Zoe's on the Move and Talking at 9 Months

Nine months is such a fun age. Zoe is talking and moving, her schedule is fairly predictable, she's eating more solid foods, and definitely knows her family.  Being more aware of her surroundings means she's got a little separation anxiety, but she loves her teachers at school, so the fussing is very short. We are finally getting more laughs and smiles on camera and while Skyping with family.

Smiley Zoe

So much hair on this blue-eyed, fair-skinned beauty

The major development this month relates to movement. Last month she would move from place to place on the floor, but it was not coordinated or directed in any way. Now she can get anywhere she wants to go very quickly. She uses one knee and one foot to "crawl," even after we've tried helping her use both knees. Sometimes, like on the concrete at the pool, she tries crawl-walking.

Zoe Walk-Crawling:

Zoe can pull herself up on anything, and she does often. She's not really cruising yet, just going from sitting to standing and back to sitting. I caught her debating the stairs one morning.

Thinking about Climbing Stairs:

The other big milestone is that she is starting to "talk" to us. So far, she seems to like to say "ah-da" to everything. We aren't sure what she's referring to - daddy, all done, etc, but it is so cute. She also loves making raspberries.

Crawling and Talking:

Zoe blowing raspberries:

As you can see in the first video, she can drink water from a straw. She's also fairly successful using a sippy or regular cup. We've started offering her more of the foods that we eat, though the girl still does not have any teeth! I'm starting to get a little worried because I don't see any emerging. It seems like she has experienced teething on and off for months, but it has not resulted in any teeth coming out. Because she doesn't have teeth (and our slight fear of food allergies) we've been slow to try lots of different foods and textures. She loves bananas, beef, chicken, oatmeal, and drinking water. Every now and then she will surprise us by eating something that we enjoy (like quinoa with sausage). We tried giving her some kefir milk as her first introduction to dairy and she was not a fan of the taste. Thankfully, she did not appear to have any reaction to the milk. There have been a few instances where her face has broken out in hives when she has eaten food, but it has been difficult to pinpoint the cause. One time, it happened at school when she ate hummus, but she had eaten hummus before that time and since that time without problems. Another time it happened with meatballs, which she has also eaten without problems. A third time was when we ate lunch out at the museum. That is more understandable since I don't know what might have been added to the food (oatmeal). My best guess is that she was reacting to something that may have contaminated her food, or utensil. Dairy seems okay, we still have to test eggs, nuts, and seafood. I'm not sure the best day to introduce these foods because I want to be able to call on a doctor if she does react.

On the topic of allergies, Zoe's skin has cleared up significantly. I'm so glad that stress is behind us and that we do not need to continue any topical medications! While she may break out in a small rash on her chin or cheek here and there (mainly when eating and touching her face with slobbery fingers), it occurs rarely now. Her skin loves the hot and humid weather, and even the chlorine in the pool does not bother her.

Sporting some slightly pink cheeks after eating at the museum

Pink chin and cheeks after eating at the park

If you didn't notice before now, we also got Zoe's ears pierced this month. The dermatologist we used for Rose will only pierce ears until a child reaches a year and then won't do it until they are 6. In our experience with Rose, we knew it was best to do it young, when I could nurse after getting it done and when it still just feels like a shot. Similar to our previous experience, Zoe gave an initial cry when the gun pierced the ear, but she was fine within a minute or two of completing both ears (even before I nursed her). Her ears continue to heal up nicely and all the teachers complement her on her new bling.

Zoe's eyes remain blue and unlike her sister, I do not see any hints of other colors. My expectation is that she will be our blue-eyed girl. As you can see in the pictures and videos, her hair is really coming in and is a light brown or even dirty blonde color. She's starting to outgrow a lot of her 9 month clothing. At her 9 month doctors appointment, she was a little over 18lbs and just shy of 27". She's at the 18th percentile for height and 32nd percentile for weight, which is starting to follow a pattern similar to Rose. Her noggin remains large at the 84th percentile.

