Will turned 9 months this past Saturday. We spent the morning at Walmart stocking up on groceries and baby items. The afternoon was dedicated to complete playtime with my little, big man. That's right, my little-big man. Will had his 9 month appointment yesterday (Tuesday), and Dr. Hester was pleased with his growth! William weighs 20 lbs, 11 ounces, and is 27 3/4 inches tall. His head is 18 inches around.
Will is rocking 9 months with a total of 4 teeth, two on the top and two on the bottom. The teething pain has been a little rough, but our new favorite baby item is teething tablets! William loves them, and they seem to really help.
Will is not walking independently, but he can really go fast with the help of his baby push-walker. He can stand by himself, but he's just scared to take that first step by himself. I know walking is just around the corner though.
Will is eating more table foods now. He enjoys grilled cheese sandwiches, chocolate pudding, sweet green peas, and spaghetti-o's! I still incorporate his baby food fruits and vegetables into his meals too. We only splurge with pudding or a grilled cheese maybe once a week. We are trying more new things this week. I've bought several of the Gerber toddler meals to see if he likes them. I've started trying to ween his bottles too. I'm starting slow, only replacing one of his daily bottles right now. I've replaced his afternoon bottle with a sippy cup of his milk (formula). I'm hoping he will start drinking the milk from his sippy cup, but right now he's not a fan. This will be something that we have to work with for him to get use to. I may have to try a different style of cup. Right now we use the nubby, but he only wants to chew on the nipple. Any suggestions are welcome!
His sleeping schedule varies right now. Recently, he has started waking up at least once or twice a night. When I go into his room and pick him up, he will fall immediately asleep. When I lay him back down in his crib, he will begin crying. I've finally decided that he is experiencing some separation anxiety, and Dr. Hester agreed. I feel like he is waking up in the night and looking for mommy and daddy. It breaks my heart to hear him cry. I've been reading on some techniques to ease the separation and work through this. He does not have these moments of crying in the mornings when I drop him off at daycare, and for that I am so very grateful! I'm sure the waking up sporadically through the night is a combination of teething (which two more are on their way in) and "I want my mommy and daddy"! It's been tough, but teething and separation-anxiety are just a part of this stage.
Our doctor also suggested that we start trying to put Will down to sleep awake. It will force Will to learn how to comfort himself and fall back asleep. I'm not sold on this yet, but I will definitely give this a try!
Overall, William is progressing right on track. We love you William Tucker!
