My baby girl is 9 months old! A lot has happened since her last update. Not only has Skylar grown physically, but she has also hit some significant developmental milestones.

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Skylar is a happy baby, but she can be a little feisty. It’s her way or the highway and she’s quick to swing her arms and/or legs in objection. Our girl is full of affection; giving kisses is one of her favorite things. She’s curious and loves to play and explore. Like her brother, she is such a goof ball. They laugh together all the time.

Skylar’s Stats at 9 Months (she grew almost 2 inches and gained 3 pounds)

• Height – 29 inches
• Weight – 19 lbs 3 oz

Eating

In the last update, I mentioned that we started introducing solids. At that point we were giving puréed baby food, but that phase quickly passed. By month 7, Skylar wanted to eat what everyone else was eating so we moved more towards baby lead weaning. Now, Skylar basically eats what we eat, with slight modification as needed. So far, we haven’t found anything that she won’t eat. We are still going strong with breastfeeding and I continue to pump 3 times/day at work to keep up with her. Skylar continues to take bottles at daycare, but she is also eating breakfast, lunch, and snacks at school.

Sleeping

Over the last three months, Skylar’s sleep has been a little challenging, but we are still consistent with bedtime between 6:30 and 7:00 pm. During months 7 and 8, there were nights where baby girl would wake up once and other nights where she was up every 2-3 hours! Those nights, it literally felt like stepping back into the newborn phase.

At her 9 month appointment, the pediatrician mentioned sleep training (letting her cry it out). I’ve always been indifferent when it comes to cry it out. It’s hard to justify the extended crying (or screaming) and lack of rest for everyone over a 5-10 minute peaceful nursing session and going back to sleep. But, I understand where the doctor was coming from. It’s better to get her sleeping now versus waiting and having more trouble in the future.

At that appointment, we learned Skylar had an ear infection so we decided that we would try sleep training after her ear was cleared up. Lucky for us, Skylar miraculously starting sleeping through the night on her own. We had a 5 day stretch, with limited intervention on our part. The only thing we changed was putting her a security blanket and a teddy bear in the crib with her. It’s so cute to see her snuggling the little blanket at night. I’m hopeful that more restful nights are ahead of us.

Best Moments

The best moment for me was on a random Monday. I walked into Skylar’s classroom at daycare and got her car seat out of the closet. As I was getting the seat ready, Skylar crawled right to me! Like for real crawled, no army crawl or scooting along. It was so surreal to see because just that weekend she was still working on her coordination. This time she had it down. When we got home I put her on the floor and off she went. I shared a video of that moment on my Instagram page. Check it out here.

We also took the kids to their first basketball game! I thought Skylar would be bothered by the noise in the stadium, but she had a great time. We even snagged a picture with the team mascot!

Challenges

Other than sleep, some other challenges include dealing with separation anxiety and balancing the attention I give both kids. I can’t walk away for Skylar for a few seconds without her crying for me. Now that she’s crawling, she follows me wherever I go. There’s no place I can “hide” from her lol.

As an infant, Skylar still demands a lot of attention, but her brother does as well. Sometimes it’s hard to given equal attention to both, but as children they don’t understand that. They just know they need mom. The one good thing about Skylar going to bed early is having more time alone with Jaden, but if I’m honest, it’s easy to let other things distract me from sharing quality time with him. That’s something I need to work on.

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It’s crazy to think that the next update I will post will be for Skylar’s First Birthday! I’m excited for all that I will experience with my baby girl in the next 3 months, but I’m also reminded how fast time flies.

Until next time…