Elliott: Nine Months

Elliott is nine months old! His personality gets more and more goofy by the day. He has the silliest facial expressions, and you can tell he does certain things just to make us laugh. So much personality for such a little guy! He brings us so much joy every single day, and we can't help but notice how he lights up each room he enters. Our prayers for him are often centred around the joy he brings to us and others and how it brings glory to God each day! His favourite thing to say is still "dadadada" but we think he might be starting to associate it with Chris. He has said "mumum" a few times and only when he is sad and whiney, so I am beginning to wonder if he actually does associate that one! Elliott smiles and laughs more than ever - he loves to be tickled and has a deep belly laugh when he's really loving it.

Eating: More than a month ago Elliott started refusing solids. One day he was eating them and the next he was downright refusing them and only wanted breastmilk. We tried everything to get him to eat. Making it warmer, colder, adding different flavours and textures. Trying baby led weaning (giving him large chunks to feed himself) Nothing worked and it was stressful for both of us. We eased off and tried every fews days-ish (sometimes going a week without offering) and finally, just a few days ago he took a spoonful of applesauce like he's been doing it all along! I'm so excited to get back on the food train- especially now that he is 9 months old and I have another 14 foods to add to our repertoire (remember from my last update, we're following a list from our Naturopath) 

Sleeping (Night Time): So thankful to report that his sleep has finally gotten better again. That was a loooong sleep regression that was hard on all of us! He still goes to bed at 9 and he is back to waking once or twice to nurse and going back to sleep relatively well. Once in a while he'll have a bad night, but don't we all? He's been sleeping in until 8-8:30 for quite a while now which has been so lovely! As much as I've been enjoying it I think I need to start putting him to bed earlier and getting him up earlier soon so he's used to it for April when I open my Dayhome. I think we'll start attempting that in the new year!

Sleeping (Nap Time):  Two naps a day - the first around 10:30-11 and he'll sleep at least an hour, sometimes two. The second nap is usually around 3-4 and he'll sleep between 1-2 hours. Usually between the two naps he sleeps 3 hours, so if it's an hour in the morning it will be two in the afternoon and vice versa.

Play: He loves to pull his toys out of his basket. His favourites are his red and orange O-Balls (still), his red car, yellow car, crinkly book, and his R2-D2 bath toy which never stays in the bath because he always brings it out.

No more jumper- there were a few times that we put him in there and he whined, and we have been sick of it taking up so much room in the living room anyways- so the Christmas tree moved in and it got shipped out to the garage. Secretly I can't wait for Christmas to be over to see how much room we have in our living room!

Movin' Around: New category in honour of his new ability - the bum scoot! He started doing this almost right after my last update, so he's pretty good at it. He isn't crawling yet, but he will worm his way backwards pretty quickly when he's on his tummy. Just a couple days ago he learned to sit back up from a laying down position, and in the last day or two he has been trying sooo hard to pull himself up on the couch. He's able to get up to his knees, but not much further. Time to move the crib down!

Highlights/Lowlights: Obviously a huge highlight is the bum scooting! So cute to watch him try to get around!

Still only has 6 teeth. I consider this a highlight because it means we haven't been dealing with a teething baby for over a month. Aaaahh...

Thankfully Elliott has gotten used to the convertible car seat and no longer screams each time we put him in. Also, I am still able to transition him from sleeping in the seat to inside in his crib without waking him (even with taking of his jacket and boots!) It makes me feel like a rockstar every time!

He has rediscovered his love for clapping and does it all the time. He claps if he sees other people doing it (even on the TV!), or if we say "Yaaayy!" It's completely adorable!




Likes:

• Being tickled 
• Scootin' around!
• Opening drawers in the living room
• Bathtime (as always!)
• Staring out the front window at all the cars driving past
• My phone or the TV remote - two things I never let him touch, so naturally they are his favourite things ever!
• Drinking from a straw cup (and then spitting out all the water)
• Making his "Donald Duck" sound
• Sitting in his high chair

Dislikes:

• Being told not to open drawers
• Being moved away from something he wants (a cord, a drawer etc)
• Not being allowed to play with our phones/TV remote
• Peas (still)

And now, pictures!
(sorry for not having the time to format them better this month. I blame Christmas!)

