Mila: 9 Months

It's been a LONG time - a long time since I've posted and a long time since I posted a Mila Milestone entry.  The last one was when she was 4 months old.  BAD MOM.  You can also add a note to my Bad Mom Resume because I forgot to feed my daughter yesterday.  She was being super cranky while we were out shopping when I realized I was TWO HOURS LATE feeding her a bottle.  Gah.  Poor thing. 

Her 9-month check up with the doctor was last week.  It was my favorite visit so far because there weren't any vaccinations!  Wahoo!  Here are her stats:

• 15th percentile for weight, 85 percentile for height
• 18.5 lbs
• 7 teeth with 1 on it's way
• Infection in both ears

I knew something was wrong with her ears so I made sure to point it out to the doctor.  It was bad enough that she would have noticed anyway.  It's so hard trying to decipher what might be wrong with a tiny human who can't speak yet.  I forgot how frustrating it can be.  She's been rubbing her ears a lot for the past couple weeks and periodically had a low grade fever, but I kept thinking it might be related to the teething.  The last appointment she had I was worried about an ear infection for these same reasons, but there was nothing wrong with her ears at that appointment.  I was so sad she was in pain that could have been fixed and I did nothing. 

Yesterday and today she is in much better spirits.  She has this gravely chuckle whenever she sees Travis, Aiden or I.  She thinks Aiden is hilarious.  I usually put Mila to bed whenever she gets tired in the evening.  During the week this can be as early at 6 pm (because she refuses to nap at daycare).  On the weekends it's usually between 7 and 8.  When I put her to bed early, I can focus on Aiden at his bedtime.  But when I put her to bed at the same time as Aiden, I can read them books together, which is super cute.  The downfall of simultaneous bedtimes (nap or at night) is they just sit in there and laugh at each other.  Saturday I walked in when I heard them giggling over the baby monitor.  Mila was standing and she fell onto her butt (on purpose) and they both started laughing.  It's pretty darn cute, but a little frustrating.

Mila is a blast.  I love her.  She is so sweet.  She loves hugs.  She loves to be held, unless she wants to explore, and then it's 'leave me be, woman'.  I was gone two weeks ago for a work trip.  Mila had learned to pull up on the bath tub a couple days before I left.  When I got back, she was pulling up on everything.  A few days later she was cruising around tables and furniture. Saturday she stood unassisted for the first time.  Now she does it all the time.  She pulls up on something, then lets go to put a toy in her mouth.  She is growing TOO FAST.  

Oh!  She is a GREAT eater.  She eats all the purées we offer her.  I refuse to feed her that nasty, watery meat mush you can get in a jar, but we have been offering her the meat we all eat since the doctor's approval last week.  She loves eating potatoes, puffs, frozen bananas, steak and all the fruit and veggie purées I offer.  I haven't really run across anything she doesn't like yet.

I just took all the pictures off my phone, so here are the only three photos I have of her with me:

She loves the musical magnet farm that Aiden used to play with.

In the nice weather, we've been going outside more recently.  She likes to pick up every speck of dirt, plants and sticks she can get her hands on.  The trick is to keep a close enough eye on her that she doesn't ingest them all.

My dad asked for a photo of us together.  Mila was a little grumpy because of her ear infection/teething when I took this shot.

 And a quick comparison:

Neither baby has had a hair cut by this point.