The Ninth Month

Also an amazing month. These girls are simply amazing. The things they learn to do -- all on their own -- just astounds me on a daily basis. Life just keeps getting better and better.

This is the first month that Olivia outweighed Emma!! Just by a few ounces, but it is a first nevertheless. The girls also outgrew their army crawl which kinda makes me sad because I thought it was so endearing that they both were doing the non-traditional crawl. They are both now crawling with bellies off the ground.

Another big milestone that happened this month was when the girls started pushing up on objects like the floor pillows. Olivia really liked to push up on Emma. It was cute. I'll dig out the photos and post them under separate cover. Toward the end of the month, the girls were pulling up on objects like the couch. Standing independently is a big deal! I was so proud of them. We had to remove the coffee table and any other object that they could potentially bang themselves on ... and that is also when our living room turned into toy central.

This month also started Olivia's obsession with animals, kitty cats in particular. She squealed in delight if we'd plop her in front of the back door where the kitties live. And when we take them on walks, we'd stop at whatever animal that crossed our path and she fixated on them. Emma could care less! Emma is more into exploring anything and everything she can get her hands on. She is our little studier.

Both babies this month started to get a little stranger anxiety -- just a touch and mostly with men. More Emma than Olivia. Emma continues to be a momma's girl and Olivia loves her daddy.

Eating:

At this point, the girls were still pretty much eating three meals a day, plus snacks and nursing 4-5 times a day. I'm still making their baby food, but they are also getting some Gerber which I'm fine with. They are really, really into their finger foods. They love peas, green beans, bananas, mango, avocado, veggie burgers, cheese, cheerios, etc. I was STILL trying to get them to take a sippy cup, to no avail. I was exhausted with trying ... but then I had a bright idea (thanks to one of the mothers groups to which I belong). A STRAW!! Since the girls never really grasped the concept of tipping up the sippy cup to drink... a straw would be a perfect alternative. But, how to teach them?? So I went out and bought 100% Apple Juice in a box. You know, the kind that you poke a hole in to drink? The girls LOVED it and picked up on it right away. So then I gave them a toddler sippy cup with a straw, the kind that doesn't spill. And, man, they picked it up right away. So now I'm giving them a shot of juice and mostly water in their sippy cups, especially since the weather was getting warmer. But, they wouldn't take FORMULA from a straw... which is what I really needed them to do. One day, out of the blue, I decided to try a bottle with HOT formula in it to see if they'd take it. And, sure enough, both babies took the formula. I was shocked. So, this revelation really jump started the weaning process. Toward the end of the month, I started weaning and was quite emotional about it (still am). I decided to replace a nursing session with a bottle of formula, dropping one a week. I started when the girls were just a few days shy of 10 months, but 9 months nevertheless and so still applicable to this post. :)

Sleeping:

Ahhh... the return of uninterrupted sleep. I know that they were sleeping 8+ hours before... but this month they actually started to drop the 4 a.m. feeding which was awesome. They were still taking two naps like clockwork. My little angels.

Statistics:

Olivia:

Date: 3.27.09
Weight: 17 pounds, 5.7 ounces (25th percentile)
Length: 26 7/8 2 inches (25th percentile)
Head Circumference: 43 cm (25th percentile)

Emma:

Date: 3.27.09

Weight: 17 pounds, 3 ounces (25th percentile)

Length: 27 inches (30th percentile)

Head Circumference: 43 cm (25th percentile)