Nine-Month Bear Update

Excited about food

I know I usually do these posts every six months, but baby Bear is just changing so fast that I thought I’d do a nine-month post.

A. His Schedule – He gets up at about 6:30 a.m. every day, takes two naps on average (one in the morning and one in the early afternoon), and then goes to sleep at about 8 p.m.

B. His Size – Bear is smaller than average boys his age. He is 27.25 inches tall (17th percentile) and 19 lb. 9 oz. (55^th percentile). I think that he is smaller now than our older son was at this age because baby Bear is being fed breastmilk (as well as solids) whereas our older son was being fed formula (as well as solids) at this age. In any case, baby Bear looks adorable in his size "9 Month" clothes (at this age, his older brother was wearing size "18 Month" clothes).

C. His Personality – Bear is a very happy baby, and a pleasure to be around. He’s very cuddly and has a warm, affectionate personality.

D. His Favorite Things – Right now he is obsessed with our cat. He loves to try to follow the cat around, even though the cat will usually just hop over the baby gate and leave Bear behind.

He loves milk

E. His Development – He can say “Mama” and “Dada” right now, but I don’t think he knows what those words mean. He also likes to communicate via grunting (usually if he needs something) and/or high-pitched squeals of joy. He can laugh, and loves laughing when his older brother plays with him. He can crawl very swiftly. He can stand by pulling up on things (furniture, for example), and he can let go of the support item with one of his hands. Up until very recently, he had no teeth. He sprouted his first tooth just after turning nine months old.

F. Surprises – One of the biggest surprises for me is how much of an “easy baby” Bear is. He’s really a blessing.

G. The Best Things – My favorite thing to do is to hold Bear right before he falls asleep. He looks so peaceful and content.

Bear right before he falls asleep

H. Things I’m Doing Differently This Time Around – I’ve said it once but I’ll say it again – baby Bear doesn’t use a pacifier. If he’s feeling sad, I’ll pick him up and talk to him, but I won’t offer him a pacifier. I’m hoping his future dentist will thank me for this. Also, we’re reading to Bear less frequently than we read to our older son when he was at this age. I'd like to read to Bear more – it’s just that there’s usually a lot going on (e.g. potty-training our older son), and for his part Bear doesn’t seem too interested when we do read to him.