Little Alana turned 9 months old today. It is hard to believe that she now has been out of my belly for about as long as she was in there. The growth in both places is AH-MAY-ZING, but how she has impacted our lives outside of the womb is just beyond what we could have ever imagined. She really has such an infectious smile and sweet demeanor. She just recently started to clap- adding more “happy” to her “happy”, if that is possible. Don’t get me wrong- she has her moments. When she is reaching for the DVD player and is redirected or when she doesn’t like a food being offered to her or when she is over-tired in the evening- she will let you know she is not satisfied. Fortunately those moments are fleeting.
It is funny that she seems to greet each monthly birthday with a new milestone. At her 7 month mark, she cut her 1st tooth (or “popped a tooth” according to Caden). Her 2nd tooth followed closely behind. Well, next to. At 8 months, Alana started crawling steadily. She had been rocking on all fours for about 6 weeks before that. Now at the prime age of 9 months, Alana started clapping and is able to stand briefly while holding onto things.
Food has been a little struggle for us. At first Alana seemed to like all foods. I think once she realized there were a lot of options, some sweeter than others, her sweet tooth took over. She likes all fruits, but out of the veggies, she will only eat Sweet Potatoes or Apple Butternut Squash (if that counts as a veggie). With the others she clamps her mouth shut tight, turns her head away and even cries if I try to push it. I keep trying every so often, as “they” say she may change her mind someday. Until then- our jars are a-wasting. She gags (and throws up) the little finger foods we have tried. Again- we keep trying, but more wasting. We’ll let her take it slow, it is just tough. She seems to have had a slight allergic reaction to Oat (oatmeal and “Banana Peach Oat” baby food). Luckily wheat seems to be fine- so no gluten allergy.
Sleep is much better than it was before, but she is still waking about twice/ night to be nursed. We may try some more sleep training soon to cut those out, but last time we tried sleep training, her cries seemed to just get worse over time, instead of disappearing. Luckily she is able to put herself to sleep at the beginning of the night and for naps. I still nurse her to sleep at times (I am actually enjoying this while I can). Other times, she wakes a little when I put her down, but can find dreamland on her own.
Caden has become more loving with Alana. He will pretend to tickle her and will kiss her goodnight some nights. He also has learned that he needs to take some toys and walk away before she gets too close to him. He is territorial of his toys, which is understandable. We have learned from a few sources that it is good to let him (and Alana) have their own time with their toys and not have to “share” at such a young age. When Caden is done with a toy, Alana can play with it and vice-versa. Caden is learning this at his preschool as well, which is another whole post soon!
We love you more than you can imagine, Alana. Although we loved you for the 9 months you grew inside of me, our love for you has grown exponentially over these past 9 months. <3