All About Henry- 9 Months

9 months in, 9 months out. You could say that he was a tad easier to take care of when he was in... :)

At 9 months old:

Henry weighs 21 lbs 12 oz (82 percentile), is 30 1/4 inches tall (98th percentile) and has a head circumference at 82 percentile.

AKA He is a big boy.

Henry now primarily sleeps on his tummy, which is very cute. He rolls all over the place and is generally pretty good at putting himself back to sleep (which took a lot of effort on Cameron and my part). He seems to really like to sleep on his side, but tends to end up on his tummy.

He usually sleeps from 7pm-8am, getting up around 5/6 to nurse. On a good day, he takes a morning and afternoon nap, both lasting 1 hour and a half. And then we went on vacation for Thanksgiving and he is seriously struggling to get  back to our normal routine...

He loves to sit and play with his wooden blocks and dump truck. He also can sit and read eat his books for hours.

On his tummy, he can slide around from side to side and scoot backwards really well. The only problem is that he thinks he is moving forward haha

At times, he gets up on his knees and starts to rock a little bit, but he still has a little ways to go before the crawling takes off.

He has recently starting to try to pull himself up on furniture. Just this morning he was able to pull himself up onto his knees at the coffee table! He doesn't really like to put much weight on his legs. When I try to get him to stand, he keeps his legs parallel to the floor and won't put them down.

Henry has 2 very sharp teeth. I'm about to throw in the towel on nursing because this little kid BITES me just about every single time he eats. The struggle is real, folks.

Henry wears mostly 12 and 18 month clothes (and occasionally 24 month :'( ). At this rate, he's going to be in like size 8yo clothes (is that even a size?) by the time he turns 2.

As for my dairy intake: I've been eating cheesy delicious things for awhile now (in moderation) and so I thought Henry might be over the dairy thing. So, a couple days ago I boldly had my first cup of milk in 3 months. Well, that was a mistake. He was up about every hour and a half all night long just crying/screaming/pushing-like he had to poop or had a tummy ache. So... no more milk for mommy. Which is a major bummer.

He is a really good eater with solid foods. He eats almost anything you give him. He also loves his water bottle/sippy cup. He is getting better and better at picking up food (cheerios mostly) and putting them in his mouth. But a lot of times, he is lazy and just puts his mouth to the table to get the cheerio, no hands involved. It's hilarious to watch. It's like he is a bird pecking his food.

I think that about covers it! Now for some pictures:

This was my best attempt at 9 month photos....

Are we done yet, mom?

Granby time 

K-State campus is beautiful during fall

Papa

Papa

Happy Thanksgiving!

My beanie fits my 9 month old's head

Tractor time with Granbob or PaBob or Grandpa Bob 

Twinsies

-Anna

Henry- 8 Months

I know I say this every month, but seriously? Where has the time gone?!!

At 8 months, Henry:

He has successfully transitioned out of his swaddle for naps and nighttime. I still wrap the blanket around his torso to give him some warmth, but both arms are free as can be (except for the socks I put on his hand so he doesn't scratch his face up when he rubs his eyes).

He can officially roll over!! The first time (I think it was 10/21/15 but can't remember exactly) we thought was a fluke because my ipad was nearby, which gave him extra motivation to roll. But then, that very night, he decided he was a rolling machine and I was in and out of bed all. night. long. He would roll onto his tummy, wake up, and cry. Over and over again. I'm so glad he can roll over! Except not really. And this has basically been every night since then.

He has become very good at sitting by himself and playing with his toys. He doesn't tip over very much and when he does, he is very good at pulling his arms out and is content on his tummy.

Everything goes into his mouth. I mean everything. And he usually doesn't bring said-object to his face, he bring his face to said-object. Which is hilarious.

His favorite toys right now are his books. I realized the other week that in order to instill a love for books in him, he needs more time with his books. So I pulled a few out and he is just enthralled with them! He especially enjoys chewing on all the corners and leaving cute little tooth marks. I can usually find him with small pieces of dissolved book covers on the corners on his lips.

He continues to love his purple teething hand and also his 4 balls on ropes. As for non-toy objects he likes, he LOVES remotes, his monitor, my keys, my wallet, and definitely my phone. Part of me wants to get a smart phone, but the other part of me knows that Henry will destroy it within 24 hours.

Henry got his very first tooth this month! I first started to feel it on 10/7/15. It took about a week before we could see it and now, it is as sharp as ever!

