9 Months

Today my darling child is 9 months old!  Yesterday he had his check-up.  He currently weighs 20 lb. 14 oz. and is 28 and 1/4 inches long.  The doctor pronounced him healthy on all accounts.  He had to have some routine blood work done.  I was dreading it, but he didn't cry at all!  In fact he barely seemed bothered by it.  I think this will probably be the last time we get so lucky, but it sure made my day.  Here's what's new this month:

• Sleep!  This month was huge in this area.  We started doing some sleep training just after his 8 month mark.  At that time we started putting him down and having him fall asleep on his own.  He used to do this to some extent, but then we sort of got out of the habit and it was taking us longer and longer to put him down.  He cried for about 25 minutes the first night, 15 the second and now not at all.  And to top things off, he dropped his night time feeding.  We weren't going to give it up right away, but it just sort of went along with him falling asleep on his own.  It's glorious for all of us to sleep through the night!  He typically wakes up around 5:30 or 6.  Sometimes earlier, but we don't go into him until after 5:30.  He tends to fall back to sleep anyways.  
• In addition to sleeping through the night, he is down to 2 naps a day.  Usually he sleeps for about 2 hours in the morning and 1 hour and 30 min in the afternoon.  It can change, but one is usually a long nap, which is so nice for this Mama.  Plus, it's so much easier to schedule things during the day now that his napping is consistent.  I never thought we would get here!
• He's still crawling along like crazy, and pulling himself up on anything he can.  It doesn't have to be very stable and up he'll go.  He can also climb up the stairs.  During the day I typically let him climb up the stairs before his nap or diaper change.  It's great!
• I am amazed at how much he is starting to understand.  If I ask him about his books, he will crawl over to them and start flipping through them.  He also knows what "go upstairs" means and of course, he knows who Sammy is.
• Speaking of Sammy - their relationship is starting to change.  Eddie still loves Sammy as much as ever, but I don't think Sammy is quite as fond of Eddie.  I think partly because Sammy is cooped up inside due to this weather and partly because Eddie is still pretty rough with him.  They don't play together quite as much, but overall Sammy is still very tolerant of Eddie.
• The babbling is picking up more and more.  He can say Dada and Mama and BaaBaa, but he doesn't know what any of those things mean.  He also said something to Uncas the other morning that sounded like "I love you".  He babbles on and on and it's so darn cute.
• He remains a very happy baby.  He is pretty shy with strangers though, so many people think he is really serious.  
• He just started waving!  He literally started this yesterday.  This morning I showed Uncas.  Of course we make a big deal about it, so Eddie smiles like crazy while he is waving.  It is so adorable!!!

I am sure there are more things I am forgetting, but those were the highlights from the past month.  It's getting harder and harder to take his picture.  I am only doing these post for 12 months, so maybe by then he'll actually understand how to sit still.  Today I felt like I was talking to the dog because I kept saying "stay".  Needless to say, it didn't work too well!