9 Months

Baby AY is turning 9 months tomorrow. That means he has been around as long as he was gestating in my belly...petty cool!

At 9 months, we are finally getting into a schedule (which, ironically happened while we were on vacation in Israel, because of course your child decides to put himself on a schedule when it would be easier if he wasnt!) which in an ideal world is
7 am wake up
9 30- 11 30 nap
2- 3 30 nap
7 pm bedtime (usually wakes up once in the middle of the night to nurse)
In reality, AY is the lightest sleeper on the planet and he is constantly being woken up from his naps because his siblings are screaming, walking and sometimes just breathing near his room. I am hoping this will get better once the kids are in school. For now I walk around begging everyone to be quiet and use their indoor voices. My husband thinks I am obsessive and that we can't all walk on eggshells because the baby is sleeping. This might be true but he does not have to deal with a cranky baby who has not napped enough because his brothers decided to come say "hi" while he was sleeping...

Some other cool things AY does:
- He eats pretty much anything. He loves food and has gotten the hang of chewing and swallowing without gagging which means no more mushing up vegetables. Because he is my fourth, wants to eat everything he sees us eat and I don't want to deal with him crying, he has sampled  cookies, french fries and pizza. But I am not a terribly neglectful mom. Most days, he eats yogurt, bananas (and other fruit) and pretzels.
-He still gets around by creeping on his tummy. He goes up on all fours but does not like to crawl that way
-He picks himself up to stand and loves to stand like that by the couch
-He smiles and laughs a lot. He loves playing with his big brother Y.
-He is already getting into cabinets and drawers which means it is time yet again to baby proof
-He takes a pacifier for sleeping but is not attached to it like some of our other kids

He is however attached to me. He is in a full-on Mommy stage, which means every time he is near me, he wants to be held and play with me. Sometimes he will play next to me on the floor but mostly he will cry to be picked up. He does not want Abba or the babysitter, he just wants me.
This is very cute and flattering, but also very annoying because Mommys have things to do other than hold babies. Such as make dinner, fold laundry, sweep the floor, etc. I could try and wear him while I do these things but he has not been a fan of babywearing recently and my back is still giving me problems when I carry him for long periods. Plus some of these activities (ie cooking) are not safe to do while holding a baby.
Sometimes I try to hide so I can do stuff but my cover is usually blown when he hears my voice and starts crying because he wants to be with me. Like everything, this is a stage, so I will try not to get too bent out of shape by it. Though I will confess to having put him in his crib one morning where he cried while I sat and drank my coffee in (relative) peace and quiet
- AY is also a big talker. He babbles and coos a lot and sounds like he is trying to tell us important things.

I cannot believe we are slowly heading to the 1 year mark. Check out this yummy boy!!