting to realize that we exist even if she can't see us, and wants to be with us) and occasionally if we leave the room she will fuss about it. Other times she doesn't notice. The same goes for day care. She has cried a few times (more on days where she hasn't napped) when I visit her and then leave to go back to work. She will also wake up occasionally at night and it seems that she is scared that we aren't there. Very strange, but normal. Still, I can't help but wonder if a new day care has amplified the anxiety for her, or the fact that she does get to be with me more now that I have a new job.
- We spent our first night away from Roo. It was fantastic. Rooney had a lot of fun with grandma!
- I caught her flipping through a book, jabbering away. We try to read books but she cares little, so I was quite surprised to see this.
- She loves music and dancing! At day care they play "I Just Wanna Be a Sheep," so I learned the words and she just loves it when I sing to her!
- She has remarkable (or maybe I'm biased) fine motor skills. She usually gives very soft touches, which is nice when we're around dogs, cats and other babies. I'm always surprised at how delicate she is with our Christmas tree and the ornaments on it.
Parenting Update
- A few things popped up this month - Rooney's fever, discontinued formula - that would have completely stressed me out three months ago. I could totally tell this time that I rolled with it better. I thank my new job, and having an extra day at home each week!
- The biggest thing I am struggling with right now is that she is very quick and can create a mess in a matter of minutes - and doesn't remember or understand when I tell her that she can't eat my phone, touch the fireplace or eat paper. I want her to be curious and adventurous so it is hard to have to tell her no often. And she is very persistent and energetic! Wears me out!
- I will also admit that the separation anxiety is something I'm not sure how to deal with. I want to be rational with her, but clearly that is not working. :) I really thought we'd skip this step because she seems quite independent and happy to play by herself. Maybe our day care switch has triggered it? Or not, because I know it is completely normal at this age. It's sweet until I can't get myself ready for work because she refuses to be set down. Tips on keeping sanity while she passes through this stage?
- I will say that it's crazy how each baby learns things on their own time. Roo was a very early crawler but there are other things that she hasn't (finger foods, saying words). I am not worried at all about her reaching these milestones, I just find it curious.
- I can't say how amazing it is that Rooney goes to day care at the church where I work. Whenever I think about her during the day, I just get up and walk down the hall and see her. I get to switch from employee to mom whenever I want. Except sometimes that means I go back to work with spit up on my sweater, but it's totally worth it.
- Sometimes we wonder if we are boring parents, but we were really fun a couple weeks ago! We folded Roo into our newly washed sheets and swung her back and forth in them before plopping her on the bed. It was great until she tried to roll out...
Past Milestone Posts:
*I know vaccinations are a personal choice - we did our research and have chosen to vaccinate Roo for a few different reasons: We weren't able to breastfeed very long, she goes to day care four days a week in a very public building (with some children who have lived abroad), and we believe they work. I hate most of the ingredients, but we're sticking with our decision. If you're researching vaccinations for your family, I found the videos at Mama Natural to be very helpful. I watched them all. Thanks for respecting our decision!