August's 9 month update!

Well, I am waaaay overdue for an August update.  He is doing so many new things now, it's hard to update on him, because he is constantly changing!  I'll try to break it down into categories.

Height: 28 1/2"
Weight:  19.1 lbs.
Diaper size: 3
Clothing size: 12 months (He can still wear a few 9 month tops, but not bottoms)

Food
As you read in August's breastfeeding story, found HERE, he is no longer nursing.  He now takes about 24-32 oz of formula a day.  I really have no idea how much formula he should be getting.  I know they take in less formula once they are eating food, but I can't find anything online that tells me exactly how much he should be getting.  He usually takes an 8 oz bottle when he first wakes up, and then he'll take 3-4 six oz. bottles throughout the day.  I have been trying to cut back a little in the last week.  We are just going through the formula way too fast.  We bought it twice last week!  That's $50 just in formula!  In a week!  We can't keep doing that.  Surely he is getting plenty.

August is also eating 3 meals a day.  For breakfast, he likes waffles, toast, banana, or oatmeal with fruit mixed in.  For lunch I usually give him a turkey, shredded cheese, fruit, or leftovers from supper from the night before.  For supper, he will have what we are having if it's something he can easily eat.  If he can't eat it (too spicy/greasy, too tough), I will give him something along the same lines as lunch.  He really prefers table food.  As far as table food goes, he loves Nana's chicken noodle soup, sliced cheese, shredded cheese, cheese toast, plain toast, spaghetti, waffles, biscuits, potatoes, chicken, turkey, rice, banana, carrots, avocado...I don't think he has met a table food he didn't like.  Wait I take that back.  He hates green beans.  Spits them right out.  When we are out, he wants to be eating if we are eating, so I will take some puffs, yogurt melts, and a fruit squeeze pouch with us to keep him busy.  He will also usually eat a biscuit or roll from the restaurant.  He usually drinks water out of a sippy cup or out of a straw during meals.



Eating Nana's chicken noodle soup!

Bedtime Routine
August has had the same bedtime routine since he was about 2 months old.  I think that's the key for him sleeping so well.  He knows that it's almost time to go to bed based on what we're doing.  He will usually wake up from his afternoon nap sometime between 4:30 and 5:30.  5:30 if he took a late afternoon nap because we were out somewhere.  We don't stick to the same hours every day but the same routine everyday.  However, our evening ends up kind of being about the same time as far as supper and all that goes.  So when he wakes up from his nap, that's when our evening begins.  He usually has a bottle right when he gets up from his nap.  Then usually sometime around 6:30 or so we will have supper.  He eats with us.  Then sometime a little bit after 7, Adam will give him a bath while I get the kitchen cleaned up.  After Adam gets his pajamas on, I will make August a bottle and he will take that while Adam reads him a story.  This is our family cuddle time.  One of my favorite parts of the day! :)  Then we lay him down in his crib, say prayers with him, turn the lights off, tell him goodnight, and turn the sound machine on.  We have a Cloud B giraffe sound machine.  It has different settings on it.  August likes the water setting that occasionally has bird sounds in the background.  The only thing I don't like about it is that it turns itself off after 45 minutes.  He's always asleep by then, but it would be nice if it played throughout the night since sometimes the dogs can get a little rowdy before we all go to bed.  That routine works great for us. 

Sleep
He sleeps through the night and wakes up between 7:30 and 8 each morning.  So he usually sleeps about 12 hours a night.  I am sooooooo blessed, I know!  If I can just make myself go to bed at night, then I'll be good. 

He takes 2 naps during the day- one in the morning, and one in the afternoon.  The first nap is usually about an hour and a half after he wakes up.  He will sleep anywhere from an hour to 2 and 1/2 hours.  It varies depending on how busy we have been.  The 2+ hour naps are rare though.  In the afternoon he will do about the same.  He is such a light sleeper though.  I'm really not sure why.  If I walk past his room too loudly, he will stir, so I have to tip toe past his door.  I always have the door to his room closed, so he has some supersonic hearing.

August NEVER sleeps anywhere except for his crib.  It is very very very rare for him to sleep somewhere else, particularly in my arms.  He never does it.  But this past weekend, we were at my parents' house, and he was exhausted.  He fell asleep for about 30 minutes in my arms, and I soaked it up.

Language
August is consistently saying "mama" and "baba" now.  His speech is very clear!  He has been sort of saying mama since he was 6 months old, but he used to only say it when he was really upset and screaming, haha.  But now, he will call for me when he wakes up or when I drop him off in the nursery at church.  Sometimes, he will say it just for fun.  It is so sweet!  I have to say, I am loving it!  Just this week, he started saying "dada!"  I got it on video.  Here he is talking away!

