9 months

Eddie turned 9 months last Monday, which means he has officially been on the outside longer than he was on the inside, as in in the womb. And this is very evident in not only his physical developments and motor skills, but also his budding personality and sense of expression. Within the last couple of weeks it is almost as if a switch has gone on and he is able to communicate his wishes through his body language and of course his voice. When he is upset or doesn't want something, he lets you know. When set down on the floor and he prefers to be held, he will start to whine. When reading a book that he doesn't like at the moment, he will push it away or close it and then lean over to grab a new book. And his latest dislike is bibs - he refuses to wear a bib while eating and will pull it off as quickly as you put it on. Lastly, of course, he is still fussing during changing time and likes to flip over on the changing table and sit up and try to crawl from one end to the next, all making the act of changing him something that I now dread.

We had a good visit with the pediatrician this week. Eddie is in the 75th percentile for length/height at 28.5 inches and the 25th percentile for weight at 18 lbs 7 ounces - still long and lean! He got his polio vaccine (and didn't even cry after the shot!) and they drew blood from his fingertip to test for iron levels and lead. I have been concerned about his iron because he doesn't eat any of the fortified baby cereals since I make his from whole grains like brown rice, barley, oats, etc. And he hasn't been taking a supplement and only just started eating meat. But his level was 12.3 which was superb since they consider good levels anything between 10-13. We also discussed a bunch of topics, everything from allergies to autism to his head banging and teeth grinding, all of which she assured me were no cause for concern. She also is being really flexible with his vaccine schedule and allowing us to postpone the MMR vaccine as long as we want, even up to 3 years old - this is the one that has been associated with autism in some medical studies. Boys have a propensity for autism and I have been hyper aware of its recent prevalence in youths so I am always keeping me eye out for potential concerns. My latest concern arose when I read somewhere that an absence of stranger awareness and/or separation anxiety is a cause for concern at this age, as in your kid should be able to distinguish between mom and dad and everybody else; well, Eddie doesn't have any signs of separation anxiety and willingly goes to new people when handed off and smiles at strangers. Up until this week he rarely expressed any desire to be with mom or dad, as in clinging or wanting to be held like I see other kids of his age, but then suddenly this week that started to happen more. Rest assured, the doctor said there is no reason to be concerned since he is right on track developmentally and that it is a good thing that he is so open to new people. My husband tells me that the reason Eddie doesn't have separation anxiety is because I am always around...we are always together, and so the thought doesn't even cross his mind, hence he is a confident little independent baby...it's true.

Here are some more developments over the last month:

Eating - right now he is so into finger foods. He loves his Cheerios and puffed rice. I also give him small chunks of avocado, pear, cooked apple, cooked carrot, chicken, potato, mango and cottage cheese. He loves to feed himself and make a mess. He really likes chicken and dairy - loves cottage cheese and yogurt. We just started beef a few days ago and he seems to like it. Salmon was a pass - he gagged every time.

Physical/Movement - he is really starting to crawl fast and has explored every corner of our home. Within the past few days he has seemed less interested in his toys and more interested in exploring. He follows us via crawling when we leave the room. He really barrels after Mara and when Dad walks in the door, which is adorable. Mara is scared of him right now and runs away when he approaches. She is also getting really jealous - I know this because she has suddenly taken an interest in his toys, whereas in the past she has never been a toy type of dog. She got a hold of one of the stuffed toys he sleeps with and would not give it up; I had to pry it out of her mouth. Eddie is reaching up for objects and pieces of furniture and pulls himself up, typically into a kneeling position but he has also started to stand more often.

Language - there is a lot of "dada," "mama," "baba," and "gaga" these days. But his main mode of expression is this sort of hiss and razz that seems to indicate that he is really into something.

Likes - as for toys, he really likes playing with and chasing after balls. He also likes to bang objects and will take anything that is somewhat long and stick like and turn it into a hammer; likewise, he turns anything bowl-like into a drum and often will drum objects with both hands, bongo-drum style. He likes musical instruments - a maraca-like rattle toy that was given to us by Eddie's co-worker and loves tambourines. He likes hard objects, like wooden blocks and toys. He likes his jack-in-the-box and is trying to figure out how to turn the crank himself. He likes anything with wheels, especially his dump truck. He still chews on everything and seems to prefer his rubber bath toys these days. As for books, he is into the lift-the-flap style books by Karen Katz and others. He loves this book called "Alligator Alphabet" which goes through the alphabet and associates each letter with an animal and I add improvisations, like for "B" I say "B is for Bear. Like a Maine Black Bear." At the end we sing the alphabet song and he likes it. He laughs at more things these days, too many to keep track, but lately he laughs consistently at Marty, tickles and when Dad hangs him upside down.

He is a good baby...intense and with a strong personality but very loving and accommodating and smart and active and brave...he had two splinters this week from crawling on the deck - one in his little toe and one in his palm - and we successfully removed them without him whining or shedding a tear. It was a huge parental accomplishment in my eyes...to be able to aid your baby's ailments. I was proud of us as parents and proud of him, my strong little boy.