Hair:
Still straight. Getting longer. Coppery colour.
Eyes:
Greeny brown
Teeth:
She got her top right one for a total of 6. I think she is working on two new top teeth.
Size:
Measured on the 10th. 17lbs 10ozs and 37 inches long (I think she’s longer - she was having a fit about laying naked on the protective paper.)
Eating:
She was eating really well until we gave her yogurt. Now it’s a fight to get anything that isn’t yogurt into her. I was hoping it was her teeth that was causing her to like cold stuff but I think she just likes yogurt. Claire is very stubborn. I am now a pro at mixing things with yogurt.
I have her cheerios. She plays with them and drops them on the floor. She will eat baby cookies.
She is still nursing (mostly at night…) a few times a day. She can go quite a long time during the day and I have to remember to feed her because she won’t cry. I am trying to get as much into her during the day in hopes of getting her to go longer at night. It’s not working.
She still gets a bottle of formula at bedtime.
Sleep:
Claire is a sleeping disaster this month. I just read last month’s update and it seems like an impossible dream at this point.
We are having a hard time getting her to nap. She seems to want to nap when she’s in the car and will fall asleep on the way to drop off the girls and then wake up when I have to take her out to drop them off. The catnap settles her need for sleep but then she’ll fall asleep again when we pick them up and again get woken up. If she naps at home she never lasts long.
Bedtime is going well and she is usually asleep by 7:45. She usually gets up at least twice before I go to bed and then every 2-3 hours for the rest of the night.
She is back in bed with us. She had a cold a couple of weeks ago and on night three of hourly wakings I gave in. I bought my first book this month and it has lowered my sleep expectations as well as reinforced our decisions.
Getting Around:
Claire started crawling this month and is now into everything. She did the commando for a couple of days and then figured out there was a better way. She is pulling up onto her knees. She has taken some good spills but she recovers quickly. She isn’t overly daring but sometimes she gets excited and loses her balance. She likes to stand if you hold her up and you have to bend her knees to get her to go down. She also does this funny move where she goes up on pointed toes and puts her butt up in the air. She also has the v sit position mastered - I think babies would find pilates a piece of cake.
Things she’s saying:
We have heard so many sounds this month. B, D, G, E, I, M, N, P,V, W, Y combined with uh, ah, ee, um. I know I’m missing some but she’s always talking and copying us. She does have her serious moments but I doubt Claire’s speech is going to be delayed by having two sisters.
Things she’s doing this month
-eating yogurt, yogurt and more yogurt
-being stubborn
-making faces. Current favourites are the “you did not just put a vegetable in my mouth” disgusted look and the “I’m so hurt you gave me to a stranger” lip quiver.
-she settles well in nursery and by all reports has a lot of fun. She also naps for them…little monkey.
-being surprising good natured on very little sleep
-repeating sounds we make
-initiating games of peekaboo around corners or with a blanket
-crawling around and discovering toys. She loves to pull out the baskets and empty them one thing at a time
-Doing the stiff body when we try and put her in the carseat
-losing her attachment to her soother
-showing an interest in books and sitting still while we show her things
-playing with her sisters. She loves when they tickle her. She also crawls around looking for them.
-playing with the door stoppers
-hanging out near the closet mirror and giggling at herself
Personality:
I think the trait that sticks out the most this month is how stubborn Claire is. Her resolve is quite impressive - and very frustrating.
She is still very easy going during the day and is content to crawl around the main floor exploring. She loves when she gets down into the basement - so many things she can explore with supervision. Emma and Leah are all over the rules and serve as two extra sets of eyes when it comes to keeping Claire safe.
My only complaint is that I wish she’d sleep more. It’s been way too long since I had 5 hours of consective sleep nevermind 8 hours!
Claire - 9 months
“I had yogurt for dinner….”