Just A Little Self Care

When I begin to feel overwhelmed there are a few things that happen. First, I stop making dinner. Chris usually picks up the slack, but sometimes it just means we eat out more. Next I stop cleaning each day. This one is unfortunate because then the chores pile up and add to the overwhelmed feelings. I also tend to stop leaving the house and seeing people, which once again is unfortunate because I am an extrovert and actually feel energized when I am around friends.

Another thing I stop doing is writing. You may have noticed? Sorry guys. I think what I have realized is that I see writing as a little bit frivolous. There are usually more important things I should be doing and if I'm not doing them I probably shouldn't be writing either. It's kind of like when you're home sick from school and you know you probably shouldn't go out for ice cream with your friends before your parents come home. If I have time to write a blog then I should probably go clean the bathrooms, ya know?

I took a nice long shower tonight, and when I was clean but not ready for the hot water to end I sat down and turned it into a bath. As I sat there I thought of how my heart no longer yearns for silence or soothing music, but instead it's filled to the brim when I hear my sweet husband babbling along with our chatterbox baby. I sat there until the water grew cold and I soaked in the peace of the not-so-quiet moment.

Once dry, instead of quickly combing my hair, I took my time. I put on nice smelling lotion and I got out some nail polish for my toes. I have no idea when the last time was that I painted my toenails, but I did tonight because it felt even more indulgent that writing. And then I sat down with a glass of chocolate milk and wrote this as Chris played with and bathed Elliott.

It was nothing huge. No big revelations tonight about what I've been doing wrong and how all of a sudden now I get it- just a little bit of self care.

Oh, and I think I already know what I'm going to make for dinner tomorrow.




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~M

Elliott: Eight Months

Eight months? I can't believe my maternity leave is two thirds over! I love my days spent with our boy - he is turning into such a cute little goofball. He makes me laugh, which then in turn makes him laugh. He just loves to have fun!! He continues to (most days) be a really easy going baby- just likes to hang out and play with his toys. It takes very little to keep him occupied. He's a giant chatterbox- always talking. Mostly he says "dadadadada" but still has no association with it that we can tell. I love watching his face light up when Chris comes home from school, and Chris always jokes about how he must think I'm the funniest person alive because if he turns and is surprised to see me he will bob up and down and laugh. So easily excited!! The last weigh in we had was just under 22 lbs, so I imagine he is just at or over that now, and approx 28 inches long. It seems to me that he looks older every single day. Good thing he just keeps getting cuter!

Eating: We're still slowly introducing solids, but he gets most of his nutrition from breast milk. I have to be honest- this is a tough area for me. We have been following a list of first foods from our Naturopath which is meant to encourage a "healthy gut" We find this to be really important because research shows that 70% of the cells that make up our immune system reside in our gut, and what we feed ourselves determines the health of our gut flora. Babies start out with a clean slate, and so we believe that following this list will set him up for the healthiest gut flora possible. Also, we believe this will be instrumental in setting him up for a healthy digestive system, which is something Chris and I both struggle with as adults. All that being said, I find it quite restrictive. It's normal stuff (yams, carrots, cauliflower, bananas, peas etc) but not stuff I normally make (and puree) I always intended to make his foods and not feed from jars, but I also pictured having the ability to feed him little bits of what we are eating, and feeling quite laid back about it. Well, now I have this list and starting at 6 months there are only 14 foods I can give him (another 14 foods at 9 months, and so on) I feel this tension between wanting to follow the list and wanting to burn the list, and just feed him what I feel like. At this point I think we'll keep with it because we only have one more month before 14 more foods are introduced, and I'm looking forward to adding in oatmeal, which is on the 9 month list.

