Month 9: The month of mobility

Max is a very active, alert, energetic, engaged happy little baby. Rarely does he cry. He is keeping us entertained and busy, for sure.

Things Max can do and does:

• Pull self up to sitting from crawling
• Feed himself…starting with Cheerios. At first the coordination between his thumb and index finger was a little uncoordinated, and not so precise. By the end of his 9th month, he’s doing much better.
• Respond to his name
• Play peek-a-boo
• Look for Mama underneath a pillow, or follow her into another room
• Feed Daddy Cheerios and squeal with delight while doing so
• Clap hands
• Wave bye-bye
• Touch Daddy’s nose
• Look for “boob-milk” by pulling up Mama’s shirt
• Hold his bottle
• “Run” (crawl) away and giggle when being chased by Mama
• Talk constantly: da-da, ba-ba, ga-ga, ma-ma
• Blow raspberries
• Pet Mattie Silks
• Look for Mattie Silks when not in the room
• Bang on tables and floor to mimic Mama or Papa

Things Max likes and loves:

• Remote controls
• Mattie's water dish
• Balloons
• Certain toys at certain times
• Eating

We have to admit that he is exhausting us and we can’t wait until the next visits from Maxwell’s Grandparents. Brendan’s parents will be here over New Year’s for a few days, and my mom will be here the third week in January. We’re looking forward to a little help with this busy boy…and are dying to go to a movie.

During this month, I found a great way to baby-proof a house:

1. Set baby down
2. Observe
3. Remove whatever he/she is drawn to the most (it won’t be the toys and books)

We weaned Max from nighttime feedings, and he is mostly sleeping through the night. When he does wake up, it only takes a few pats on the butt and head rub to get him back to sleep. Usually Brendan gets up when he wakes because I have a difficult time not picking him up, rocking, or nursing him. It’s easier for Brendan to only do the butt pat and head rub. Mama always wants to do more. Whatever Brendan does is magical because it usually only takes one try. As of the past few nights, Max doesn’t even wake up until 4:30 or 5:00. If he wakes after 4:00, he comes into bed with us to nurse. If he doesn’t fall asleep while nursing (he doesn’t) then he goes back to the crib and usually cries himself to sleep within 60 seconds. It’s so nice to get consecutive hours of sleep.

Napping is most difficult. According to daycare, he naps twice a day - once around 8:30am and again around noon or 1:00pm. However, we struggle with getting Maxwell to nap. Sometimes I feel like I spend the entire weekend just trying to get him to sleep. If he doesn’t nap it can make for a really long evening. This is when I really see a difference in being a fulltime working mom. If I were at home, I don’t believe naps would be such a problem because I would know his routines. I do believe that Max naps at daycare, and that he and Rabija have a routine together. On weekends and breaks, I struggle because I don’t know his routine and we don’t do things the same as Rabija does.

Max has been out of the womb as long as he was in it. It’s hard to believe that I was pregnant, had a baby, was on maternity leave for 6-months and have been back at work for 3-months. I can’t say the time has gone too fast, but it hasn’t been slow either. I have to admit that I miss being on maternity leave – but I don’t want to go back nonetheless. I’m glad that I had so much time with him when he was such a tiny boy, and I’m glad that I cherished every moment. But with Maxwell being such a little sponge and learning so much every single day, I look forward to what he’ll do next. I see changes in him by the hour sometimes and I get excited for all the things to come.