Full Circle! Mikkel is 9 months old!

my return to work has a date: SEPTEMBER 16, 2016  aggghhhhhhh !

hair: dark brown and fuzzy looking in texture--- perhaps waves and curls in future?
eyes: looking brown!
weight: no idea, but she's heavy
diapers: size 4 baby dry

head: hair seems thicker and definitely brown. hair has grown past the crest of her ears and needs to be tucked back. i think this girl is showing some fuzzy hair texture = curls like husband who has a mop for hair. this last month was hard as hell for teething! we now have 6 TEETH!! 2 upper centres, and 4 bottom row centres. the 8th month was hell, i said that already didnt i? can't stress that enough.

cries: i still feel like she's able to express herself well with cries. lots of crying out overnight this month because of teething and just because. my nipples were literally pacifiers. this last month, she needed to be on the breast to be put back to sleep. she also doesn't fall asleep immediately post unlatch like before. within 5-45 minutes she would wake up crying out because she isn't sleeping doesn't really know how to self soothe yet..i guess? i say this because she knows how to soothe herself to sleep for nap and when being put down for night sleep, but hasnt had opportunities to learn on her own overnight. it's exhausting to wake up almost every hour overnight, i get fed up at 430-5am.

GI: appetite is pretty good. breakfast i usually feed her 1 cube applesauce with cinnamon and mixed grains. for lunches ive made peas/carrots/sweet white potato/yams/butternut squash/brocolli/cauliflower/pumpkin so any of those combos. For dinner, she eats what we're eating for dinner. she's accepting of food if i feed her by hand which is great for trying out new things. for the most part, it's Baby led weaning for dinner as evidenced by the huge mess that needs to be cleaned up and the bath she needs. dinner time she also gets her beloved rice rusks and gerber stars for crunch and sweetness as dessert. at this time, about the last week of may she's begun to refuse the spoon so I'm currently figuring out ways to transform the frozen foods into little sausages or pancakes or muffins for her to feed herself.

feeding: i always read about those babies that pulled their mom's shirt down and was really aggressive with their message of needing to feed. Max was never liked that at all and I never understood it. Of course, Mikkel turns out to be one of those babies who really really really loves the breast. when she's on the carrier, Max and I have an inside joke that she's doing her 'chicken' move because she's literally pecking at my cleavage hinting me that she wants to be on the breast (hungry or not). This month she learned to climb on me and basically shove her face on my chest and root for the breast even when I'm heavily clothed! when she's near, she pulls down my shirt and or tackles me with her face plants on my shirt. she just loves to nuzzle her face on my bosom. when she's fussy, i just put her on the breast and you can see those hormones instantly working their sleep/calm magic, it's like a spell! of course, it's also a little worrisome for when i go back to work.

GU: going strong with #4 baby dry

skin/body: heat rash behind left leg only, exacerbated by carrier when it's very hot out. Penaten seems to be very helpful. thighs are to die for. creases on arm and feet showing some tan lines. super kissable.

communication: this month she's learned to 'offer' items to me and others. by offer, she picks something up or takes something from you, assesses it, then looks you in the eye holding same object up, and lets go once you touch it. ADORABLE. she does a lot of shrieking and squawking, like a lot. she's ok with other people holding her and I'm not around, but once she hears my voice she's insta-whiny and wants me. she wakes up sometime between 530-630am and rolls around talking to herself in a soft voice for a while, when her volume escalates is when i have to scoop her out of the room so as she doesn't wake up Max. loves to kiss with wide open mouth slobbery kisses. tonnes of babbling!

muscle strength: she's learned to recline if someone is there, mainly if I'm behind her. sitting up strong. she likes to stand and have someone hold her hands/body but not able to stand erect on her own. no crawling but while sitting up she spread her legs far apart to reach for items and often resulting in her landing on her tummy, then squawking as she doesn't like the position. she's not able to pull herself up yet. impossible to keep her still while supine. super dangerous if sitting on the couch as she'll spread her legs and lunge forward within the blink of an eye and fall off (hasn't happened yet).

hands:  claws, cutting nails every 3 days. pincer grasp is there. continues to love to knead and pinch my breast while feeding...hurts.

^^ We wanted them to get along, Max however has exceeded our expectations. 

He is his best with her and to her ^^

legs: really disliking the jumperoo. still loves the jolly jumper. toes are my toes!

play: She learned how to clap this month. kind of knows how to wave on command. blowing raspberries (check my instagram). loves peekaboo. loves opening up the box of crayons and throwing things around everywhere. loves duplo, and pulling books off the shelf. hot wheels in mouth (dangerous).

sleep: bedtime routine starts at 615pm, she baths now in the bathroom sink instead of being wiped down as it's impossible to keep her still while supine (including diaper changes). her pre-bed feeds aren't meal sized as it hasn't been long since dinner ended. feed for 10 mins, hold her for about 7-10 minutes, and she's asleep enough to be put down in crib- stir awake briefly - but go to sleep on her own with no crying.  when Max and i would come into the room at 10, she would hear our hustling and instantly wake. I've been bringing her into bed with us, per Max's request, but this results in her waking every 45mins-hour until i get fed up at 5-ish AM to resoothe her back to sleep via breast. this last few days i didnt scoop her in at the usual time, she whined for a few minutes, and went back to sleep till 2am! at that time, i scooped her in with us, and the usual ever 45-60min resoothe occurred but i wasn't as irritable i got to sleep from 1030pm-2am without fuss. anyhow, sometime this month, i realized she's big enough to just latch on to either breast while I'm lying down instead of me having to sit up and position her. the downside is one boob is always leaking. get up time for me/us is a horrifying 6am (sometimes 630am). never in my life have i imagined being ok with this, but it is what it is. i plop her on the couch with toys, lie down and use my body as a barrier, and shut my eyes for as long as she lets me...approx 15-30 mins (read: she's squawking and hitting me with toys while I'm preventing her from falling off the couch).

^^ clap clap clap! ^^

how she sleeps: YEP, day time carrier only. Naps changed this month from 3 to 2. Now almost always 30 minutes for first nap (usually 10am) and 1.5hours for second 2-3pm something. whatever the combination, it's usually a total of 2 hours for nap. sleep at night 7pm-6am on average. still using badger sleep balm for night sleep and she kisses 2 toys before night sleep...no idea if it's helping as a crutch aid!!

as for me: My period came in month 8. my skin isn't fabulous. coffee! i feel like I've gained weight. overall, something about this girl allows me to not be as irritable as i thought i would be with the sleep deprivation. it's true when they say 0-1 child is THE hardest, with this time around i feel like i can just kiss her and squish her and although I'm tired, I'm still feeling patient and good. this month though I've gone out shopping less because it just isn't worth it to get extra irritable by the end of the night (especially towards Max) from being overtired.

pressing questions:

• how do i sleep train a child in a family bed environment? Max will not tolerate any prolonged crying of hers. 
• should i start a bottle in month 11 so she can suck on something for comfort? it's really hard to plan ahead as literally babies change every month
• has anyone ever heard of the DR. JAY GORDON sleep training method? 
• how will she/Max sleep when I go back to work?
• how can i preserve Max's need for uninterrupted rest overnight to function properly? his schedule of activities will increase come September 2016?

I need to enjoy my summer!!