Tuesday, January 17, 2012

9 Months

I can hardly believe my baby is 9 months. Though she reached this milestone a week ago, and I loathe going back to retroactively post things (I think I'm going to rebel and NOT post all those December photos...unless I find I just have to share something). But it would be a shame to not document her progress.
Caroline is a happy girl, quick to laugh, smile, and make noise in general. She is reaching the 'into-everything' stage and keeps us on our toes. Everything goes in her mouth and everything makes her gag, and therefore everything makes her throw up too (this girl has a powerful gag reflex. She found a teeny piece of leaf at church this week and threw up in Relief Society-- don't worry folks, just a gag not a flu) . She has found every teeny piece of paper or lint or beads or leaf things that might have escaped our vacuum scrutiny. She finally started taking a bottle and is getting really good at it, but she still prefers to nurse when she is really tired.
Speaking of tired, Caroline's sleeping habits have gotten worse. Poor girl, she has been sick again this month (family visits share more than just love and memories---all the bugs go around too). She has digressed in her nightly sleeping, getting up at least twice for feedings. Her naps are unpredictable too. Some days she only gets a one hour nap total. You'd think those days would have her begging for an early bed time, but she still refuses to go down earlier than 10 every night. Oh, believe me, we've tried putting her down earlier. EVERY SINGLE TIME she ends up throwing up in her bed from crying and then we've got a tired grouchy baby AND a mess. She ends up falling asleep at random times. Like this.
or just looking tired and grouchy like this.
We are all eager for her to stop horsin around and get better sleep. Because she is much nicer when she is well rested. And everyone knows that MOM is much nicer well rested too!

Caroline has 4 teeth and is finally starting to do more with solids. Still not a ton, but she rarely gags on the pureed food now. Yes, we're still at puree. Can't even think about more substantial food yet since she still gags like crazy if it isn't ground up nice and fine. But at least she is enjoying food more these days. She had pizza puree last night and gobbled it right up!

My favorite is seeing her personality come out more and more. She LOVES music and making sounds. I have mentioned before that she loves percussion, well, that has increased. She figured out clapping and is thrilled to clap even when there is no music on. She loves to experiment with hitting different toys together to achieve different sounds. And if you are holding her, you can expect her to slap at you to see what you 'sound' like. She loves the sound of her own voice and babbles constantly when she is happy. Sometimes she experiments with various growls, lip smacks, raspberries, etc. She will find one she likes and do it for 1/2 an hour straight. Her favorite sounds are "geuh-geuh-geuh-geuh" (very gutteral and emphatic, like you just got punched in the belly) and "mahmahmahmah" (which is her chant for food). She ADORES Gwen and follows her around everywhere trying to grab her hair. She also figured out how to pull herself up to standing and attempts to cruise along the couch.

She's growing up so fast and I can hardly believe it! We sure to do love this gal!

Some short video clips for your viewing pleasure. Nothing spectacular, but I know certain grandparents who will like them anyway. :)

9 comments:

  1. Oh what a cutie! So sorry about the sleep habits, though. That's no fun!

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  2. I can empathize with the poor sleep habits. Kenzie did something similar up until... oh, last week. I've never been able to get her to bed before 9pm and she nursed 3+ times a night until 18 months old. I hope Caroline gets to feeling better and sleeping better soon because it really is rough for the mother!

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  3. My mother told me that I did the same thing. I would cry and cry until I gagged and threw-up. She let that happen a few times and decided it wasn't worth it. I just wanted to not be alone, so she would let me fall asleep wherever I wanted:)

    I still apologize to her for it.

    She is such a cutie! Good luck establishing some sleep habits. It's rough even with kiddos who don't have major gag reflexes:)

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  4. I'm so sorry about the sleeping issues and the gag reflex!! Two very hard issues. Good thing she is so darn cute, right? I really hope now that you're settling back in at home that she'll start feeling better, sleeping better, and even eating better.

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  5. she is darling elisa. and please do post pictures of your adventures. i love seeing how lovely life is.

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  6. Eden pukes all the time too, but she's not a gagger. There's just plentiful and completely random puking. Which doesn't bother her at all, but plums on the carpet and carrots on every article of clothing I own isn't my favorite part about her :)

    Hope you're able to get some solid sleep soon!

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  7. Oh Elisa she is so beautiful (just like her mamma). I love reading little snippets of your life, because I miss having these conversations with you! I do hope sleep gets better soon, and I hope she's able to control the gag reflex to eat more solid foods. Oh man you have had a lot on your plate these past few months! Are you still doing classes, or are you taking a break right now? Oh I miss you. Love you!

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  8. She's adorable!! I love her round little face; I can't believe she's already cruisin; Mackenzie's still not crawling yet! I really do hope Caroline starts to sleep better...grouchy Mamas are no fun!

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  9. Love it!!! I can't believe how quickly they go up!!! I already feel that way and Maddy isn't even here yet LOL.
    Thanks for your sweet comment on my blog. YOu are too kind for caring about the shower. Steph Hart has offered to throw me a shower and I believe it is going to be on Feb 4th. You are def invited and I hope you can come!!! Thanks for everything:)
    Ps. I will let you know after my class tonight what my friend says about tomorrow.

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