Notes on Nine!

I remember Banner being about 3 months old, and I kept thinking how I couldn't wait for him to be 9 months old. I was told it was one of the "numbers," you know, where everything is magically supposed to be just amazing? Everyone tells you that things get better at 3 months, at 4 months, at 6 months, etc. Lots of people have told me their favorite age is 9 months, so I guess I was waiting for this magical time when my baby would be just "the most perfect age!" Now, we're just starting the month, so I'm going to be tentative when I say this, but: they were wrong! 9 months may be great, but 8 months was pretty damn amazing, too! Honestly, I would say 5 months is when I felt like we had turned a corner and things were getting so much better and easier. But, if you had told me that at 2 or 3 months, I would have felt just as defeated being told to wait til 4 or 6 or 9 months because even one week longer at that time seemed to be too long to wait for things to be better. That sounds awful, but at that time, Banner cried a lot. We were just seeing signs of eczema, although we didn't know that's what it was. We were dealing with a LOT of reflux. We couldn't seem to feed him fast enough. He cried a lot. He was just starting to sleep 8 hours a night. We had absolutely no schedule. Banner hated car rides with a passion. We were still figuring out what the hell we were doing! Did I mention he cried a lot!? So, for someone to tell you that it will get better at 4, 5, 6, 9 months, etc... that seemed like a lifetime away! But, we did turn a corner, and things did get easier, and it happened long before 9 months that I completely fell in love with my little guy. And, 9 months (which, at the time, couldn't get here fast enough) has flown by in a flash!

I am loving all the joys Banner brings to our lives. He is such a sweet boy to hang out with, and I just want to eat him up so much of the time! His baby giggles and his beautiful smile are too precious. I love learning about him still, but I feel like I know him so well. Banner is usually a pretty happy kid. He's typically in a great mood throughout the day. The only times he cries are when we stop him from going somewhere he wants (like into the dishwasher or towards something breakable or dangerous or the changing table where he's always going to avoid laying still) or in the middle of the night on occasion (usually because he's cold, teething, or just wants Mommy or Daddy). We have more good nights than bad (2-3 bad nights per week = he wants a brief snuggle for maybe 20 minutes or so and then sleeps again until morning... although, once every 2-3 weeks, a bad night will turn into an awful night = nothing we do gets him back to sleep for over 2 hours!). He loves to be tickled, he doesn't mind car rides or when we contain him in the Pack 'n Play so we can get ready for work in the mornings, he loves his shapes sorter and any musical toy, he's starting to love a game of "chase" or anything where he feels like we're "sneaking up" on him, and he still very much enjoys Peek-a-Boo.

He's on a very predictable schedule now:

6:30-7:00ish wake up and have morning bottle (7.5 oz)

7:30ish     Prevacid and 2 TBSP oatmeal
9:00-11:00ish Morning nap
11:00       2nd bottle (8 oz)
12:00       starting to give snack – (can be fruit, bagel, puffs, etc)
1:30-3:00    Afternoon nap – 1.5-2 hours usually
3:00/3:30    3rd bottle (8 oz)
5:15/5:30     Dinner – ½ fruit, ½ veggie, 2 TBSP barley or rice, and a few finger food pieces (pear, pasta, cracker, cooked zucchini, carrots… something to practice picking up food)
6:00     Prevacid
6:40ish  Bath time in bath ring – brush teeth, get ready for bed
7:00    Bottle (7.5 oz) then to bed

New this month:

• Banner has 2 bottom teeth! His left one came in first followed very shortly by the right. We're waiting on those top two to pop out soon, too! He loves to feel these teeth (and the ones he feels jostling around in the top) with his tongue. 
• He had his second cold. Mucinex was the doctor's drug of choice, and man, did it work well! We only used it at night to help Banner breathe - which is always more complicated when lying down - and we used the humidifier, and I thank God for those two creations: humidifier and Mucinex!
• We celebrated Banner's first Valentine's Day! He had lots of fun with extra time with Daddy, who came home super-early from work (even beat us home that afternoon!). He had a special visit from Zaide, and he got generous cards and gifts from Grandma, from NaNa, and from Aunt Gayle, Uncle Jason, Miles, and Colby!
• Banner is cruising everywhere! He's very confident with his walking as long as he's holding on to a table, couch, wall, toy, or hand. Every now and then, he'll stand for a few seconds on his own.
• Reflux is definitely better. He's still spitting up, but less often. Maybe once or twice a day, we'll see some spit-up. That is LEAPS and BOUNDS better than before!! Thank the good Lord!
• Our favorite thing right now, other than the sweet kisses he's been giving (LOVE THOSE!!!), is that Banner drinks through a straw. My mom taught him this a couple weeks ago, and he's great at it. I can just use any old cup and put a straw in it, and he drinks water perfectly! This is great at restaurants (which we've been frequenting again!) to just ask for a cup of water and let him enjoy a beverage with us! :)
• Oh, and finger foods! Loving the finger foods at dinner time and for a snack. This is also nice at restaurants. Sam took Banner to brunch twice this month, and he ordered him a plate of bananas and a water, and Banner could participate! He's still inconsistent with what he'll eat, but every night, I've tried some sort of finger food. He loved pears one day, but a few days later, wouldn't have anything to do with them. He loved zucchini the past couple nights. His favorite: graham cracker. He even used his own mouth to follow Sam's graham cracker to Sam's mouth... nearly French kissed him trying to get that graham cracker away from his daddy!
• I'm feeling the separation anxiety starting to emerge. Banner's been much clingier and whinier lately. I've read crying peaks again at 9 months, and I can see that may be true for Banner. I feel like he wants to communicate with us but is just so frustrated that he can't. I'm ready to start teaching more signs to him to help with that... we'll see.
• He definitely understands what we mean when we say "finished," "more," jump," "bye-bye," "kiss," "no," "medicine," "up," and "Banner." I'm sure there are a few others he knows, but those are a few I see obvious reactions to.

We go to the doctor for his 9-month check-up this week, so I'll post more stats after that. Currently, though, we are still using Level 3 nipples (tried Level 4s, but he spit-up more, so we went back to 3s), he's still in Size 4 diapers during the day (and Size 5s at night - still loving the Huggies Overnites), and we dress him in 12 month clothing mostly (he still fits into many 9 month sizes and a few 6-9 month).  He will still tolerate the Exersaucer and likes the Jumperoo, but he'd much prefer to crawl around and pull up on everything else. He's using his walking toys more often, too. He loves to crawl to the windows and pull up to look out the blinds. . . much to my frustration! My favorite, though, is when he pulls up on my legs and just stands with me (he does this lots while I'm in the kitchen washing dishes or trying to cook dinner). I love how much he wants to be close, and I love how he trusts me to help hold him up. I love feeling his little hands pull on my pant legs as his arm just curls around my leg, almost like he wants to help me do whatever I'm doing... my little buddy, just taggin' along with Mommy!

Banner Boone, I wonder what I did so right to have you in my life. I thank God every day and every night for getting to be your Mommy and for giving me a son so sweet, radiant, fun, smart, strong, and funny. I love watching you grow and learn. I love watching you meet the world and become such an active part of it! Some nights I put you to bed and cry as I think about how much I miss you already. I also think about how much I can't wait to get to know you more. More than anything, though, I just hope you know and feel how much I love you. Happy 9 months, Sweet Angel. We are going to have so much fun this month!