Chase is 9 Months Old Today!

Thursday, 27 March 2008

Wow! Today is Chase's 9 month birthday!

And boy is he growing up! We'll have lots to report to Dr. Sia on Monday at his 9 month checkup. It's been 3 months since his last visit to the pediatrician.

His latest things include...

* Things that calm Chase down (Quiet activities he enjoys - which there are few, as he is an active kid): Sitting and watching the leaves of the trees move in the breeze, listening to the birds sing, and feeding Kramer, the resident talking mynah bird in the Halsall's neighborhood. Chase can sit for an hour watching the birds. At our house at 7 am, when he wakes up and I'm nursing him in the rocking chair, he'll peer over my shoulder to look out the window and stare at the birds.

* Rolling over and sitting up on the changing table and grabbing everything in sight.
(Gotta be careful now!)

* Standing and holding onto furniture with one hand or two hands (But he has to be put there in standing position...He can't lift himself up yet.)

* If he doesn't want to go to sleep, in the middle of the night, he'll do a fake laugh ("ah, ah, ah") and crack a smile, start bouncing up and down, as if to say "But, I'm not tired Mommy. Let's play!". I'll tell him "It's sleepy time," and lay him down. He'll pop right back up into a sitting position like one of those bean bag toys I used to have as a kid and start his fake laugh and playing again (in complete, pitch black darkness).

* When he wakes up in the middle of the night, he automatically sits up in his crib. He then goes over to the side closest to the door and scratches at the crib. When I come to him, he's already reaching his hands out to me, as if to say, "Mommy, come pick me up!"

* Since Chase likes to sit up and play in the bath so much, we've been trying to transition him from his infant tub to a bigger inflatable "snug tub" that fits in our bathtub, but we've determined over the course of a week, that he does not like being put in either bathtub, nor does he like to sit in the new tub, nor does he like to sit in the new tub just to play, nor does he like to sit in his old tub in the bathtub. He just would rather bathe in the old tub in the kitchen sink, like the good 'ole days. Transitioning this week has not gone so well, in other words....lots of screaming and crying during bath time. (* Note to self: My child does not adapt well to changes or new surroundings. Uh oh.)

* Chase's fingernails have always been vicious (and they're hard to cut/file because he clenches his fists and pulls them away when you try and grab them - the kid does not like being messed with), but now even more so when he's playing with the merchandise. He has already cut me, from either grabbing or biting or both, and the girls are getting a bit sore let me tell ya. I have to pump one side now and let him nurse from only the other because I'm cut on one side and it just stings and hurts when he's eating.

* When we give him his medicine/daily vitamins, Chase still does not like it one bit and ends up spitting most of it out of his mouth. He does, on the other hand, still love poi. He eats it three times a day, cold, warm, or room temperature. It's his favorite food, but we're realizing we need to introduce other solid foods and table foods at this point. He's not so crazy about vegetables, but likes pears, applesauce, mango, and prunes.

* He took a few steps crawling the other day, but has yet to really crawl. He tends to go for things he wants, but manages to just stretch really far with his arms, move on his butt, or if it's just too far out of reach, go for something else that is closer without having to crawl to it.

* Putting things in his mouth (yes, he loves Cheerios and Gerber strawberry/apple puffs - and mommy doesn't mind them either), but if I'm not watching carefully, he'll put just about anything in his mouth. This week, I've fished out a wad of paper from a yellow tablet and a wad of thread or lint from his mouth. I'll be totally grossed out the day he decides to nosh on a bug.

* Chase has decided that when he's hungry, he can just pull down my shirt himself, and when he's done, he can just quickly take the nursing cloth off from over his head, whether I'm ready or not for him to do so. (A bit breezy lately?!)