Lena: 9 Months

I had a really hard time getting Lena to sit still and smile this month. I wish I could get a picture of her real smile (not her ridiculous open-mouth shriek thing). It's so adorable! But she freaks out every time she sees the camera!

Before starting this entry, I went back and read Lucy's 9 month entry to see how they compare. It's funny how I'd forgotten so much, and how similar my girls are! It's also interesting to see how differently I parent. I was so worried about Lucy starting solid foods, started her so much earlier, and had tried so many more new foods with her by this age. We're just kind of moseying along, taking it slow with Lena. Anyway, here's the 9 month update!

Routine
She has been waking up ridiculously early. Like between 6 and 6:30. She usually plays in her bed for 15 minutes or so before she starts to cry and I get her up. We come downstairs, make a strong pot of coffee and play for a while, but she doesn't last long before getting tired again. I usually put her down for a nap an hour after she wakes up. Because of that, she's gone back to a 3-nap-a-day schedule. Morning, afternoon, and early evening. And then she's in bed by 7 to 7:30.

Eating
Like I said, we're just moving slow. I've been trying to stretch her feedings to every 4 hours instead of 3, so I've been giving her more actual food. She and Lucy usually have waffles and bananas together for breakfast. She has puffs for an afternoon snack, then veggies for dinner - she loves canned carrots and peas. I try to feed her baby food every once in a while, but she just plays with it and makes a big mess. 

Breastfeeding
I have 2 nursing bras. The underwire poked through one of them so I threw it away. I debated whether or not to buy another one and realized I only have 3 more months of breastfeeding to go! It's a bittersweet realization. I generally love breastfeeding, but I've had more problems nursing Lena than I did with Lucy. I get a huge clog (in the same spot every time) about once a month. I can usually massage it out within a couple days, but that leads to a milk blister, which is horrendously painful. It takes a week or more to heal, only to start the whole annoying routine all over again a few weeks later. 

Lena has also never taken a bottle. I love being a stay at home mom, and love being with her, but I would also really love to be away from her for more than 3 hours at a time once in a while! I'm already worried about how I'm going to do Black Friday shopping this year! 

Sleep
Nothing new here. She's still waking up every 3 hours to eat, sometimes less. She nurses in 5-10 minutes and goes right back to sleep. I'm beyond frustrated. Justin and I have thought about going to see a late movie or something since we live with my parents and have a built in babysitter, but she doesn't even sleep in longer stretches than 3 hours!! Lucy learned to sleep through the night by crying it out, but our living situation doesn't really afford us that option this time around. I keep hoping that as she starts to eat more real food during the day, she'll be fuller and start sleeping through the night on her own. 

Milestones and Personality
The thing that struck me the most as I read Lucy's 9 month update was how similar the girls in their obsession with me. Haha. Conceited much? I wrote that Lucy isn't content just to sit on my lap, she has to be fidgeting, climbing all over me, and practically trying to get back inside my body! I feel the same way about Lena. I must be in her line of sight at all times. And usually that's not good enough. I must be holding her. But that's not good enough either. She has to be climbing on me. It honestly drives me a little crazy!!! 

She started giving kisses this month. It's adorable. She grabs my cheeks with her chubby little hands, opens her mouth wide, and plants it right on my lips. 

For a couple weeks, she waved when we said, "Bye-bye" or "hi!" But she doesn't do it very often anymore.

My mom has been trying to teach her "So big!" For a few days, every time Lena saw my mom, she'd throw her hands up in the air with a big smile. Haha! But she doesn't do it on command. 

She's a funny little monkey. I've never seen a baby use her feet so much. Lena holds things with her feet, rips paper with her feet, etc. She's kind of odd. Haha.

She also sometimes resembles a dog. When she's tired, she bats at her ears like a scratching dog. Haha. 

Her balance is getting better. She can hold on to furniture pretty well, but doesn't cruise yet. And she doesn't have the arm strength to pull herself up on furniture. She only stands there when I lift her up next to it. I've also been working with her on standing unassisted. She's getting the hang of it!

She loves to talk and babble. She says "mama" all the time, though I still don't think she knows what it means. Her other favorite "word" is "yaya." And she's just started to whisper "pa pa pa." I know Lucy whispered that too at this age. So funny! 

I love getting her up from her nap. She wakes up so happy and gets SO excited to see me. She has the biggest toothless grin, shrieks like a little banshee, and kicks her legs like crazy. 

She chews on everything, but doesn't have any signs of impending teeth. Fine by me as long as I continue to breastfeed! Haha.

She is our sweet, precious, silly girl, and I can't believe she's going to be a year in 3 months!!!