My beautiful blue-eyed, dirty blonde girl

Over the past couple of months, we've also started seeing more of Zoe's personality. She is generally content, unless she's tired, hungry, or soiled with poop. Over the past month we've started seeing so many more smiles from our little girl. She loves watching Rose, singing songs, being tickled, standing up, and walking. She still doesn't completely trust Rose, with good reason since her sister loves squeezing her to death. At times their laughs echo, but more often Zoe is crying to be freed from Rose's arms. 

I'm so grateful that Zoe is such a good sleeper. She sleeps all night (8:30-6:30 or so), and prefers 3 naps per day (a short 1 hour or less morning nap, a longer 2 hour nap mid-day, and a short 1 hour or less pre-dinner nap). It has been so helpful to have both girls sleep on the same schedule at night. Sometimes we are fortunate to have both girls take their mid-day nap at the same time, but often Rose delays her nap at home so Zoe gets up when Rose finally goes down for her nap. It works out okay so we can spend some one-on-one time with Zoe. In addition to sleeping good stretches, she can also sleep anywhere. Within minutes of driving in the car, she is often asleep, and she has proven herself capable of sleeping in hotel rooms in the midst of noise and lights.

Our smiley girl on daddy's shoulders

We continue to cloth diaper another month, only using 1 disposable each night. And, I am so glad I can report another month where Zoe has received only breast milk. I stressed about having to travel to DC for a work conference, leaving the girls behind with daddy. Thankfully, I was able to pump at the conference, and transport breast milk back on the plane. Zoe continues to take about 1-2 extra bottles of milk than I pump, so I'm down to about 2-3 weeks of stored milk for her. I've started on fenugreek supplements, mother's milk tea, and power pumping to see if I can at least match her intake through the summer. Hopefully something works!

Zoe's Half Year Birthday

Miss Zoe is six months! 

At six months, Miss Zoe has turned the corner on one of the most important milestones to a parent. I have been waiting to share the news that Zoe started sleeping through the night in late February and has consistently slept through the night for an entire month. We sort-of let her cry-it-out a teeny bit, but it wasn't planned. Until late February, I had been the one to attend to Zoe at night because she always wanted to nurse, but towards the end of February, I came down with a bad cold that had me congested, tired and achy. I hate hearing either of my girls cry, so I usually check in on them within the first 5 minutes of their cries. During my bout with the head cold/flu, I was so congested that I didn't hear Zoe cry. Colin did, and went to check in on her a few times. On the first night, she only cried twice in the night and she was calmed by the pacifier and/or Colin rocking her. On the second night, she cried 3-4 times (Colin wasn't sure the next morning). A few times she took the pacifier with no problem and one time he had to rock a bit with her. Colin assures me that Zoe didn't cry more than 10 minutes in any episode. By the third night, Zoe only woke up once or twice again and on the fourth night she started her first of two straight weeks of sleeping from ~7:30/8pm until 7-7:30am. I was looking forward to this milestone so much and expected to feel rejuvenated by now, but I'll admit that I still feel tired. Unfortunately, the cold/flu kicked my butt and the week after I had it, Rose was also sick, which led to her waking up several times in the night for a few nights. It's encouraging that we can put both girls to bed at the same time and they each sleep about 11 hours straight. I just need to get better at going to bed early so I get a full night's sleep as well. It would also help the morning routine be less hectic if I could get up before they do.

Sisterly love

Right around the time Zoe started sleeping through the night and as I was getting over my cold, I went on my first run in over a year. The pace was slow for me (9:50 minutes per mile), but I managed to go 3.16 miles at that pace, which is farther than I expected. Since that first run, I have done a few more, but my pace hasn't improved all that much. I might need to start some interval training. Last month, I was still about 5 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight and this month I am now at the weight I was when I got pregnant with Zoe. I feel like my legs and thighs are thin, but still have a little baby pouch. I guess that's what happens when you have grown two babies in there. I could do better with my diet, but between running and nursing, I am just always so hungry. And, since I am still dairy and egg-free, I have been eating lots of crackers, vegan desserts, and salty snacks. Eggs were a filling breakfast option for me, and now I'm always hungry well before lunch time.

