The doctor says...

Emma had her 9 month doctor's appointment today.  She was her usual sweet, sweet self during her checkup, and even waved the receptionist goodbye when we left.

And her numbers are --

Weight:  19 lbs 13 oz (70%)

Length:  27.5 in (50%)

Head size:  17.25 in (50%)

Dr. Miller is not only Emma's doctor, but he also was Byron's doctor growing up (as well the doctor of all four of his siblings).  After the appointment, Byron wondered if Emma's been the smallest Morris he'd seen :p  Silly daddy!  :)

Sorry I don't have a picture to go along this post.  For some odd reason the camera has not been out lately.  Plus, I am extremely tired these days!  As soon as Emma began sleeping through the night my energy level dropped.  Crazy, I know...

Nonfat Granola

Great recipe to have around.  I enjoy it with yogurt, my morning cereal or all by itself.  Great to gift to new nursing mamas (oats are supposed to be good for milk production).


Nonfat Granola
By Jonni McCoy 

3/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. concentrated apple juice from frozen concentrate
1/2 c. nonfat dry milk
1/3 c. honey
5 c. quick-cooking oats (I use regular oats)
2 T. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. dried fruit

     Mix sugar, juice, dry milk, and honey in saucepan and heat over medium heat only until sugar dissolves.  Combine dry ingredients and fruit in mixing bowl.  Pour sugar mixture slowly over dry mixture and blend well.  Place on cookie sheet and bake at 375* for 10 to 20 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. 
     Options:  Be creative by adding peanuts, sunflowers seeds, coconut, sesame seeds, peanut butter, or whatever else your family enjoys.  (I put about half cup each of coconut flakes, almonds, and raisins).

What a 9 month old does

Until Emma's 9 month birthday, I had only seen her pull up twice before, both times in her crib while extremely upset.  She now does it a little more frequently.  It is so sweet watching her get on her feet.  

But her biggest accomplishment happened ON her 9 month birthday.  There are two steps that separate our tv/play room and our kitchen.  We weren't sure what we were going to do about them since they hadn't become an issue.  Then all of the sudden, while I was working in the kitchen last Monday, my baby girl began climbing them.  ACK!

9 months old

My baby girl is 9 months old.  *sigh*  Where has time gone?  She is as sweet and as pretty as they come, and is always smiling.  I would say that her most distinct characteristic so far is how much she loves to be around people.  She'll wave and smile and babble to anyone willing to give her a few seconds of their attention.

What has taken place this past month?  Oh goodness, where to begin...

*  She crawls, and crawls fast!  I love to move from room to room around the house and have her follow me.  So much easier on me.

*  For most of the past month, she was still waking once a night to nurse.  A few nights ago, days shy of her 9 month birthday, we decided to cut out that last feeding.  This went much smoother than the fist time we did it a few months ago (when we went from two feedings a night to one feeding a night).  The first night she cried for about an hour from 5:30 - 6:30 am, then fell back asleep till 7:30 am.  Second night she cried herself to sleep, heard a few peeps here and there throughout the night, but didn't see her again till 7 am the next morning.  Third night - nothing.  Score!  Twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep.  My body still does not know what to do with itself.  Though I slept 9 uninterrupted hours last night, I still woke up more tired than normally.  Odd!

*  She can pull herself up.  She still wobbles a bit when she does it, but pulling up she is.

*  She seems to be more responsive of her name.  I believe she is finally recognizing it.

*  She can go up the steps.  ACK! 

*  Her favorite things to babble are:  ma ma ma, ba ba ba, and da da da.

She eats!

Avocado and mango... yum!

It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride in regards with eating with Emma.  It took her a few weeks to even be willing to eat more than a tablespoon worth of solids.  Then she was a picky eater.  I would serve her mushed up beans with some mushed veggies on the side and she wanted nothing to do with it.  Then I came across Dr. Denmark's mush and began making my own version of it (same thing, minus the banana).  She liked it!  And she's been eating that twice a day for about a month now.

Then recently (as in past few days) she has been unwilling to finish her serving, but will eat endless amounts of finger food if placed in front of her.  She seems to be independent that way - she wants to feed herself.  So I think this is the direction we are headed towards now.  I will try to continue giving her the mush (since I have countless ice cubes of baby food still in the freezer), but will be giving her more and more of finger food.

In great-Gram's outfit

Being great-Gram's first great grandchild, Emma has received the honor of wearing her 87 year-old outfit.  She wore it for the first time when she was two months old, but it fits much better now that she is almost 9 months old.

Emma also gets to wear her great-Gram's ring.

 

Gram and Aunt Alison are in town

Both great-Gram and Aunt Alison have been in town for a visit.  

We have enjoyed chats and Cheerios, but most importantly, outnumbering Byron :)

 Lunch at Moe's

A dress made by mama

 I woke up one day and decided I wanted to sew Emma a dress.  The only other sewing experience I've had was this past summer when sewing her crib bumper, dust ruffle and valances.  Little did I know how big of a project I has embarking when I decided to do it.

So $12 and countless hours later, with the skilled help of Memma, my baby girl got to sport her new dress on Mother's Day.

A sweet smile for her mommy on Mother's Day.

 

Emma's new pacifier.

 

Emma's favorite thing to do these days is cry herself to sleep -- *sigh*  This often results in weird sleeping positions, such as this one...

Baby stuff

I am a strong believer of the following --

You will not know you lack something until you have it.

