9 months

Happy 9 Months Honey Bunch!!!

Here is what you have been up to this past month:

• You had your 9 month doctors appointment recently and you weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and you were 27 inches long!
• You are wearing 6-9 month clothes.
• You are still in a size 3 diaper.
• You are into everything, especially magazines! You LOVE to tear up a magazine (when mommy lets you) and I am trying to teach you to not put the pieces in your mouth ;)
• You are walking with the help of your dino who was given to you by your Nana and B-Pa! You love pushing that thing around :)
• We have officially started solids! Decided to wait till you turned 8 months old. I have written about foods in a previous post so I won't say a lot about it here, but you are doing great. You don't eat a whole lot...it seems to be more for exploration right now. It is so much fun to see you feed yourself and explore this new thing :)
• You are drinking water from your sippy cup. I still have to lift it for you but you are getting the hang of it!
• You still take 2 naps and sleep at least an hour or 2 for each.
• When I stick out my tongue you stick yours out. It is so neat to see you mimic us!
• Every morning you want to go over to your "Owls I painted on the wall and we say, "Good Morning!" to them. You are usually VERY happy in the mornings :)
• You have learned to climb the stairs. Under momma's supervision of course!!! We have a door that blocks the stairs, so that stays shut most of the time. One day I decided to let you try and you DID it! It also helped to get some of your energy out!
• You got your 7th and 8th tooth this past month!
• I keep some pillows in the playroom and sometimes you crawl over to one and just lay your head on it. It is precious!
• You like to play under the kitchen table. 
• You have started to climb up on things....like the treadmill that was in the playroom! Time to move it upstairs. I've been wanting to move it for a long time, but now that you know how to get on top it's time to go!
• Some of your favorite toys right now are string or ribbon, easter eggs, and the toy phone that rolls. You drag it all over the playroom! You still prefer to chew on the books then sit and listen to mommy read one to you. But you are so good at opeing the flaps in the Peek-a-boo Books and you love to scratch your hand over things in the touch and feel books :)
• You took your second airplane ride this month and did great! We took you to Arkansas to visit Arlon and Lindsey. Your first night there was rough..but once you got use to things you did better. You LOVED their big dogs...not afraid of them at all.
• Have I told you lately that SOMEONE always stops us no matter where we are, the store, the airport, out walking around, and just tell us how beautiful you are! And they usually comment on your big blue eyes :)
• Some days I just start at you Brooklyn! You are the prettiest thing I have even seen! Love you to the moon and back...well probably more than that ;)

Enjoy the pictures from her 8th month of life :)

Love your funny faces :)

Mommy and B :)

Chubby Legs...I love them!! :)

Brad, Arlon, and Miss B :)

Enjoys getting her books :)

This is the only book she doesn't try to eat....Love this book from Aunt Joyce!

Beautiful Girl!

One of our good friends goes to Yale and he gave her this onesie when she was born :) We sent him this picture the other day! Only appropriate we gave her a highlighter for the picture ;)

Ummm...let me guess who has been here??!!

"HUH....you mean I gotta eat this stuff the rest of the my life!"

"Yuuummmm!"

Here we are playing chase :)

Miss B climbing the stairs

1st Piggy Back Ride

Easter

"Hoppy Easter Everyone!"

Brooklyn LOVED her first Easter Basket :)

Momma Loved her cute outfit! Thank you Grammy :)

Next year we might just try to dye eggs (if momma is brave enough) and go on an easter egg hunt!
Fun Fun!!

Food!

So here is the "Scoop" on food!

Brooklyn has been nursing since day one and she has done great! I am fortunate to have a great milk supply and we have both been very happy nursing :) I noticed that B started to get very curious and want everything we were eating. Sooooo we took the plunge and started solids this month! My goal was to nurse exclusively until at least eight month so I felt comfortable getting started! I wasn't planning on this "solid" adventure to be much in the way of nutrition as much as exploration unless she just downed the food (I didn't figure she would, and I was right). Food before one is just for fun...right! HAHA! (Well sometimes...I guess it depends on the baby ;)

So our first attempt was mashed up avocado, nice and healthy right??!!.....and....well.... she gagged and threw up! Ummm so much for that! I decided to wait a few days and we tried again with more avocado and then rice cereal....again she threw up both! Oh no!...now I was having second thoughts about waiting so long; maybe this was my fault and I should have started earlier! Was she just not use to the texture? Not sure what to do with the food? Didn't like the food? Was I starting too early? Too late?! Yes my mind was racing....and a little panic for this first time mom! I DID NOT want a four year old who still nursed haha!