I continue to be dairy and egg-free because it seems to help Zoe's skin quite a bit. I actually think the eggs are worse and still haven't tested if it might be egg whites or egg yolks. I think the whites are the more common allergen. I have noticed that after Rose ate eggs for breakfast and touches Zoe, that Zoe's skin seemed to get rashy. I've been trying to do a little dairy here and there, especially drinking some kefir to get probiotics. It doesn't seem to make her skin react too badly. We usually treat the breakout spots with a "sensitive skin" 0.5% hydro-cortisone.

Another major milestone this month is that we have started introducing Zoe to solid foods. So far, she's only had steamed carrots and sweet potatoes, avocado, cooked oatmeal, bananas, ground beef, and soup. She isn't that excited about eating table foods, but does seem to prefer feeding herself than being fed with a baby spoon. She also seems to like the soup and beef best. We are choosing again to do a combination of "baby-led weaning" and spoon feeding. In baby-led weaning, we let Zoe grab food on her tray and feed herself. With the carrots and sweet potatoes, we steamed them and cut them in long sticks so she can grab them. Avocados and bananas are a little more difficult to hold because they are so slippery. It's been difficult to spoon-feed Zoe the oatmeal. She seemed a bit more receptive when we added banana to the oatmeal, so it might be the flavor. Because of Zoe's skin rashes and my impression that they are related to my diet, I will likely save eggs and dairy for among the last of the foods to introduce. I'm nervous about all foods, but those in particular. One night when Zoe ate sweet potatoes, her hand turned very red and blotchy. Darwin had been licking the sweet potatoes on her hands, so I assume the reaction came from his saliva and perhaps something he had eaten (food is often dropped on the floor with a toddler). There have been other times where he has licked her hands without problems. I will continue to try and figure out what may trigger her reactions. I'm hopeful Zoe will grow out of it and have been reassured this is normally the case by the pediatricians.

Trying a carrot baby-led weaning style

Carrots are okay, but I prefer mommy's milk

Zoe continues to receive most of her food/nutrients from breastmilk and has increased her intake over the past few weeks or so from 16-20oz of milk during my workday to 20-24oz. Unfortunately, I have not been able to increase my production through pumping, so she had to take a previously pumped and stored bottle. Since I was not egg and dairy free when I first started pumping, the milk she took on the days she drank brought back the rash. It was only a few ounces, so it hasn't caused the rash to be too severe.

Are you lookin' at me?

This past month we also swapped out all the 6 month clothes for 6-9 and 9 month clothes. I'm sad we didn't get to use many of Rose's beautiful 6 month dresses, many of which Rose barely wore. Unfortunately, it was too cold for Zoe to use the dresses. We do have some cute 9 month clothes for Zoe to wear, and some of the 6 month dresses will likely fit Zoe for a few more weeks (I hope!). With the weather shifting here in North Carolina (and practically skipping spring), there might be more opportunities for the dresses.

Enjoying a very warm early March day on the deck
And..look at those rolls!

Here are a few additional updates about Miss Zoe:

• A typical day includes the following: wake up at 7am and bedtime at 7:30pm; naps at 9am (1 hour), 12p (2 hours) and 4pm (30-60 minutes); milk at 7:30am, 10am, 2pm, 3:30pm, 6pm, and 7:30pm; playing in the exersaucer, jumperoo, on the floor, or sitting in the stroller during a walk.
• Zoe loves watching Darwin and Rose, and gets excited when seeing mommy, daddy and avo.

• Zoe enjoys sitting upright in the big girl stroller, but doesn't mind the carseat. We recently introduced her to the swings and she seems to enjoy it.

• Zoe's eyes remain blue and her hair is light brown
• Zoe is a serious girl and might not give you a grin unless she knows you. But if you do get a smile, it lights up the room. She's a little shy when people give her attention.
• Zoe's belly and armpits are very ticklish. She can't control her joy when tickled.
• While the jumperoo is a little bit fun, Zoe enjoys all the things to see and play with on the exersaucer much more. She loves standing and does a little pitter-patter dance in the jumperoo.
• Zoe is so observant. She loves paying attention at storytime and watching other children, especially her sister. She is very calm.
• Zoe only needs and likes her pacifier sometimes. It can be a calming agent when she's fussy, but mostly she prefers to chew on it.
• Zoe doesn't love sitting in her highchair at the table, but can tolerate it better if she has a toy to play with.
• Zoe still loves to cross her feet/legs when she is sitting in the stroller.
• Zoe's still not a big cuddler. She prefers to see everything going on around her. She reaches for all the new objects she sees and they often go to her mouth first.
• Zoe has a bit of a witching hour between 6-7pm when she doesn't want to hang out in her high chair for dinner. She's usually okay in someones lap, but really wants to be put in her pajamas.