Baby stores are filled with things -- all very useful.  But here is the dirty secret:  you can probably do without them.  You will not know how much you need something until you begin using it.  Don't get me wrong, it would be wonderful to have each and every thing they had, but at the end of the day, it's just stuff that you will most likely only use for a couple of months at most.


This is why I have come up with a list of simple things that I have found to be very basic and which also have a relative long life.  (On a side note, this list does not include necessaries such as a crib, car seat, bottles, high chair, blankets, clothes, etc.)   

• Cloth wipes.  These are wonderful to have, whether you cloth diaper or not.  I keep them near my changing table with a squirt water bottle.  I use them to catch unexpected urine when changing a diaper, to wipe her dirty face or body, or drying her bottom before putting her diaper back on.  I like them so much, I made extra to give away at showers.  As Emma grew older and began eating, I began using them as napkins.  Forget about paper napkins, we now use cloth.  We go through so many napkins these days, it's just not worth it to buy them anymore.  We use them to wipe her face, hands, high chair, floor, etc.  Byron and I use them as well when we eat. 
• Cloth diapers.  I must confess, I was nervous leading up to using them, but once I did, I loved them!  I wish it was required for all parents to at least give them a try.  For the first few months, as long as you are exclusively nursing, you don't even have to rinse them -- straight to the washing machine.  Now that Emma is eating more solid foods, all I do is pick the poo up with a cloth and toss it in the toilet.  Every once in a while I have to rinse them, and when I do, I use rubber gloves.  No problem!  The money you save by using them is unreal.  Even if I worked, I would still cloth diaper.  It's that simple.
• Breast pump.  I mostly use a Medela manual pump.  It costs $40 and is very portable and easy to use.  I normally pump at least once a week and I currently have about 10 fl oz in the freezer for back up.  Enough for a bottle when needed.  If you will be working, an electric breast pump will be the way to go.
• Baby carrier.  This is a wonderful thing to have if you wish to be able to hold your baby and still be hands free.  I own the Baby Bjorn and have used it since Emma was two weeks old.  I didn't even own a stroller.  If I had to go somewhere, I just wore her.  I used it to go out on walks with her, grocery shop, and even do chores around the house.  I did eventually get a stroller someone gave me and have enjoyed it as well, but a baby carrier is wonderful in it's own way.  I will say that if you choose to get a carrier, don't get a cheap one!  You get what you pay for.  The one I got was expensive, but worth every penny.  The cheaper ones will strain your shoulders and not give good back support.
• Pacifier.  I know, I know, people have strong opinions about them, but this is mine: they serve their purpose, which is to help your baby soothe himself.  Emma carried hers around for the first 8 months of her life.  She eventually lost it.  We thought it would be a great time to wean her off of it since she wasn't interested in any other ones, even if they were identical to the one she used to have.  But I was pretty persistent, and would literally shove it in her mouth until she took the new one.  She now only gets to use it when she naps or goes to bed.  I will eventually wean her off of it, but I am still not ready for it.
• Stroller.  My only tip on this one is that there is no need to buy a new one.  They are sold in perfect condition for a fraction of their price at yard sales, consignment sales, or on Craigslist.  I just purchased a jogging stroller last weekend at a yard sale with a $99 value, and got it for $20.
• Floor fan or a white noise sound machine.  This is wonderful to have in your baby's room to block out noise from outside and help her sleep better.  We just use a floor fan.
• Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.  No other sleep book is as accurate and as reliable as this one.  The author of this book is a doctor who specializes in sleep.  In it he walks you through each sleeping stage of your child, informing you of what you can expect in each one of them.  Other sleep books will try to suggest techniques to follow which your child may not be ready to undertake, and will eventually lead to a frustrated mama.  HSHHC is a long book, not intended to read all at once, but to use as a resource throughout your child's life.  One a side not, I have asked three different pediatricians in town what sleep book they recommend to their patients.  Two of them said HSHHC, the third one said none.
• Your Baby's First Year.  This book was given to us by Emma's pediatrician on our first visit with him.  We have used it as a resource on countless occasions.  It has answered questions related to nursing, eating solids, nails, ears, eyes, rashes, etc.

Before closing, I will add that I have very much enjoyed other baby related items as well.  Items such as the baby swing, walker, baby gym, etc.  I did not put these on the list above because they have a short baby life.

Avocados for lunch

Emma's high chair finally came in.  Hooray!  It only took over two months.  I love it more than words can describe.  And to add to all the wonderfulness of it, I found a booster seat to fit into it perfectly at a yard sale for $2 yesterday.

 

I normally feed her myself a bowl a mush.  But sometimes I like to multitask in the kitchen -- feed her while cooking.  Most of the time this means putting Cheerios on her tray to keep her busy while she picks them one by one and puts them in her mouth.  Yesterday I sliced up an avocado, and well, needless to say, she went to town with it...

On her feet... ACK!

I came into Emma's room yesterday to pick her from her afternoon nap and this is what I found:  a baby who had pulled herself up!  My baby girl has learned to crawl and pull up all in less than two weeks.  Growing so fast...

Mama friends

I am very thankful to have so many mama friends in town.  Ever since Emma was a newborn, a group of us will get together about twice a month and share lunch and a good conversation together.  Usually one of us will email the group a few days before announcing lunch will be at their house -- "please bring something to pass" we say.  The group continues to evolve through time.  Mamas leaving, mamas coming.

This past Thursday I hosted lunch at our house.  Emma's good friends, Karalynn and Laura (pictured), plus cousin Ames came over, along with their mamas.  We finally got a picture together.