Nora: 9 months

Weight/Length: about 17 pounds. We go to the doctor next week for an official weigh in.

Medical Issues: Healthy, happy baby girl!

Sleep: Nora’s still taking 2 naps a day. On a typical day, the first one is around 9:30 or 10 and the other around 3ish. She’s been napping really well, going down really easily and sleeping for a 1.5+ hours! Yesterday after a late night on Saturday and a short snooze in her stroller on Sunday morning, she slept for 3 glorious hours and Mama read/slept for 2 of those while the Dad caught up on some work. It was some much needed rest for all!

Right after turning 8 months old, we had a couple of weeks of pretty good sleep, where she was only waking once during the night. More recently, though, the nights have been rougher, and she’s been waking 3+ times. Occasionally, she’ll put herself back to sleep, but more often it takes some rocking or back patting. It definitely seems like she doesn’t need to nurse, so we’ve been sending Luke in a lot because I can’t just sit and rock her like he can. If I go in, she wants to nurse even though she doesn’t need it. Anyway, she’s always been pretty “two steps forward one step back” with sleeping, so hopefully we’ll hit another good stretch here soon.

Diet: She’s breastfeeding about 4 times a day, and just recently she seems like she’s really starting to actually eat more real food. I’ve given her just about everything that we eat except for honey, nuts and cows milk. She still loves yogurt, fruit, avocado, black beans and corn. She likes cheese but not feta and doesn’t seem to be a big fan of tomatoes or meat, which is fine by me since I’m not a big meat cooker or eater myself.

Milestones:  She’s crawling all over, pulling up on everything and cruising along the couch, coffee table, ottoman, etc. She’s getting pretty brave and when she lets go she can balance pretty well, but as soon as she tries to take a step, she falls. Won’t be long, though, which is hard to believe.

She’s added some new sounds to the “dadada” that she started last month. I’ve heard some bababa’s, and I swear she tries to say book when we’re reading and I say it. I’m still waiting for a mama, though.

She’s obsessed with clapping, and it’s basically the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. She takes lots of random breaks from playing to clap, and when I sing, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands,” she claps along! When we went to Canton last week, she sat in her stroller and just clapped the whole time! It’s so funny and cute. She’s starting to wave, and I’ve gotten her to do it a handful of times, but right now, she still prefers clapping.

Likes: going on walks, swinging, swimming, seeing new people especially kids, yogurt, cheerios, her Baby Einstein Activity Table, Baby Bounce class at Book Marks, music, grabbing faces, remotes, clapping, iPhones, books and reading (which is a new like and it thrills me! She even turns the pages!), peekaboo, being chased around the house 

Dislikes: Bibs, having her hands and face cleaned off,  diaper changes (although these are going much better if I put her up on the changing table and sing to her the whole time), being in the highchair if she’s done eating,

Nicknames: Chicky Girl, Neeny, Nori and Nor, The Ninja

Mama’s Thoughts: Nora seems like such a big girl all of a sudden and is learning so much so quickly! She is so sweet and smart and beautiful, and I’m so thankful for each day that I have with her. I’m especially cherishing the moments that she’ll sit still and rock and read and cuddle with me as I’m sure they’ll get even more few and far between as she gets more mobile. (Although she kind of seems like a cuddler, especially right after waking, so hopefully I have years and years of cuddles to come!) I’m so excited to see the person that she grows into and look forward to all the things that we’ll get to do together, but I also tear up just thinking about her turning 1. We’ve had 9 months full of learning and challenges but also more joy and love than we’ve ever known and wouldn’t change it for a thing!