Sleeping (Night Time): Sleep? What is that?? But seriously, not much has improved from last month. Elliott still wakes multiple times (3, 4, 5...) and at least a couple times a week will wake completely for at least an hour in the middle of the night. From everything I've read he is just working overtime with his brain development and there isn't much I can do, but dear Lord is it challenging! He still goes to bed really well, which is my saving grace. At least I still get that time at the end of the evening to unwind! I just wish he would sleep until 2 or 3 like he used to before waking. Now it's more like 12:30-1 for his first waking. One positive has been how long he sleeps in the morning. We've been leaving him when he fusses for the first time around 6:30 and the second time around 7:30 and he falls right back to sleep on his own (if only he could do THAT in the middle of the night!) He's been sleeping until 8-9 in the morning most days this past week, which has been quite lovely.

Sleeping (Nap Time):  About 2-3 weeks ago, all of a sudden he decided he only wants two naps a day. Just like that, with no help or work on my part (I have dreams of something changing like this at night time as well) His first nap is usually around 10:30-11 and he'll sleep for at least an hour, and then his second nap is anywhere from 2- 3:30 and he'll sleep for an hour or two. Between the two naps he usually sleeps about 3-3.5 hours total. He can go a lot longer between his last nap and bedtime now. I think the longest was waking up at 3:30 and going to bed at 9. So crazy because only a month ago if he woke up at 5:30 (anytime before 6, really) he would need another 15 minute cat nap to get him to bedtime at 9.

Play: He loves to sit up and play with toys. If there is one out of his reach he'll lean forward or to the side and topple onto his tummy (doesn't faze him in the least anymore) His favourite toys right now are Sophie, which he just realized how to squeak on his own, his little red car, his red train (both of which make noise and sing the alphabet, which he loves!) and he's rediscovered his red and orange O-balls. He still loves jumping in his jumper and standing while holding your hands. He works on his fine motor skills all the time- he loves to pick up tiny things with his finger and thumb, and often takes one finger to scratch at different surfaces/textures.

Highlights/Lowlights: He still carpet swims with the best of them, but the only real movement he makes is backwards a few inches at a time. Quite frustrating when he's tying SO hard to move forward to get a toy!

He has six teeth!! 4 up top and the same bottom two. The last 3 came in all in the span of seven days. It was a pretty rough week for the both of us, but we've had a nice reprieve form teething for the last couple weeks

We have officially switched from the bucket seat to a convertible car seat. So far I am loathing this new change. I hate having to stand outside in the cold to strap him in while in the van. I hate that when he falls asleep I have to unstrap him and carry him in, and then somehow take off my boots and his jacket before laying him down. He also seems to hate it and cries each. and. every. time. we strap him in. I miss the bucket seat SO much. Sure, it was heavy, but so much easier!!!

We've started to really notice how ticklish he is when he's tired. It's absolutely hilarious- you barely have to tough his sides/armpit area for him to erupt in laughter.

He's started turning his whole upper body to the side while sitting and will lean his body to one side. At first he would get stuck each time or fall on his tummy, but he's getting better at it and can sit upright again.

I cut his hair!! I had no choice - when it fell forward it covered his eyes and reached almost to the tip of his nose! So I combed it all forward and snipped! It looks pretty cute, but for almost a week I was heartbroken that he looked like a little boy instead of my baby

Elliott was dedicated at our church on November 9th. It was a really special morning, and we had our family and friends over to the house for a lunch after church. He happened to look like the cutest baby ever in his little button up shirt and tie (see picture below)

He learned to clap! Super cute and so fun to see how proud of himself he is.

Likes:

• My purple water bottle
• Being tickled 
• Sitting, playing with toys
• Getting thrown in the air
• Bathtime (as always!)
• Staring out the front window at all the cars driving past
• My phone or the TV remote - two things I never let him touch, so naturally they are his favourite things ever!
• Picking up tiny things (crumb on the carpet, string hanging off his pants)

Dislikes:

• Peas
• His new carseat
• Sleep...?

And now, pictures!

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Thanks for stopping by :)

~M