Alaina at 9 Months Old

Dear Alaina Ruth,

As of yesterday, you are 9 months old! The first 9 months of your life definitely flew by faster than the 9 months you spent in the womb! I can't believe you've been outside as long as you were inside :) We're so glad you're here with us!

This past month has been a big one for you as far as development goes. The big news is that you're now crawling! Just yesterday, you started to really crawl, and I can't believe that I have another mobile baby! You've been mobile for a few weeks now, though. Before yesterday, you kind of scooted on your bottom, but now that you've started crawling, I think you're going to quickly leave the scooting behind and be all over the place in no time. We'll have to have a little talk with Aubrey and Jude about leaving small toys on the floor ;) Nothing will be safe on the floor anymore! You can also now go from lying down to sitting up on your own. Such a big girl! We had to lower your crib mattress to accommodate these new skills :) You also cut 2 teeth on the bottom. Your little teeth are so precious! I think you may be getting more. It's hard to tell, but Daddy and I got a glimpse of your gums recently, and they seemed red and swollen.

We added in another solid meal this past month, so you're now eating 3 solid meals a day. You're not a huge fan of oatmeal, but you do like applesauce now! Breakfast is usually applesauce, and lunch and dinner are both some combination of fruits and veggies. You like pretty much everything we've given you. We introduced puffs this past month, and you're not real sure about them. You like to pick them up and examine them, and you even put them in your mouth, but then you usually gag and act like you're choking. You apparently like to scare Mommy half to death ;) I don't think you've swallowed a puff yet, but we'll keep practicing with them until you get the hang of eating them! We're still doing great with nursing. You nurse about 5 times a day, sometimes 6. It all just depends on what time you wake up. We don't have a set schedule, but we have a nice little routine :)

You're still a great sleeper -- praise God! You go to bed about 8-8:30, and you've been sleeping until about 7, at which point you're up for the day. That's a little earlier than I would prefer, but I have to admit that the earlier wake-up does seem to make nap time go more smoothly. Your morning nap is about 2 hours after you wake up, and you sleep for about an hour to an hour and a half. I've stretched your afternoon nap out to about 3 hours after you wake up from your morning nap, and that seems to help you sleep longer. Afternoon naptime is about 2 hours long. We have a good routine for getting you to sleep. I usually nurse you before a nap, but not always. I rock you for a minute, and sometimes you fall asleep, but if you don't, it's been working really well to lay you on your tummy and pat your bottom for just a minute before leaving the room. So far, you've been a really easy baby to get to sleep, and I'm SO thankful because Aubrey and Jude most definitely were NOT ;) Keep up the good work in the sleep department, baby girl!

You continue to be a sweet, easy to please baby. You LOVE playing on the floor. You usually prefer that to being held these days. You don't mind your carseat, you like bath time, and you're good riding in the stroller. Of course, you do have fussy moments, but I'm so thankful that you're usually such a content baby.

We weighed you at home, and according to our (probably not super accurate) scale, you weigh right at 19 pounds. You wear a size 9 month clothes, and you're still in a size 3 diaper.

Today was a big day for you, Alaina! You were baptized at church. This doesn't mean that you are now saved, it is just an outward sign that you are a covenant child. Daddy and I took vows in front of our entire church family and promised to bring you up in the love and admonition of the Lord. We haven't and won't parent you perfectly, but our greatest prayer for you is that one day, hopefully when you're still very young, this outward sign will lead to an inward heart change. We want nothing more than for you (and your brother and sister) to know Christ as your Savior, and we pray that He draws you to Himself and that you experience joy and contentment in the Lord.

We love you so incredibly much, sweet girl. We couldn't be more thankful to the Lord for entrusting you to us.

Love,
Mommy