Chewing on her pacifier in the exersaucer

We had to delay Zoe's 6 month wellness visit/checkup at the doctor because she came down with her first illness. Since traveling mid-February, our household had a cold/virus that kept being passed from person to person. I think we all felt sick on and off for a solid two weeks. Zoe seemed to be doing well, but just as she turned 6 months, she had a fever that hovered around 102-103 for 2 days. On the third day we went to the doctor and sure enough, Zoe had her first ear infection. The 10 days of antibiotics were rough. Zoe hated the medicine and it caused her to not want to be spoon fed either. I couldn't be the one to give her medicine so that she would continue to nurse. 

6 Month photoshoot at 6.5 Months
Photos taken too late in the day - Miss Zoe is tired and ready for PJs

No photoshoot is complete without big sister

We finally had her wellness check up around 6.5 months, once she was finished with her medicine. At 16lbs, 10ounces and 25.5" she is at the 54th percentile for weight and the 31st percentile for height. Though she started out on the heavy and tall side, she seems to be getting on the same pattern as Rose, who has always been on the shorter and lighter side. I looked at the growth charts for both girls and they are about the same height and weight at 6 months.

Enjoying daddy's shoulders

Hanging out in the jumperoo

Rose is Eight Months!

Over the past month I have noticed with amazement how rapid the learning curve is with an infant.  Rose started out the month still hating being on her belly and not wanting to tip onto all fours and by the end of the month made the complete transformation to crawling with ease.

Check out Rose's 8 month photos and some videos from this month below.  It doesn't look like she has much hair, but she does. It's just very light colored on top. I'll have to take a picture from the back where you can see lots of brown hair.

This week, I received an e-mail from thebump.com that gave me my baby's 35 week update. It said eye color is fairly permanent at this point. It's hard to say what her eye color is because it seems to change in different lights and depending on what she's wearing. They are mostly a blue-gray, with hints of brown and hazel mixed in.  Her eyes are the feature most people praise when they see her.

Here's Miss Rose's 8 Month Update:

The big milestone this month was that Rose started crawling on September 23, 2014 at 7.5 months. In the first two weeks of this month, she moved from hesitating while tipping forward onto her hands, to getting on hands and knees (rocking to music), to moving those little arms and legs in an efficient crawling motion. By 8 months she became a speed demon. Her main targets are wires/cords, mommy and daddy, her toys, Darwin, and the table or couch.

She still loves to stand and with her new mobility she now pulls herself up to standing in more places.  We set up pillows all along the coffee table, so that the table is a safe area for climbing.  She'll also try to climb up her crib, our legs, the kitchen island, the couch, and Darwin. I frequently leave Rose standing in a fun area at school when I drop her off to help with the transition.

Speaking of dropping Rose off at school...we are still dealing with a little separation anxiety, which is absolutely normal.  When the teachers are busy, I usually hold Rose a little longer or play with her a little bit before I drop her off. If they are free, one usually takes Rose and distracts her while I leave.

Since this was the first month of school, it's also meant our first visits to the doctor because of illness.  Right off the bat, Rose started with some congestion that really hasn't gone away all month. Most days she was fine, but she did have a fever and a couple of rough nights this past week.  We also had to take a trip to the doctor after a few days of diarrhea.  Thankfully, neither visit was serious or required any medications. They were both for piece of mind (and advice on how to take care of little Rose).

Despite the separation anxiety and colds, Rose has done very well at school. I think watching the older kids prompted Rose to make the step towards crawling.  She's also extremely attentive when I pick her up and put her in the car seat to go home. I think she's still in learning mode.  She has also started clapping when she hears music or when we clap and celebrate something exciting. I managed to get a video of it (see below). It's so cute!