Henry is a big fan of solid foods. I'm trying to think if we've introduced anything new in the last month.. We've just started squash, peaches, beef, bananas, and prunes. He continues to love peas, green beans, pears, apples, sweet potatoes, The only thing he really does not like is the pureed chicken or ham.

I have started reintroducing dairy into my diet. I'm trying to add dairy to one meal a day, increasing in quantity. And man, have I missed that stuff. It's hard to say whether being dairy-free did anything at all because when I starting having cheese again, he also starting teething and transitioning out of the swaddle. So he hasn't been the best sleeper recently, but there are a plethora of reasons why that could be the case. So pass the queso!!

As for breastfeeding, I usually feed him 4 times a day. Once after he wakes up in the morning, once around lunchtime, and once right before bed. And I usually feed him once in the middle of the night. He gets solid food about twice a day ish. I need to start increasing it (it's really just laziness on my part. Nursing is so much faster!!).

Now for some pictures! (I still haven't figured out how to upload videos. Once I do, let the flood gates open).

From my device:

10.8.15 

10.12.15

10.16.15 Aggieville Trick or Treat

Last minute M&M costume 

Trying to escape the photo shoot

8 months old!

10.27.15

From Cam's phone:

10.31.15 poor nap day at the pumpkin patch

yummy dead corn

This Never Happens

Dashing young man 10.25.15

10.24.15 Weenie Roast 

10.18.15 pictures at church

10.9.15 Squinty eyes :)

tasting the pretty flower

10.7.15 Dress up at Target

10.4.15 Sunday walks

-Anna

All About Henry- 7 months

I can't believe Henry is already 7 months old. It makes my mommy heart really sad to think about how fast he is growing. Why can't he stay little forever?!

Henry has been loving trying all sorts of new food. So far he loves: peas, green beans, carrots, apples, pears, peaches, and oatmeal. He has also enjoyed some ice cream, pineapple sherbet, ketchup, and dill pickle.

His very first attempt at solid food was with avocado. And it did not go well at all. I'm pretty sure it's because the avocado wasn't ripe yet, and therefore super bitter. Sorry buddy! He's pretty much loved everything else he has tried, so that's why we think it was a bad batch.

He loves drinking water out of his sippy straw cup. I'm not entirely sure how much he actually drinks... A lot of times I see him suck water up and then it dribbles pours right back out of his mouth and down his shirt. But he has a lot of fun trying and I know he gets some of it down.

Right now, he eats while in his bumbo with a little tray that clips on. I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to squeeze his chubby thighs into it though.. We might need to invest in a real highchair sooner than expected.

I always put a bib on him before we start, but it doesn't always last very long. He isn't used to a bib, so he is constantly looking down, chin to chest, to examine the bib and try to eat it, while simultaneously trying to pull it off.

His favorite toy is his purple teething hand. He also really likes his plastic keys.

No teeth yet. He chews on anything he can find with his mouth, but luckily (for me), nothing has cut through yet.

He loves story time and holding onto his books and putting them in his mouth.

He loves to talk and sing to us all day. It's very high pitched and extremely cute. I sing back to him and we have lots of singing/squealing conversations. I love my job.

He is still obsessed with Cameron's voice. If Cameron is within hearing distance, Henry is looking for him. And he just stares at Cam until he stops talking.

You know how if one baby cries, usually the other babies start to cry too? Well I don't know what kind of sick humor Henry has, but he has been known to laugh when another baby starts to cry. We're going to have to work on the whole empathy thing...

He can officially sit by himself! I strategically always have a pillow behind him since he has a tendency to tip over, but he can last a really long time. When he tips forward or to the side, he's really good at pulling his arms out and staying on his tummy. He usually doesn't get too upset, unless he lands on a hard toy or something. But he seems to love this new-found independence. He can sit forever and ever and just play with his toys on his own. It's great!

Still no rolling over yet. But that's fine by me. When he is on his tummy, he can pivot all the way around in a circle, like the hands of a clock. It's really fun to watch. Usually I'll put him down facing one direction, and when I turn around a few minutes later, he's facing the opposite wall. So, he gets around, even without rolling over.

Some friends of ours recently brought over a jumperoo, which Henry has LOVED. It sings and lights up when he jumps (which is a lot), and he is surrounded by bright, fun toys that are new and so fun to him. He spends lots of time jumping and sucking on the butterfly. He is very good at the spinning toys, as well. He is such a curious little guy.

He gets very focused on things. For example, he will be wiggling and squacking like normal and then all of a sudden finds something interesting to focus on (usually his hands) and then he just zooms in. Doesn't notice or care about what else is around him. Then he just dives in and quickly puts whatever said object is into his mouth to devour. This makes for very fast mom-eyes and hands, as some of these objects are inedible/too small/not for Henry's mouth.

