9 Months!!!

Maura turned 9 months old on Friday. Wow! Unbelievable. She's now been with us for as long as we were pregnant waiting for her:)

Dada and I love you very much, baby girl!

Here's this month's bunny chair pics:


Weight: 18 lbs. 15 oz.

Height: 29.5 inches

Breastfeeding/Bottles/Solids: We stopped breastfeeding this past month, so she's just eating solids and drinking bottles. She has 3 solid meals a day and 5 - 6 bottles.

New Foods/Eating Habits: We've tried lots of new foods over the last month! She's still eating the Stage 2 purees and we are constantly experimenting with finger/table food. Maura's meals always consist of a fruit or veggie puree (depending on the time of day and usually mixed with rice cereal, we also alternate with baby yogurt instead of puree for breakfast), some Gerber Lil' Crunchies (she now likes all the flavors) to keep her occupied and one real table food. So far for real food she likes bananas, mozzarella cheese sticks, Ritz crackers, pasta, hot dogs, popcorn, and blueberry pancakes.

Bedtime: 7:45/8 pm

Sleep Habits: We have come so far with sleep in the last month! We borrowed the Dr. Ferber "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" book from a friend and it worked like a charm!!! Maura had a couple of "problems": 1. she would only fall asleep at the end of a bottle or on the breast and then we had to successfully keep her asleep while putting her down in her crib and 2. she would wake up in the middle of the night randomly, cry and only go back to sleep if I breastfed her. After reading the book, I realized that this all went back to the fact that she did not know how to fall asleep on her own. We had to break her of the associations of the bottle/breast with going to sleep and teach her to fall asleep in her crib while awake. Once she had accomplished that, if she woke up in the middle of the night (which is normal), she would be able to fall back to sleep on her own. Both Paul and I were dreading the "ferberizing" because we thought it would be terrible and she would be "crying it out" forever, etc. We started with nap time on a Friday and she did so well! We only had to go back into her room to comfort her a couple of times over the next few days, mostly she just fell asleep after a few minutes of crying/talking to herself, moving all around in the crib. Nap time and bed time are so not stressful anymore! She takes two naps a day and now sleeps consistently for an hour each time. She sleeps through the night until about 7am and has not gotten up in the middle of the night crying since we started (3 weeks ago) - she has woken up a few times, we can hear and see her on the monitor, but she makes little noises to herself, turns on her Fisher Price Aquarium, lays there quietly and falls back to sleep. It is sooooo nice going to bed at night knowing you won't have to get up at 2 or 3 am:) I'm really proud of the great job she has done and I feel better knowing we've helped her with one of life's big lessons...learning how to fall asleep on your own.


Developmental Milestones: Maura is constantly pulling herself up to a standing position, she can stand for a few seconds on her own, she can walk/side step holding onto to something (like along the coffee table) and will walk a few steps if you're holding her hands on either side or will walk toward you from something else if you help her, she learned how to actually sit down from a standing position as opposed to just falling down onto her butt, she has started waving (although I'm not sure she really knows what it is), and just over the last few days she has clapped a couple of times!


Firsts: first Memorial Day, first time putting her feet in the ocean, first time on a ride at the mall


Favorite Toys: still loving all her toys from last month - books, Fisher Price Stack and Roll Cups, VTech Sit to Stand Learning Walker, the plush Rocking Caterpillar Paul's parents got her for Christmas, the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Cookie Shape Jar, Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Laughing Kitchen, and Haba Wonder Dice. I think we need to get some new toys to add to the mix. Any suggestions?


Favorite Pastimes: listening to music (she starts bopping up and down the second it comes on), playing in her room, following mommy around (crawling), Gymboree Play and Learn class, standing holding onto anything and everything, bath time, play dates with Jack

{Maura and Jack}

Least Favorite Pastimes: getting into her car seat, getting her diaper changed and getting dressed

{Tuesday Gymboree class...bubbles!}

{Thursday Gymboree class...Mason, Cam, Morgan, Maura}

PS. Don't forget to enter the Shabby Apple dress giveaway!!