The sound of the month has been the letter "f" and "th." Most mornings, while I'm getting her ready for school, she has been sounding out the f sounds. We proceed to work on the words they form...friends, family, fun, food, focus, etc.  Sometimes she gives me a "th" sound.

We haven't introduced too many new foods this month because of the week she had diarrhea and because we've been trying to adjust to the new schedule at home. Sweet potatoes continue to be a staple, along with carrots, green beans, cucumbers and oats. We had done salmon a few times and thought she didn't react to it, but she had the diarrhea right after eating salmon, so we've taken a break from it. To combat the diarrhea, we moved to bananas and oatmeal, but that worked too well and she was constipated by the third day. We occasionally do eggs - though she isn't a huge fan. She loves ground beef - which we've done a few times. And, I've been doing oatmeal mixed with prune juice for the past week or two, which she seems to enjoy, but Colin doesn't. He doesn't want to indulge a "sweet tooth."  I don't know if it is because I am a dietitian, or because we are just busy, but I'm finding the introduction of solids to be somewhat stressful.  It's hard to find the foods that give her good bowel movements, and sometimes her bum gets red and we worry it's a food allergy.

I wish I could say that Rose is sleeping through the night, but we do frequently get 5 hour stretches of sleep.  Unfortunately, we also frequently get 3-4 hour stretches. Some nights it doesn't seem too bad and other nights I'm just bitter and exhausted. I can't seem to cut out my morning coffee.

I have yet to give Rose any milk other than breastmilk, but I did finally break down and pick up a few bottles of formula to have on standby. We've been trying various things at night to see if it helps Rose sleep better. We tried using some disposable diapers instead of cloth thinking maybe she was waking because she was wet. Disposable didn't make a difference. As a side note, we actually didn't use any size 2 disposable diapers and skipped from size 1 to 3 because of our success with cloth. This month we used disposables a few nights to test our sleep theory and when she went through her diarrhea phase. In addition to the disposable diapers, we have also tried giving her more milk at night. My milk supply has dropped from 4oz every 3 hours to 3oz every 3 hours (during the day) and Rose completely depleted my extra in the first 3 months I went back to work.  The few nights we gave her an extra bottle, she did seem to sleep longer. The only problem is that I can't make the milk to cover the extra bottle.  Every time I would go to buy formula, I'd turn away after looking at the terrible ingredients. Corn syrup!?! Are you kidding me!?! Plus, I haven't been able to find small sample size and don't want to drop $25-30 on a huge can I may never use again if she doesn't like it, or has a reaction to it.  So, I found a good deal on Organic Similac ready to feed and picked it up. I haven't given any to Rose yet, but probably will very soon. It will be a sad day for me when I have to give it to her. For now, I'll keep pumping as much as I can to try and keep up with her demand. I really wanted to go straight from breastmilk to cow's or goat's milk.

Lastly, as another side note... an update on me...I have (not intentionally) dropped well below my pre-pregnancy weight. People are not kidding when they say breastfeeing helps mom lose weight.  I had a few extra pounds when I got pregnant, so I started a little high, but I am down to the thinnest I've been since high school. While this sounds like great news, it's problematic because none of my pants fit well (except a few jeans). They all hang loosely (and not in a flattering way).  I've been relying on skirts and dresses for work, but with the weather getting cooler, that is not going to be possible for much longer.  I love that I can indulge in more food, although this also means more preparation and grocery shopping.  I've actually cut back on working out (with the exception of playing soccer) to balance out my energy needs a bit more.

I can't believe I also forgot to mention that Rose is 17 pounds, 7 oz. While the doctor didn't give us a fancy printout of her stats on the growth chart, I've plotted her by hand right around the 50% percentile.

And now, onto the videos and images of my precious little girl!!

Miss Rose at 8 Months

Ready to go to school on her 8 Month Birthday

There was a cold day in October - we got to pull out a winter hat
Rose was sleepy on the way into school that morning.

 Here is Rose "talking" in her exersaucer after we spent a few days away from home.


Here is Rose dancing mid-September


Rose and Darwin enjoy the beach in this rather long video


Rose "clapping"


Rose is crawling!


Rose standing up


I welcome any feedback from other moms on introducing solids, building milk supply at 8 months post-partum, and/or exercising while nursing.