Nine Months
Nine months. Three quarters of a year. Rigby has officially been out longer than he was in and it is seriously flying by!
For this post, I read back through Jack's 9 month update and was surprised by all of the similarities! If you would have asked me if they were very similar at this stage, I would have confidently, yet wrongfully, replied not really. It is strange how much of the details about what happened when with Jack that I have trouble remembering. I am so thankful that I have these monthly updates to help jog my memory.
A few of Rigby's favorite things: clapping (or, at least, the praise and attention he receives from doing it), hoodie strings, buttons and zippers, shredding paper towels and wipes, going for stroller walks, and smiling at everyone he can make eye contact with. Smiles, smiles all the time.
He is now sitting on his own, which started right around Christmas, and (somewhat) crawling (!!). Crawling began, as it typically does, with Rigby getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth. Next, crawling was always backwards. He would look at an object in front of him and, instead of going towards it, his body would move him further and further away in what I am sure was a very frustrating manner. Then, forward lunges started. Now, the crawling skill is not quite mastered but it is very, very close. He is quite determined and can always make it to whatever he has his eyes on, which is usually something he should not have. It is keeping me quite busy at home chasing him around the living room, but I absolutely LOVE this stage! He LOVES to bounce and will try, quite mightily, to bounce his way off your lap if you aren't holding him quite tightly enough. One thing that he has not yet tried is pulling up to a stand. He will do this when we are holding onto his hands, but has not yet tried it on his own on furniture.
He is making lots of babbles but no discernible words yet. And he produces so much laughter! He is so ticklish, especially on his belly and neck! And, he loves laughing at Jack!
Sleep is going great! He still likes to turn in early (between 6:15 and 7:00) and sleeps 10-12 hours each night before waking to drink his first bottle of the day. Our bedtime routine is to feed him a bottle in the rocker and he typically drifts off during the middle of drinking it. It takes no longer than 10 minutes and it is remarkably easy compared to the routines we often found ourselves in with Jack. The napping bit is also fairly routined now, yet it is highly influenced by Jack's school schedule. He has been taking his morning nap at 9:45 or 10 after we come back home from walking Jack to school and then will take his afternoon nap around 1:30. Alternately, if he wakes up for the day in the 5:00 hour, then he will take an earlier morning nap around 7:30 and then a longer afternoon nap around 11:30.
Nursing is pretty much finished which is a source of sadness for this Mama, but I know it is time. I need to start drug therapy for my MS again and I cannot nurse while doing that. Plus, Rigby has had very little interest for several weeks (months?) and relying solely on pumping is not doing the trick to keep up my supply. Fortunately, he takes the bottle just fine and seems to tolerate and like formula.
Eating continues to be lots of fun! I love making all of his food and thinking of new things for his to try. He makes the funniest scrunched up face of disapproval upon trying something new, but after the first few bites, he almost always seems to enjoy it. He has two teeth, both on the bottom, yet as a write this post, I think the top two are trying to break through if his demeanor is any indication. I haven't explored letting him feed himself much yet, which I know we were doing at this age with Jack, but we will get there. He seems to be more sensitive to textures and does an exaggerated gagging sound when any piece of food is even slightly big. But, I am looking forward to putting more finger foods on the high chair tray soon to see what he does.
A few of my current favorite things about Rigby are his purring sounds when he is falling asleep and the way he has been curling up and resting his sleepy head on my shoulder with his soft breathe against my neck as he falls asleep. I also love watching him get social approval for waving and clapping- he is just so proud of himself!
Rigby, you are a true treasure! We love your doughy cheeks, your sweet and infectious smiles, your feathery blonde mohawk hairstyle, and the way you reach out for us when we are near. You are just delicious. We love you so! xxo
PS See Jack at 9 months.
First 2 photos taken on 1/26/16, the last one taken on 1/27/16.