9 Months Already

 

My daughter turned 9 months on 10/30th. She is officially  the same age out as she was that I carried her. Her last appointment was on 10/24th. Me and her dad do not celebrate Halloween so she won't dress up.

• Weight: 19 pounds, 8 ounces
• Height: 29 1/2 inches (85th percentile)

I am concerned about her weight, It has been so difficult with getting her to eat solid foods.  The doctor said that as babies learn to move on their own, and work so hard at it, they burn more calories, and their weight gain can slow down. Despite that I am not comfortable with her weight so I upped her cereal intake at night and have been trying to add bananas. I would prefer her to gain as much as she can especially through the flu season.

She is so "talkative"., I mean when she wakes at 5:00 a, she is chatting away. She has been saying "mama", "dada" and is making lots of other sounds.  She also squeals and screams.  She is a happy baby!  She loves attention and will give smiles so freely.  She loves it when people talk to her. 

My girl  is full of energy!!!  She is getting around on the bed with her own critical thinking and throwing herself at items out of reach mainly the remote.  She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks, but goes back down.  She can stand with assistance but no steps...

At the moment mommy is starting the beginning phases of her 1st Birthday Party Planning....Can you believe it? Wow.

While we do not celebrate Halloween and she will not dress up, here are a few dressed babies I thought were too cute not to post. I got the images from Carter & Macys. I have no rights to them and I am just reposting with links.

Carters Website

Cute Babies

A Year Ago

 

 

 

...... I was 25 weeks pregnant.

Geez that old cliché the difference a year will make is so true.

 

I am so thankful to God and CNY Albany. Thankfully, the pain of infertility doesn’t reign any longer

 

https://journeytobabymaking.blogspot.com/2017/10/

Traveling With an 8 Month old

We travelled to Raleigh NC alone and things were not too bad. We stayed downtown and it was amazing. The weather was great and the  museums were actually really awesome.
Raleigh is an interesting bustling little city with lots of history.
This was a trip with friends to see a friend. It was by chance we even stayed in a hotel because she offered her home. We didn't want to impose and decided since we got such a great deal on the hotel why not.
We enjoyed breakfast at The Mecca and Lunch/Brunch at Beasley's Chicken & Honey and of course we dined at Rye Bar and Southern Kitchen in the hotel which was the Marriott City Center.


Pics from Beasley's Chicken
 

Let me try to summarize some tips for travel that worked for us.

Booking the trip- I chose JetBlue for a few reasons. Roomy seats ( I am tall) so this was a big deal, complimentary boarding for parents, complimentary snacks and a screen to keep her occupied.
Side Note-We will be flying again for thanksgiving on Allegiant Airlines. I am NOT excited about it but oh well let's see what happens. We only chose them due to pricing. I had to pay for priority boarding just so we can go on sooner with an infant. I had to also pay for roomier seats which sucked as well since we are both tall. I already dread flying without any entertainment for her but I will have to think of something or bring my tablet or another game I can silence.

Airport/TSA- plan extra time for TSA. I travelled on a Thursday afternoon and it was crowded. TSA opened and checked every carton of her milk. I checked a bag but for the carry on I brought ready to feed formula which made life so much easier for pouring and serving. My advice - " Ready to Feed Formula"

Stroller/Carrier/Carryon Backpack/ Ear Covers/Travel Bottle- The  day before travel I was lucky to score a used ergo classic baby carrier. So it was me trying to maneuver the stroller with a squirming baby in the ergo carrier for boarding. It was almost hilarious but really it was tiring. The kind gate agent  moved us up to the an empty second row so we were alone and boy did she babble and babble until she finally fell asleep. My sweet girl did not seem to be bothered by the flight or ear popping but I had ear covers.

She was not a fan of the travel bottle and we lost  it in the rental car somewhere. I am loving the travel stroller purchased. It was fairly inexpensive, light weight, easy to fold down, extensive cover for protection and it has 3 positions including, forward or rear facing, it can fit the car seat. It's perfect and inexpensive.

On the flight back she was a lot more excitable and whiny. Am not sure if it was sleep position, teething, or just hating to sleep on mom's lap but it took much longer to settle her down. Mom was just as tired an cranky and we had a really early flight ( 7am)...this was not smart but the only non stop out.
I did have a slight issue with the return gate agent. I had and paid for a seat up front but decided against it and asked for an empty row in the back if available and the agent gave me a lecture that parents didn't automatically get free seats. I had to point out and remind her- I PAID for seats upfront, I am forfeiting that for uncomfortable seats in the back of the plane....what is the issue? I was happy to land, make it home and still have the day to rejuvenate. She slept a lot when we got home, I guess she was worn out from the quick weekend trip. All in all we had a great time and would visit again. Mom is not a pro at travelling but I know in future that I may take a boppy for her to lay her whole body cross


Travel Stroller


 Travel Bottle (purchased from Buy Buy Baby but Amazon has them as well)


 Ergobaby 3 Position
 Baby Carry On Bag Backpack

  Baby Ear Covers

8 Months & Counting

8 Months Old & counting

My little darling turned 8 months on 9/30/2018 and I have been forgetting to take the pics of her  milestones. :-) Much like I did when I was pregnant and did not do the weekly pics. 

So much as been happening like we went on our first trip together and it was well kind of a success.

It is entirely too long since I sat down long enough to focus on a blog post. I'm sure my absence hasn't ruined anyone's day, but, since I view this blog as a scrapbook of sorts, I'd like to avoid too may gaps.

Baby
She has a hot and cold relationship with wanting to crawl, it is basically a get on her knees rock and decide against it type of thing. You want to know the odd thing? She loves to pull herself up, on me or in the pack n play. I am not sure she will crawl, perhaps it may be pull up to walk and no crawl but we shall see. She babbles, talks, yells, watch her nursery on TV. Yes I said watch the television. She has limited time at home and it is is all geared towards baby learning. I will gladly refute any comment that says otherwise. Her baby cousin is 5 and watched baby can read for hours....he is not only highly intelligent he is considered "gifted" & is doing exceptionally well in school. At 3 years old he could recite bible verses, readings etc, and makes nothing but high scores in school.  While I agree that not too much screen time, the time spent on screen should be educational which it mostly is in our household. I remember when I visited and he was maybe 9 months in the crib watching the series and I wondered if he was actually learning and time proved yes he was.

At the end of the day we as parents have to do what's best for our children.

She is drooling, but she has been drooling for months and I see nothing going on in there.
As for food, she is definitely interested and tries to grab food, she is tasting things here and there but it is my aim to get her to eat more.

Right now I am considering ideas for her 1st birthday party. On one hand I am all ready to do it but on the other I might keep it simple and small.