Report cards

Since Q flunked one of his physicals as a baby, I tend to view them as a report card. As such, Noodle passed with flying colors and great news. She’s gained two lbs and at nine months is now a whole (gasp) 15 lbs, 15.5 oz. That is, about 16 lbs for those of us who have trouble with English measurements. Still right on the same growth chart continuum: 10-25th%, right where she ought to be.

To put her size in perspective, speaking with a friend last night, I found out that her 4 month old son is nineteen pounds.

Her hemoglobin levels are fine so she can now drink whole milk. I’m stoked- no more formula! Also, since we don’t have food allergies, she’s been cleared for pretty much all soft food in cheerio sized chunks (except nuts and honey). So she’s been plunged into new foods immediately: pasta and veggie sausage with red sauce (I think the spice upset her once, I wasn’t thinking), and eggs, bananas (not mashed!), chopped up pear, and of course her cheerios. Dr also says things cooked with honey are fine, just no raw honey.

When stripped of the cumbersome jammies, she can crawl pretty fast now. She may even discard the notion that walking would be more effective for her goals.

Oh boy!

Noodle is happily chowing down on anything we give her these days. I actually took two photos of this- with two separate cheerios.

Several times I've gone in to get the wailing girl from her crib, only to discover she has managed to trap herself. Twice she was trying to stand and when she slipped, her legs stuck out between the rails of the crib, trapping her. This morning when I went to pick her up, she was flat on her back, holding onto the top rail, as if for dear life. A child who doesn't know how to let something go. I'm sure it's not genetic.

This weekend we did a brief tour of the town's Winter Carnival. Pretty much every town event is marked with a tractor parade. We didn't stay for the parade (I'm a wimp, I was cold), but Q scored big time.

To get an appreciation of the scale, here's another photo.


Q rapidly shifts from being a pesty big brother (poking, ramming, rolling, grabbing) to being an incredibly sweet and instructive big brother. Below is a rotten photo of him helping Noodle ride his trike. This is a pure Noodle grin, so I can't resist sharing.

Personally Noodle's 9 month mark has come with a sad end. Due to my own mistake of not asking enough questions, I am no longer nursing her, not even the twice a day which I was feeling was a slacker nursing strategy. After being told that the mini-pill wasn't effective enough birth control if I was only nursing twice a day, I switched to a regular dose pill. I wasn't paying close attention this week since Noodle was teething and failed to realize that my milk was drying up. When she hadn't nursed three days in a row, I finally figured out the problem. At this point only extreme intervention would reinstate my milk, and frankly, while I'm disappointed, I am not willing to take the necessary steps. So a choice in the end. I think I'd be more sad if she weren't a cuddly little baby, but comforting her has always been easy, and rarely has she asked to nurse for comfort.

This morning I whisked together some formula for her to suck down while I attempted to doze a few more minutes in bed with her. Upon seeing the bottle she actually chortled with delight. I think I can get over it.

Mobility

Noodle did it! She finally managed to figure out how to make forward progress in crawling this morning. Motivated by the possibility of snagging Q's markers, and freed from the hindering effects of her jammies, she managed to get her knees under her and push forward. Very satisfying.

Now we have to babyproof this place.

Nine Month Mark

Noodle turned nine months old today. She's been busy lately. Now she can:
Wave in response (When she feels like it);
Feed Mommy a cheerio (and herself, of course);
Stand on her own for approximately half a second;
Crawl backwards into tables (where she gets stuck and screams with frustration);
Asks to be picked up by lifting her arms when I say, "Up?";
Show off and run her tongue over her new tooth (tooth number two is playing coy); and
Clap her hands together where she then contemplates how the heck are they supposed to come apart to actually accomplish clapping.

She's still a remarkably good natured baby, when she isn't crabbing about crawling or the new tooth that hasn't come in yet. She's hit the stage where she's just plain old adorable almost all the time, amusing to watch, cuddly to hold, and able to get into trouble that wouldn't occur to me. (From her exersaucer the other day, she managed to dump a large quantity of papers and then snagged a photo of someone else's baby to gnaw on.)

Perhaps her absolutely most darling moment this week was when J came home a little late on Monday night. She was exhausted, but her gums were bothering her and she wanted to be held. When J came into the den where I was passively cuddling her to sleep, she looked up and saw Daddy. Holding her arms out, she did a clear 'up' request to him. So sweet. She fell asleep in his arms, safe and sound.