We have recently been transitioning from 3 to 2 naps a day. Our typical day looks like this: wake up around 8:30/9 and take Dad to school. Come back and nurse. Eat oatmeal/applesauce. Play. Nap from 10:30-12. Wake up and nurse. Eat/Play/Errands/Etc. Nap 2-3:30. Wake up and nurse. Eat/Play/pick Dad up from school/Etc. Nurse around 6:30 and down for bed by 7. Sometimes he falls asleep nursing, but if not, he falls asleep as soon as he's swaddled and alone in his crib.

Recently, we have been putting a stuffed animal in his crib with him to keep him company. We rotate between Mickey Mouse, Elephant, Polar Bear, Giraffe, to name a few. He still loves talking to his quilt when he wakes up, but sometimes he wants something different to stare at as he falls asleep. Mickey usually does the trick :)

I have been off of dairy for about 3 weeks now and Henry has been sleeping through the night more often than not. Which is great! Except it sucks. I never realized how much dairy is in my everyday foods until I started reading labels and realized that I can't eat anything. I live off of soy milk now and steer clear of any cheesy or creamy foods (which are the most delicious). Mac N Cheese anyone? Pizza? :'( It's only for a few more months. It's only for a few more months. It's only for... I can do this. Or maybe we'll switch to formula?... Haha. We'll see how long I last.

Basically, Henry is such a joy to be around. He is such a happy kid. As long as he is sleeping well and pooping well, he is content as can be!

Now here are some pics (the real reason you clicked on our blog):

Henry's first flight 9.1.15

I forgot to mention our trip to Texas! Cameron had a conference in Austin over Labor Day weekend, so Henry and I decided to tag along and make a trip out of it. My in-laws live in San Antonio, so Henry got to spend some much needed quality time with Granby and Papa while Daddy went to his conference. My in-laws are in the process of moving, so there was a lot of renovations going on while we were there (bad timing on our part- Sorry!), but Henry was finally able to meet his Aunt Krista, Uncle Paul, and cousins Paul, Michael, and Asher. We had a lot of fun with all the Brown Boys together. We had a really great time hanging out with our Texas family and can't wait to visit again.

Our trip to Texas marks Henry's first flight! I was really, really nervous about timing and air pressure and nursing and sleeping and carseat versus lap and all the things a new mother stresses about for baby's first flight. Well, to our luck, there was extra seats in 3 out of our total 4 flights, so Henry was able to sleep in his carseat just fine for almost all the flights. Our last flight on the way home was full, so he had be be in our lap (and if you don't know, he is NOT a snuggly/cuddly baby. Translation: He Will Not Sleep In Our Arms). Or should I say, MY arms. Cameron, on the other hand, must be a baby-whisperer, because he somehow settled the crying, over-tired Henry and got him to fall asleep and stay asleep the rest of the flight. Which reminds me... Right before he got real tired, he had a poopsplosion, which Cameron also dealt with.

I had just very uncomfortably nursed Henry in a middle seat, squished between Cameron and a very tall man who took up every square inch of his allotted space by the window. And as I was burping him (and trying to block Henry's very persistent attempts at grabbing my neighbor's sleeve), I felt an explosive rumble. I peeked through the top of his onesie and saw the slime creeping up to the brim of the diaper. I elbowed Cam and told him we needed to change him NOW, before it seeped out and got all over. Cam's like, Well, he's just going to have to wait until we land. Approximately 4 seconds later, I peeked into his onesie again to see that it had spilled over the top and it was game over. I handed Cameron the baby, the changing pad, and a new outfit and said, Good luck! It was a good long while before they came out of that tiny lavatory. Apparently it was a sight to see. Let's just say, there was poop inside the diaper, on the backside of the diaper, all up his back, and everywhere else it could go as Cam changed him in this tiny bathroom, where everything is within grabbing distance for a 6 month old. He was royally grossed out and I was put on diaper duty for the next month. Hahaha Oh the joys of parenthood :)

First Carrots 9.2.15

Cam doing his thang at AAMFT

Henry's first trip to the zoo

9.11.15

Jumperoo in his adorable plaid flannel shirt 9.13.15

First time sitting in the shopping cart. He loved it! 9.19.15

6 months 8.31.15

7 months 10.4.15

Now that I'm all caught up, I hope to be more on top of this blog. Maybe I'll even write fun posts, not just boring month to month posts. That's the plan! Stick around and you might see who has the best Oreo Churros in town...