Well I decided to take a break. I talked to a few friends and her pediatrician who gave me great advice, said this was very common and she just needed to learn what to do with the food, and we gave it another go! Second time around was totally different! Success :)!! I just needed to give her more time and experience :)

Now she never became a huge fan of rice cereal or avocado but loved pureed sweet potatoes, pears, green beans and some other veggies! She never ate that much, sometimes just a few bites and then she was done...no problem for me! She still nursed like normal so I knew she is getting her essentials :)


I noticed she liked to be in control of the situation.  She always would grab the spoon before it made it to her month and along with me, would guide the spoon to her mouth. Then she would let go and I would get more puree.  This really was OK with me as long as she didn't try to take the spoon completely and then throw it or something.


It was not long after this I got a hold of a book about Baby Led Weaning. I loved it and noticed how Brooklyn seemed very interested in table food. Way more interested then in her pureed baby food. Soooooo....we jumped right in! I read that pureed baby food is very important for young babies who are stating on solids, like 4-6 months. Since she is older and has a mouth full of teeth and was doing so well sucking down her purees I decided to see how she did with table food. She literally started to try table food within about two week. WOW....she LOVED table food! I'm sure some of it had to do with feeding herself (yes we have a "Miss Independent"!) and just the exploring, she loves exploring! It didn't seem like she was swallowing very much, but eventually I would start to see evidence in her diaper!  I steamed broccoli, carrots, and green beans. I would make them large enough for her to grab and hold.  I would also heat up an apple in the microwave to soften it.  Cold cucumbers are a big hit too! The only thing she doesn't seem to like right now are bananas. 

We are currently trying food once a day, usually at lunch, and I alternate a puree or a table food. Or I might feed her a puree and then give her a few small pieces of table food just to see if she is still hungry.

She never eats very much, sometimes not even a whole 4 oz jar, but has LOTS of FUN!!! You can tell by looking at the pictures below....such a BIG girl she is becoming!

 

I know everyone does solids differently; starting purees earlier, starting them later, never giving table food till their child is older, etc....but I just went with my mommy instinct, did some research on my own, talked to her doctor, and did what felt was right for us. I am please with how it went and is going. Brooklyn is doing so well! I am happy :) I'm sure I will write more on her food experience in the future since this is just the beginning!

Lost Footage!

I down loaded photos and videos off of Brad's phone the other day and found some that I would have included in her 8 month recap...better late than never! Enjoy :)

Sweet Brooklyn :)

Here we are playing peek-a-boo...

Found her asleep like this...

her little bear that say,"I Love You" when you squeeze it on one side and her bunny on the other .

Happy St. Patricks Day!

We bought her PJ's for the occasion :)

We took her to the Houston Fair are Rodeo...her 1st one!

She loved watching the baby chicks :)

Brooklyn's Space

Well here we are 8 months later and I finally finish her room!!!! I would put her to sleep for her naps unstairs in our bonus room in her pack n play and then I would get to work. It took me about 2 weeks to finish, but I am so happy with how it turned out....she seems to LOVE it too!!

Here are some picture of Brooklyn's New Space :)

I made the flowers from ribbon and a button.

Birdcage up close

Our rocking corner....Love her bird mobile!

I made this shadow box for her ultra sound picture...

it has become one of my favorite things in her room!

Her reading corner.

Can you spot her?!....she likes getting her books :)

Every morning she reaches for her OWLS and we go over and say, "Good morning!" She touches each one...it's so cute!!

Going into her sink area.

Her awesome bow holder made by my sister!!!

Brooklyn LOVES looking out her window.

She can open and close the shutter to peek out really well!

Thanks for stopping by Miss B's new dig. Come again :)

Ready, Set, Go!!

Ready....Set....Go!!!!

(love her drool in the last picture....lol!)

Brooklyn is having a lot of fun crawling all over the place these days!

Keeps her momma on her toes for sure!!