Baker :: Nine Months Old

Better get this update posted before he turns 10 months old... WHERE IS THE TIME GOING!?!?!


Nine whole months with this cute boy. Same old story here - he's still amazing and cool and cute! After getting ear tubes, we really saw his personality shine through but then he got sick (a cold and then some yucky tummy bug) that had him feeling kind of crummy for about two weeks. But, he's now healthy and back to his happy self!

Even if he STILL won't smile for me and the camera...


Stinker.. ;)

Our goals this month continue to be working on rolling over back to front, pushing up with his arms while on his tummy and sitting up. We've been playing patty cake and practicing clapping as well. He loooooooves to chew on his hands but he's still trying to figure out how to work them! He watches us closely, though, so I know he's absorbing things like a sponge.

We've started using a bit of sign language on a consistent basis. Mostly "eat" and "more" while he's in the high chair. We'll show him the sign and then move his arms/hands to act it out before he gets a bite. He's doing so well with food, too. He gobbles the baby food right up and likes to try new things. Some newer foods include strawberries, scrambled eggs, cheerios, ground beef and chicken. He's trying hard to figure out how to pick up the food from his tray but he's not self-feeding yet. He has no issues taking bites offered from a spoon and if I feed him small bites from my plate he does a good job of moving the food around with his tongue, chewing and swallowing which is huge. Another big change this month was the switch to formula full time. We made it 8.5 months with nursing and I'm so proud of him/us. He was my longest and best nursling!

It's sometimes hard for me to accept that he doesn't have all of the gross motor skills that a typically developing 9 month old usually has but I count my blessings because we don't have feeding or growing issues some babies with Down syndrome can struggle with. It puts things in perspective for sure.



He's still rocking his helmet and continues to make progress! We can see a visible change already but I think he'll have it a couple more months so we can really get the back rounded out. Should make for a nice, sweaty summer! Ha.


His toes in that above picture crack me up. Little monkey.

At 9 months, he's 16 lbs 9 oz (he lost almost a pound when he was sick and has started gaining some of it back) and 26.75 inches long. He's in size 3 diapers and 9 month clothes. I'd love to ditch the infant carrier and move him to a convertible carseat but we'll wait a little bit longer until he can sit unassisted to make running errands a little easier. He usually naps 3 times a day (morning, afternoon and late afternoon before dinner) and typically goes to bed around 7:30 or 8. He was sleeping through the night but has been waking up to eat around 2am for the last week or so. Again, trying to gain some weight back or maybe headed into a growth spurt!


We skipped spring and went right into summer so we've been spending a lot of time outside playing and going on walks. I'm sure he'll be loving the pool once it opens for the season, too!


Happy 9 months, Baker boy! We sure love you!

Five on Friday | April Recap

Welp, April sure flew on by, huh?! We're keeping busy so I figured today was as good as any to recap the last month or so of life...

{ONE}

We celebrated Easter with my parents, which I now realized never made it to the blog. It was pretty low key - it was snowing after all - so we just did an egg hunt around the house for the girls and had my aunt and uncle in for dinner.


We got up early the next day for Baker's surgery for ear tubes and circumcision. He recovered quickly, is all healed up and he seems to be hearing better which makes me so happy. We're getting some good smiles and facial expressions as he learns to interact with us on that level. It's so fun to watch him experience these new sounds.

{TWO}

After a few weeks of weather delays, both girls finally started soccer! This is Gracyn's third year playing and she still loves it. Leighton got in on the action, too, with a little Mini + Me session that has parent involvement. Basically all of the 3 year olds run around for 5 minutes and then spend the rest of the practice asking for snacks and/or crying. Good times all around!




{THREE}

Baker had some follow-up appointments for his helmet. He continues to make progress in the right direction and we can definitely notice his head shape improving. The darned thing gets pretty stinky some days so I always look forward to taking it off and letting him air out a bit. We wash the helmet every night with his baby shampoo and wipe it down with rubbing alcohol. I'm still hoping he can graduate from it before we get too far into summer.

His early intervention therapist came by a few times in April to experiment some more with taping his abs and back with kinesiology tape to help "wake up" those muscles. In theory the tape is supposed to help make him more "aware" so those muscles become engaged and he starts using them to roll over and sit up. I don't know that we see a ton of difference when he's taped versus without it but it's definitely not hurting anything. He's making some good progress when it comes to holding steady in the sitting up position but still has no interest in rolling or becoming mobile!


{FOUR}

Sickness! We made it pretty much all winter without any major illnesses which I'm so thankful for but Baker caught a nasty virus last week and spent several days vomiting and having super gross diapers. Poor kid was not feeling well at all. He slept a lot and would wake up to eat only to start coughing/gagging/throwing up after each bottle and going through outfits like it was some sort of contest to see just how much laundry one person could do in a single day.

The girls didn't have it as bad but they were tired and not eating much so it made for a long week..

{FIVE}

We rallied, though, and went to Oklahoma last weekend to celebrate our niece's wedding. Gracyn and Leighton were flower girls and it was good to get down and see Justin's family. And bonus! We ended dup with a decent family pic!


And that was our April in a nutshell. May is here and so are these gigantic, wonderful smiles...


Happy Friday!