12:30 pm: Time for nap No. 2. This nap usually occurs about three hours after the wake up from the first nap, but it isn't as dependable as nap No. 1. Today, though, Jacob is exhibiting his classic eye-rubbing, long-yawning signs. After a bit more formula, he's put in his crib awake. He sleeps during naps and at night with either music playing or white noise provided by a static station on the radio. He's not as interested in sleep as he was this morning and cries in protest. We can see in the video monitor that he's sitting up. Wait, no, he's standing. He protests for a couple minutes and just when I'm thinking of going in to soothe him a bit, the cries start to stagger, mixed with periods of quiet or soft babbling. We hold off going into his room, and he transitions quickly from standing to sprawled out on his belly. In less than five minutes total, he's snoozing. It doesn't sound like long, but if you've been witness to a crying baby, every minute can feel like an hour. Lately, since I miss out on naptime through the week, I find I want to go in sooner than I should. When I resist the urge, I'm almost always glad that I did. He's doing very well at getting to sleep on his own, and we're very thankful.
12:30 to 2:30 pm: Husband heads out for a round of golf with a neighbour. Lovely friend A comes over to visit. She and I chat in the kitchen while I make a batch of muffins and then catch up on a few TV shows that were saved during the week (titles of which shall remain nameless, to protect our dignity coughPrettyLittleLiarsandTheBachelorettecough).
2:30 pm: Jacob is awake from a great nap. He's happy to see Auntie A and she's equally delighted to see him as she fetches him from his crib. They play and I take some photos. I used to take so many pictures of Jacob when I was on maternity leave, but there are a lot fewer now that I'm not staging photoshoots during the day. I try to make up for it on the weekends. The three of us decide to take a walk so we load Jake into his stroller and head out. We take our picnic blanket along and spread out at a nearby playground. Jacob swings and I take some more photos. We all enjoy some watermelon. Jacob explores the grass and watches other kids playing. On our walk back home, Jacob is lulled to sleep from the vibration of the stroller on the sidewalk.
4:30 pm: We're back home and A is happy to play with Jakey while I get supper organized. I'm not ashamed to say that I love having someone else around to take over with Jacob while I cook dinner. It's one of those little Muma's time-out things I really enjoy. Life is much easier now that I don't bother with purees and Jacob eats mostly the same things we eat. I make simple pasta with tomato sauce and cottage cheese mixed in for Jacob; I jazz up the adult sauce with veggies and chicken for the meat eaters. Husband returns home and we all eat dinner. Jacob makes a huge mess with this meal so he is just dressed in a diaper, which leads to yet another photo op — orange tinted sauce spread over his hands and face.5:30 pm: Into the tub with you, dirty kid. We soap him up from head to toe, give a quick rinse and out he comes. I like to let him crawl around naked for a bit after his bath. I think it's adorable; he thinks it's hilarious. Win-win. In the hot weather, he sleeps in a T-shirt onesie or just in his diaper. I'm looking forward to the fall, though, because miss his snuggly footie pjs.
6 pm to 7 pm: The boy gets to play a bit more before bed. Sometimes we dance around the house to some mellow songs or read some books. Once he's completely tired out, I take him for some Mama time. I nurse him and talk to him. He usually ends up falling asleep on me while he has his bedtime snack. I hoist him up on me, snuggle him up and pat his back. He usually wakes as I lay him in his crib, but he wraps his arm around his buddy, Hooey (from Oh Say Can You Say?) and settles. I tiptoe out of the room and close the door. I click the monitor on occasionally to check, but generally he's asleep within five minutes.
7 pm to 10 pm: Our Saturday nights aren't exactly wild and crazy lately, but that's fine by us. We recently got a Netflix subscription and we've been enjoying watching some oldie-but-goodie movies. Even on Jacob's crankiest days, we usually end our evening by talking about him and how lucky we are. We just can't help it. We marvel at how our lives have changed, mainly for the better. We turn on the monitor to see what kind of crazy position he's sleeping in — he's flat on his back with his arms and legs flung out. Makes us laugh. What a nice boy.
Vital stats: Jacob was 22 lbs. (75th percentile) and 29.5 inches long (75th percentile) at his nine-month check up. So he's presumably a little heavier and a little longer. But his growth is definitely slowing down because he's not busting through clothes quite as fast, plus he's crawling and climbing everywhere, so he's burning calories like a marathon runner.
Milestones & firsts: Jacob has learned so much this month. I think this has been his most developmental month in terms of things he can now do.
He gives high fives! You don't have to put your hand up in his face or anything, just say, "Hey Jake, high five!" and he puts his hand up with a huge grin. Love it.
Also with high fives came waving. He doesn't do this as readily, but he's learning.
Over the past few days, Jacob has been trying to stand up without pulling himself up. He tucks his legs into a crouching position and tries to push up, but can't quite get there. He's also been standing next to the couch or coffee table and letting go for five or 10 seconds at a time, balancing on his own. He's also quick to grab anything that moves and truck across the floor at warp speed. If I had to predict, I'd say we'll have a walker on our hands before the one-year mark.
And my absolute favourite -- kisses and hugs. He is so lovey these days and happily lays a big, drooly, open mouth kiss on you whenever you ask for it.
Last weekend, Jacob experienced the ocean for the first time. It was adorable to watch him crawl through the ebbing surf. He only munched on the sand once and quickly realized that is wasn't as tasty as he thought it might be.
See what I mean? It was a big month!
Teeth: Still two. It's so weird how much it varies from baby to baby. His girl bestie, who is a wise and mature four days older, has at least six teeth, maybe more. Another one of his girl friends, who is two weeks younger, has no teeth yet. A boy buddy who is six weeks younger has four teeth already. Ah, the joys of teething.
Speech: Jacob seems to be saying Mama more and Dada less, which is weird since Husband is the one who is home with him during the day now. I sort of think he's using the word Mama to refer to both of us. We've started to notice him saying om nom nom nom when he's hungry. Coincidence?
Zzzzzzz: Usually one wake up per night still, to nurse as I mentioned last month.
Om nom nom: Among his new faves are whole chic peas, mashed potatoes, turkey and blueberries. Husband has been giving him a combo of bran and yogurt in the mornings, which he loves. They also sometimes make smoothies as a treat.
Likes & dislikes: Loves dancing!
Lately he dislikes naps. He's reluctant to take them and only sleeps for 45 minutes or so, which barely counts.
Challenges: What a little stinker. I swear he knows everything that he's not allowed to have or shouldn't play with and makes a beeline for it every time. Shoes, the plugged-in computer charger, the grassy rug in front of the door. What is it about these things that looks so tasty? Over the weekend though, I was quick to say "Nooo" as he was about to put something like that up to his mouth and he'd stop, grin a little, and then hold his hand out to pass me the offending item. Could he really be learning that this early?
Standing up in the bathtub. For a couple weeks, his baths were about a minute and a half long. Water, soap, rinse, done. No playing or splashing, because the first thing he'd do is grab the side and try to stand, ultimately slipping all over the place. Then Husband bought an inflatable tub insert, which has worked quite well. Eventually he still tries to stand up, but he's usually happy to sit there for at least five minutes first to wash and play.
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