Baby E: Nine Months

This morning we took little E to the pediatrician for his nine-month checkup. While he still hasn't hit 18 pounds yet, he's growing quite nicely: 29.5 inches tall and an 18.5-inch head circumference. He's hitting all his developmental targets and his doctor was quite pleased with all the growing up he has done since his last visit. And she confirmed, in her capacity as a medical professional, that he is the cutest baby ever.  E also received the honor of being our Uber driver's first baby passenger. Success so early in the morning is good for growing babies.

Riding dad to the park.

While Baby E is generally healthy, he's been miserable for the past week and both L and I have joined him. His cold turned into a fever in the middle of last week and the virus is running its course. He's dripping snot and coughing, which is alarmingly heartbreaking. He's OK during the day, but sleeping poses some serious issues. Each time he coughs, he wakes up and is frightened, and then cannot fall back asleep because he's congested and uncomfortable. I think we clocked just over two hours of sleep last night. BUT he has his color back and it seems that we're nearing the end. Now we just have to avoid re-infecting each other, so I have a date with some rubber gloves and a jug of vinegar. We keep reminding each other that there is a first, scary time for everything as new parents and look back to how scared we were to leave him at daycare, how worried we were when I stopped nursing and how we nearly stroked out the first time E had the sniffles. While we certainly don't enjoy seeing our little bub suffer, we know that each sickness, challenge and fall makes us more confident as parents.  

We're on to finger foods these days, even though most of these meals end up on E's body or the floor. He's steadily getting the hang of feeding himself and using his six (six!) teeth. His latest round of teething has mercifully come to an end. The poor little guy had four coming in over the Thanksgiving holiday and we tried everything from frozen peas to Orajel to Jameson to soothe his gums. The addition of four top teeth has turned him into a little boy and he is now able to make exciting new sounds which he likes to share with fellow bus riders and our neighbors.

Perhaps the biggest development in the last month is the fact that we now have a mobile baby. This boy scoots everywhere and FAST. He's not crawling yet, but he motors around on his tummy, propelling himself with his arms and his right leg, with his left leg acting as rudder. He can also stand and plant when we help him onto his feet and he's starting to reach to pull himself up to standing from sitting. My personal favorite is planting him at the side of the bath and watching his excitement reach a fever pitch as the bubbles start forming and the toys start floating. He sways back and forth and even attempts a few mini-squats. He's taken a couple mild tumbles as all three of us are getting used to his new mobility and the cats have learned to keep a close eye on him because an affectionate whisker grab can come out of nowhere.

This has definitely been a challenging month, but L and I end every day in awe of the little human we made. He's such a joy and we're eating up every minute -- squished avocados, snot-filled kisses and all.