9 months

We went for Madi's 9-month check up the other day. When I scheduled the appointment I was very happy to hear there would be no shots, just a finger stick. I can handle a finger stick. Madi's gotten better at crying since her last RSV shot and I wasn't too sure I was up for a deep-breath-type crying session. We got there and our regular nurse didn't have Madi but she came in to say "hi" and couldn't believe how different she looked. It was amusing because before she walked in Dan and I were talking about how Madi's changed. She's grown longer so it's not really chub anymore, just a little baby fat. Her face isn't as round and pudgy. She has hair! Granted it's only on top but she's got it. Our nurse for the day came in and we did the typical stats - head, weight, length. When Madi sat in the chair to be weighed she filled it out way more than she used to, once upon a time she looked like a mouse in the Green Giant's rocking chair. Madi kept reaching for the scale slides and shifting the chair...that's our girl, always in motion!

Doc McManus came in and was pleased with Madi's progress. She's a great sitter these days. Madi was jibber-jabbering and flirting. Doc encouraged us to not use the walker as it can teach bad habits for walking - you don't lean into taking a step or throw your hips the direction you want to move. But Madi loves it so much! We were instructed to work on a bedtime routine and stick with it. Soon Madi's going to experience separation anxiety and without a bedtime routine where she puts herself to sleep we're going to have a screaming baby when she wakes up in the middle of the night, scared because she can't see us. If she knows how to self-soothe going into that phase we'll survive much better. (duly noted) We were told to get a copy of Good Night, Sleep Tight (which I haven't done yet) to help with a sleep routine. Without the wisdom of the book Madi is giving us 6-8 hours of sleep after she goes to bed. Of course we have good nights and bad nights but I hope the every three hour routine is over.

We also got the impression that we're behind on feeding as there were a lot of suggestions in that area:
1. start giving Madi baby puffs to increase hand-eye coordination for self-feeding
2. incorporate a solid food lunch
3. work up to feeding her from our plate in a month or so
4. start a sippy cup
See what I mean? I didn't know we were falling behind in that area of development. On a side note, got an email about solid foods for your baby and they recommended 6T of cereal soon. Yeah right. We struggle to get 3T down now. Doc did mention that we don't need to buy turkey and gravy baby food. "Would you want turkey from a jar?" Good point. She said to start with fish or chicken and make sure they're small pieces. Mashed potatoes or extra done pasta is fine too. She did mention that Madi will gag as she's learning to handle bigger pieces so be aware it's coming. Wonderful. That'll get the adrenaline flowing.

Overall, another stellar check up. Here are the stats:
weight:  17lbs      19th percentile     12% increase from 2 months ago
length:  27in         32nd percentile     22% increase
head:  17.7in        79th percentile     43% increase
Madi's got a big noggin. Doc said she wasn't concerned about her head increase yet. Didn't think to ask what the "yet" meant. I'm sure the rest of her body will catch up.

Of course we had a photo shoot to go along with turning 9-months old:

after Madi rolled off the "studio"

Oh, did I do that?   look at those dimples

teething...still.

Madi loves to scratch the rocking chair, the sound and texture fascinate her.

still have those long, curly eye lashes

Tonight Madi went swimming/floating for the first time so I'll get that narration and pictures up soon. It's good night for now!