VIDEO: Little Yapper

Took this video of Abby today while she was in a very screechy mood. She has a real desire to be mobile these days and is getting closer to crawling. She will get to all fours, but can't figure out what to do after that. There has been a lot of whining involved. I am hoping that will subside once she can actually move.

Abby's 9 Month Stats

Abby had her 9 month well check last week. Are you ready for this? Holy Moly, what a little chubbette. She weighed in at 24 lbs 6 oz and she is already 30.5 inches long. She has grown 9 inches in 9 months. That is crazy.
Not much has changed in the last month. Abby is sitting extremely well now and can reach very far to get things without hesitation. She is also pretty good at getting on to her belly from sitting. Crawling is still not in the near future. She has been practicing trying to lift her belly off the ground more though. (Can't be easy to lift that pot belly up :) ) She can scoot around a little on her butt or she can push herself backwards on her belly. She mostly just rolls to get where she wants to go. The Dr. didn't seem to be too concerned about her development even though she has hit all of her milestones late. He said the most important part is just that she continues to make progress and learn new things. But you know us Moms....always worried!

Finally, a tooth!!!

Abby finally has her first tooth. The one on the bottom right broke through the gums on Saturday, 8 days before she turns 9 months. I cannot believe that she still doesn't have teeth on top. Her top gums have been SOOOO swollen for months now. You can even see one little white dot on the top where the tooth is trying to get through. So, needless to say, I was very surprised that she got one on the bottom first. She has been a little cranky, but not too bad. Tylenol and Hylands teething tablets have been her best friends for a couple days. Hopefully she doesn't start to bite mommy now that she has a sharp little tooth!

Abby is 8 Months Old!

Wow, where does the time go? It is hard to believe that my little angel is already 8 months old today. Before I know it we will be celebrating her first birthday.

The last month has been fun. Abby is finally sitting up a little better. We still have to put the boppy pillow around her because when she decides she is done sitting she will just hurl herself backwards. She is capable of sitting and playing on the living room floor for 10-15 minutes at a time though. I didn't sit well until I was 8 months old, so I guess it should be no surprise that she is a late bloomer. Not to mention all that extra weight that she has to support and balance. She is now up to almost 23 lbs, which is about what an 18 month old (50th percentile) would weigh. She is also wearing 18 month old size clothes already. She is has completely off the charts for both her height and weight. She will thin out as she gets older and starts moving around more. After all, she is the next Keri Walsh, and will be bringing home gold in the 2028 Olympics!

Another new development is the sippy cup. We have been working with Abby on drinking out of a sippy cup. She actually does the best with the straw. She loves to practice drinking out of a straw. We still only get about 2 ounces of water in her total throughout the day, but at least she is trying. As some of you know, Abby won't drink out of a bottle, so the possibility of her drinking proficiently out of something other than me is extremely exciting. I am hoping that with enough practice she will be downing the sippy cups full of milk in the next few months.

I finally figured out a nap routine that works for Abby. Now our days are somewhat predictable. Hurray! We really went through a rough patch there for about a month. Looking back on it now, I think she needed to transition to two naps a day and I was still trying to get three out of her. When I finally figured out that she was ready for two naps it still took a while before her body adjusted and she could handle being awake longer. I think we have it down for now. Her naps are still shorter than most babies, but hey, I will take what I can get! But, as we all know, babies are good as throwing you curve balls just when you think you have them down!

I can't wait to see what new developments the next month will bring.

Abby's Nicknames

I thought it would be fun to share the many pet names our little girl has....

• Bean - My little jumping bean in her jumparoo
  
• Muffin - I started this one right after she came home from the hospital, not sure why


• Muffin Top - Daddy started this one because her belly hangs over the top of her diaper


• Muffasa - Somehow Muffin morphed into this


• Baby Bird - Kristina gave her this one


• Turkey Bird - Because she is one


• Little Wolf - She gets a little restless and cranky right before and during the full moon


• Barracuda - For the way she would ferociously latch on to eat when she was a newborn


• Baby Bear - She can be kinda grizzly sometimes

Abby in the Pool

Last summer I bought a kiddie pool for our backyard when I wanted to work on my tan before a trip to Minnesota for work. It is pretty funny because our backyard is still all dirt. So, there is a big dirt lot with a little pool in the middle of it. We decided to set it up again this year so we can take Abby out there in the evenings after the sun goes down a little. I don't think she was really sure what to think about it. Maybe she was thinking it is just a big bathtub! She just kinda sat there with us. She is not really into splashing with hands yet, so I think once she it and once she can sit up by herself she will enjoy it a lot more. Either way it was fun to get some nice hot fresh air.