I’m boring myself by the constant exclamations of surprise at how big my baby suddenly is, but OH MY GOD MY BABY IS NINE MONTHS OLD TODAY. Seriously. Sheesh.
Like every month before it, the past one has been a whirlwind of firsts, milestones and surprising developmental leaps that I just wasn’t ready for. Baby Girl can now pull herself to standing and cruise round the furniture. She’s been crawling for nearly three months now and has perfected her running crawl down a tee. She’s solid and strong, holding her own as she wrestles and plays with her older sister.
This has also been the month where she’s learned to clap her hands, which is exceptionally cute. She can also do the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star hand movements, which she sometimes combines with the odd hand clap, just for added smiles.
We also (finally) have the first teeth. The front bottom ones came through within a week or so of each other. One of them arrived on the day we went into London last week which explains why she was a bit grizzly on the journey home.
We’re getting lots of baby babbling that is starting to resemble the beginnings of proper words now, my favourite being the “Mamamamamamamama”. Every now and again she’ll make a sound that could almost be a real word, reminding me how exciting it is when they suddenly start talking.
She’s a little champ, constantly smiling and laughing. Baby Girl adores company, and will flash big cheesy grins at anyone who shows an interest in her. She has this deep belly laugh which is completely infectious, even when you’re tired, hot and feeling frazzled by To Do lists and jobs that never seem to get finished.
Sleep is becoming more reliable these days. We’ve had a few more of those mythical unbroken nights recently, which has been incredible. I had my first ever unbroken eight hour stretch of sleep the other night since she’s been born, when Baby Girl slept from 10.30pm after waking for a feed, through to 7am the following morning. Every other time she’s done this I’ve still woken, but that night I was out cold. Of course that was followed by a night where she woke every two to three hours, but I guess that’s the law of baby. Interestingly, the (self-proclaimed) Northern Love Machine is now able to settle her at night, which gives me some welcome relief on bad nights.
During the day she’s happiest napping in her cot and tends to have one big nap (two to three hours) and a shorter nap later on, unless it’s a baby swimming day when she’ll do a quick nap in the morning in the car and then a longer nap in the afternoon. This is great because it means I can get a bit of work done. As much as I loved the days of her snoozing on me while I watched Netflix, it’s nice to actually be able to get stuff done while she sleeps.
It feels like we’ve always been a family of four, even though this time last year we were still waiting to meet her. Frog told me the other day that she loves being a big sister, even though little sisters are “sometimes a bit annoying”. As a big sister myself, I can fully agree with that statement.
The next month will see us begin the school holidays and have our longest time together as a family yet. I’m hoping there will be more “lovely sister” moments than “annoying sister” ones. Fingers crossed.
Oh my goodness, SUCH a lovely age! Look at that face…
Oh wow your babies are super cute! Even being pregnant I already can’t believe how quickly the time is flying past…I already want it to slow down as before I know it I’ll be doing ‘my baby is 6 months old’ reflections and that thought makes me already emotional. Enjoy every minute, hope the summer brings you lots of family fun and precious memories xx
You’re right – time has this weird quality of speeding up really quickly when you’re pregnant and forever more from then on. It’s like the rule of baby, or something!
I LOVED this age, they are sooo cute and really strating to show theire personalities. Also a little in love with the cuteness of that cheeky smile in the second photo! x
Such a good age and I always love the 9 month thing when you know they’ve been ‘out’ for as long as they were ‘in’! She’s so cute x
Wow how fast has time gone, I cannot believe she is 9 months already and by the sounds of it really on the move – pulling herself up – wow, I am not ready for things with Baby G who is rolling over everywhere.
Laura x
She’s so cute, and I think it goes so quickly, and they change at such a rapid rate, that it is good to take note of every little thing.
I’m definitely finding that it’s going quicker second time around. I feel like I blink and suddenly another month has passed!
Nine months, how is this possible?! Surely we’re still blogging about our pregnancies…Nice work on the sleep, hope it lasts! x
It’s hit and miss – I shan’t tempt fate by saying it’s too improved just yet!
Molly, how has nine months passed already?! Can’t believe how much like Frog she looks – absolutely gorgeous. x
It’s gone WAY too quickly. I keep expecting to wake up and both my girls will suddenly be teenagers and I’ll be, like, WHERE DID YOUR CHILDHOODS GO?! *wail*
SO SO cute. Like, seriously. And I can’t believe how big she is getting!!
I know! Much bigger than that tiny bundle you cuddled at 8 weeks old. xx
She is so cute! That nine month milestone is such an interesting one. Yo can’t believe that they have been here for as long as they were growing inside you. She is a bundle of joy. To me, she reflects what a happy, loving family you all are. I love that “the NLM” can now settle her at night, I remember the relief when my kids needed less boob at night and finally happy to have their daddy. Great Daddy Skillz xxx
It’s definitely a welcome relief to not be the only one who always has to do the settling! x
aww look at her – cuteness & trouble rolled into one squeezable baby!
Ah thanks Helen! x
ahhhhh this is just too cute and baby belly laughs are the best!
They really are aren’t they?!
I think you’re allowed to be a bit obsessed by them at this age – it IS pretty adorable 🙂
Glad it’s not just me then…
Oh envy envy – Pip is 10 months and he rarely naps not on me, wakes at least once in the evening and sleeps with me most of the night – I day dream about sleeping on my front!! Happy Nine month birthday Baby Girl, she sounds like she’s absolutely wonderful!
Don’t get me wrong – there are still many nights when we don’t get anywhere near enough sleep… but I think that’ll be the case for a long while yet! x