9 month stats

We had Carters 9 mo. check-up this morning & the doctor said he looked perfect. He weighs 22lbs & 9oz & is 29.5 inches long. Justin said the nurse shorted him & he was really 30 inches but who knows. His length is right around the 90th percentile & weight is somewhere around 80-85 percentile. His head circumference is of course still off the charts as it has been since his 4 month check-up. Makes it hard to find shirts that aren't impossible to get over his head. :) He only had to have 1 shot today, Hepatitis B, and he cried for maybe 3 seconds. Such a trooper! The nurse even said something about how it makes her feel bad when they smile at her before she gives them the shot which he did. I bet it made her feel better though when he smiled at her after too! :) The one shocking thing the doc told us was we can go ahead & give him whole milk & cut out formula!! I couldn't believe it! Sweet, no more expensive formula! I'm sure we'll still give it to him for the next month or so since it is very nutritious, but we'll work on weaning him off of it soon. He also said it wasn't a big deal if he was eating a lot more solids & not as much milk. So all and all a great appointment!

Feel free to check out his growth charts at...
http://www.mybirthcare.com/favorites/babygrowth.asp
Email: ashley.flurry@yahoo.com
Password: Carter330

What Carter is up to these days...

He is on the verge of crawling! He turns himself around pretty easily & gets up on all fours & does the rocking back & forth thing but then either goes back on his rear or splat on his belly. If he's on his belly he can scoot backwards but not forwards yet. You can just tell that he's not sure what to do. I know he'll be on the move any day now...

He is still sleeping 7-7 or so. Sometimes he wakes up & just talks away up in his bed before 7 & then some mornings he'll sleep 'til 8 or later which is nice on the weekends.

He graduated to the next classroom at school right before Christmas! He was supposed to do it after the New Year but they went ahead & moved him & his buddy Brooks up early. His new room has this half moon table with little cut outs in it for them to sit & just about every day I go in to pick him up they are all just sitting there staring at each other...they just look like little people hanging out...it is so funny! The best feeling in the world is when I walk in & say something to one of the teachers & Carter looks up & smiles at me like "Mom's here!" It just melts my heart!

He is still eating mostly 2nd foods but we are trying out some of the 3rd food dinners. They are thicker & have more texture so he still isn't so sure about them. He absolutely LOVES his cheerios & puffs & has gotten pretty good about feeding himself. We've tried a lot of other "real" foods like bananas, eggs, cheese, graham crackers, all thanksgiving & christmas foods, mashed potatoes, peas, green beans, ham, turkey, etc. I know I need to be better about trying new things more often though.

We have given him the sippy cup to try out but all he is does is knock it over, bang it on the tray or throw it on the floor. I guess eventually he'll figure out there is something good to drink in that funky shaped thing! He still LOVES his bottle & if you show it to him you can never get it to him fast enough. He acts like he will DIE if you don't get it to him immediately!!! Too funny!

He is still wearing some 9 mo. clothes but mostly 12 mo. Still in size 3 diapers too but we'll move up to 4 pretty soon.

It is nearly impossible to put a diaper on him these days. The second you put him down on the changing pad he is flipping over towards the wall...I battle him every morning & at night after his bath! He thinks it is so funny too...he just laughs & giggles. Once he's turned all the way over he pulls his head up & looks around like "what am I missing??"

He absolutely loves being thrown up in the air, turned upside down or bounced up & down on your lap...it'll wear you out but he thinks it's the greatest! He still loves his jumperoo & it doesn't take him long to move the whole thing out to the middle of the den. He got a million new toys for Christmas & Mommy is currently on the hunt for a good rectangular toy chest. I want one that has a cushion on top for seating but is also used as storage. If anyone knows of any good ones let me know.

He is just barely starting to reach out to people to grab him or pick him up. I can't wait 'til he's giving hugs!! He doesn't have a fear of strangers & he doesn't get upset when someone he doesn't know picks him up...I guess that can be good & bad.

The garage door opening beneath him while he is sitting in his highchair in the kitchen or the firetruck squealing by outside really catches his attention. He gets all bug-eyed & just looks around like "what is that?"

He is not very vocal...nothing like his mama in that respect. :) But when he does chat it is mostly "bababa". One time I heard him say something that sounded like "mama" but it was def. not on purpose. He has gotten much closer to "dada" quite a few times.

He still only has the two bottom teeth but I think he'll have some more soon. His upper front gums have been swollen some & he is chewing on anything he can get in his mouth. He isn't drooling near as much as he used to which is nice. No more soaken shirts or full time bib wearing!

He thinks Bailey our dog is so fun & he just laughs & laughs when she licks him. Bailey just has to learn to be more gentle b/c she ends up knocking him over from licking him so much.

That's all I can think of right now...hopefully I'll have some snow pics up here soon!! :)