9 Months Out

Nine months is always a fun stage - not just because of all the fun things baby is doing, but also because it's interesting to think that baby has now been out of the womb as long as he was in the womb! Kinda crazy! And honestly, although pregnancy can seem to stretch on and on, Jake is so much apart of our lives that it's hard to believe he's only been "out" for nine months. I cannot imagine life without him. He is so precious and wonderful. Daily we are amazed by the blessing he is to our family - his smile, his giggles, his kissable cheeks, his slobbery kisses, the way he lights up when his daddy gets home from work, the way he loves to snuggle with his mama, and the way he laughs excitedly at his sister and brother's silly antics. Oh, Jacob, how we love you!

Jake can say "dada," "mama," "all done," "kkk" for kitty or "bubba" (the cat's nickname), "all done," and occasionally it's obvious he attempts to say "hi" and "bye." Of course, those outside our family may not understand all these words, but we do! :) He can also sign "all done" and "more" and loves to clap. He can't crawl yet, but is very close and definitely gets around several feet from where he's left. We recently got the walker out of the attic storage and Jacob took right to it! Within minutes he was moving around the kitchen and so excited about his new-found mobility. I love seeing his pleasure...but I completely forgot about how the walker also allows babies to reach the garbage can, pull my dish towels down (over and over again), and bang into heels and run over toes (poor Abby got a real bugger the other day!). Oh, but it's worth it when you see his grin!

He thought it was hilarious when he rolled beneath the kitchen table when I'd pulled the chairs out to sweep!

He also LOVES to walk around the house holding onto my fingers and gets very upset whenever I stop. :)

And very recently he has started to pull himself up on his own, so I'm thinking "cruising" is right around the corner for him, perhaps even before crawling.

 He continues to be a good eater, in volume and variety. There is not much he will refuse and he enjoys some pretty flavorful concoctions that I come up with (even heavy on the garlic! :). He is semi-texture sensitive, but not as much as Ben was (thank goodness!), so we've moved onto to thicker purees but he's not eating "table food" except cheerios.

Silly boy!

But even with all that eating and his wide girth, it appears that he is going to be on the small side. He weighed in at 19 lbs 5 oz (25th percentile) and measured 27 inches in length (8th percentile) at his 9-month appointment. And like his siblings (and, ahem, father and father's family), his head is quite big (18.25 inches, 75th percentile).

Jacob still wakes up on average once a night, anywhere from 1am to 6am. I'm guessing this will probably keep up until we're done nursing. But hey, I've managed this far, so what's another 3 months or so? :) Plus, I've had many more issues with him than the other two with keeping my milk supply up, so perhaps it's for the best that he doesn't want to drop all the night feedings. As for the rest of his sleeping habits, he wakes for the day anywhere between 7:30 and 8:30, takes a morning nap from about 10:30-12:00, an afternoon nap from about 3:00-4:30 or 5:00, and then goes to bed around 9:30.

Jacob continues to be our happy boy, smiling, laughing and giggling at everything. His laugh sounds incredibly close to Ben's, so close that sometimes it's hard to tell them apart if you are not looking at them. He is terribly ticklish. Everywhere. In fact, it's down right difficult for me to wash under his arms because he's so ticklish there that he can't stop giggling and keeps his arms held tightly to his sides.


Oh, Jacob, these past nine months have been some of the best ever! We love you so dearly. As Abby said to you last night, "Jakey, you are just so precious!" Happy 9 Months to my sweet little boy!