9 Months

Wow wow wow. Another month just zoomed past. Her 9 month checkup is not actually happening until June so I don't have any stats to share. I guess a good way to describe her at 9 months is that she's just like she was at 8 months---just kicked up a notch! She's crawling faster, she's standing steadier, and I predict she'll be walking before she hits 11 months. Her personality is starting to show through and I see a drama queen in the making..uh oh! I don't know how her Daddy is going to handle that!

She's still nursing at night and on my days off, I'm still pumping away at work, and her appetite for solid foods is growing. She's started on eggs and meats now and I always give her a little taste of what we eat for dinner whether it's a bit of rice or some crust from my pizza. Feeding time is becoming more and more challenging since she wants to feed herself...sometimes I end up having to hose her down after mealtimes and occasionally I'll find bits of banana in her hair or cheerios in her diaper.

Her sleeping patterns are hard to predict. One week she's sleeping great through the night...and then the next week she's up at 2 in the morning because she wakes herself up sleep-crawling or even sleep-STANDING! Yes, I did find her pulling herself up to standing with her EYES CLOSED! Funny girl. I read about the 9 month sleep regression where babies are working out their new crawling/walking skills in their heads while they sleep and this causes a disruption in babies who previously slept through the night. Well...whaddaya know, she's right on schedule!

Last week we were watching TV and I noticed that every time a commercial came on, Lauren started bopping her head and bouncing up and down. She was dancing! My mom said that it started when Lauren would stand up in her crib while mom did her exercises and start bouncing around to the music, imitating my mom doing her cardio. It's the funniest thing. Now, anytime there's music playing she starts dancing and laughing...sometimes even singing. I think she's gonna be a STAR!

Before you know it, I'll be giving you a ten month update and (GASP!) do I need to start thinking about her First Birthday Party?! SLOW DOWN, GIRL!