I'm pretty sure "baba" is not bottle.  I have sang the sheep song (you can find it HERE) every day to August since he was 2 months or so old.  It's a crazy, but funny song.  We learned it in vacation Bible school one year.  There is a part in the song that says, "I just want to be a sheep ba-ba-ba-ba....", so whenever August says "baba," I will sing the sheep song, and he just lights up and tries to sing along with me.  It is the cutest thing ever.  A lot of mornings he will wake up singing it.  No joke, he gets pretty close to the actual tune.  I'm thinking he will be musical.  Love that!

August understands the word "no."  Gasp!  We tell our child "no"?!?!?  Haha, I know the trend these days is for parents to let children explore and to not use the word no, which I think is hilarious.  What is it with parents these days?  Why is everything baby-lead?  When are people going to be parents and man up?  Ok, rant over. :)  But yes, we tell August no when he heads for electrical outlets, cords, pulls the dogs ears, etc.  As long as you are very serious with him (which can be hard to do when he turns and smiles at you), he will listen.  Sometimes it takes a few times telling him no, but he usually understands and goes the other way.  We always tell him good job and clap for him.

August also has these hilarious conversations.  Sometimes he will say "eh!" and if you will say it back, he will keep it going.  He and Adam did those for over 5 minutes straight in the car the other day.  It's cute, but enough to drive you crazy!  Here is a clip of him "talking" with me a few weeks ago.  I was on the couch all day with "morning" sickness.

Physical Skills
August is great at sitting up.  He has been consistently sitting up since he was 6 and 1/2 months old.  He is also doing a full crawl now.  I posted a couple videos a while back of him doing a belly crawl, but he is now consistently crawling up off of his tummy.  If I leave the room even to go to the kitchen for a second, he is right on my heels.  He doesn't want mommy out of sight.  He is also pulling up on everything now: crib, pack n play, ottoman, people, etc.  He has even started "surfing"- he was in his pack n play and held onto the rail while walking the perimeter of the pack n play.  He was so proud of himself.  Here is a video of the first time I found him standing up in his crib.  He was 7 or 8 months old? I guess 8.  I can't remember.

As far as fine motor skills go, August is very coordinated.  He feeds himself...with his left hand!  He is very strict about left hand only, so it seems we have a lefty on our...hands!  LOL, I crack myself up.  But Adam's mom was a lefty, my dad is a lefty, my paternal grandmother is a left, and my maternal grandmother is a lefty.  So it was bound to happen.  He is also great with grabbing things he needs.  Just this week he started clapping!  We have been trying to get him to clap for a while, but he just wasn't interested.  He is very proud of himself, and now I hear him clapping in the car, in his high chair, and everywhere else.  He loves it. Here he is clapping during breakfast yesterday morning.  He now claps after each bite of food.  Haha. 

Personality
August has quite the personality.  He loves to smile, and he loves for you to act silly, haha.  He is a very easy-going baby when we are out in public.  He is great about going with the flow and enjoys being out.  He prefers for me to hold him, and he can be unsure around other people, but usually handles others pretty well. When he is at home, he wants his schedule.  He wants his food when it's time, his bottle when it's time, and his nap when it's time.  He also knows if you have left him in the pack n play for too long, haha.  He doesn't like to do the same thing for long.  He definitely likes new things and new sights.

Teeth
Bottom 2 are in, and the top 2 have been barely poking through for months now! Not sure what the deal is with them.  Guess they were waiting on the bottom two...

Interests
- Books- loves to be read to or can look at them on his own
- Going for walks in the stroller
- Riding in shopping carts
- Playing with the dogs
- Bath time
- Cartoons (Don't judge, these are my best friends when the all day morning sickness hits.)
- Johnny Jump Up!
- Eating, of course
- Loves his pippy (pacifier)
- Emptying laundry baskets

Best friends....well, from his side at least.  Heidi is not quite as into it. :)




I think the look says it all, haha.

See the destruction behind him?  The only way to keep him occupied while I clean our room is to let him unclean it right behind me.  He loves to empty laundry baskets.  He's cute though, so I think I'll keep him!

First time in big boy bath tub!  (We usually have the infant tub in the bath tub.)  It ended up not working out so well.  He kept trying to crawl, and he would end up sticking his face underwater and then freaking out.

Reading books with Nannie!



His favorite activity right before bed.

Hopefully it won't be so long before I do another update on him!  Thanks for reading!