9 months old!

Noah is now 9 months old!
There was a different nurse when we went to his doctor's appointment today and after she weighed and measured him and put it in the computer she said, "I don't think this is right--it says he is only in the first percentile." I told her that yes, it is right because he was born 3 months early and his adjusted age is only 6 months and all that... she said she never would have thought that by looking at him and that he really doesn't look small for a 9 month old. That is nice to hear. (And for us being in the first percentile for a 9 month old is pretty cool. :) And it is nice to hear our doctor rave about how well he is doing. (I tell her that he is pretty much crazy and she says "I love it.") We've come a loooong way in 9 months.



At 9 months he:

• is 15 1/2 pounds and 26 inches long
• his head circumference is 16 1/2 inches (7 inches bigger than when he was born)
• sleeps 11 hours at night
• has become kind of power napper and usually only naps for about half an hour, but wakes up happy and ready to play
• is still a great eater
• loves to eat big boy food--he has tried pears, applesauce, squash, and sweet potatoes and loves them all
• won't eat just rice cereal mixed with breastmilk anymore; I guess it isn't tasty enough
• drinks out of a cup with help
• loves to sit in his high chair
• no teeth yet
• his cute little giggle has pretty much been replaced by a loud scream
• has perfected his cheesy grin (see previous post!)
• can roll all the way across a room
• can sit up on his own for a few seconds, but needs to work on it (The NICU warned us that this would probably happen. He is very strong in some muscles and seems to even be ahead, but other muscles are weak. This is from not being all scrunched up in Mommy's belly like he should of been. He will start PT next week to work on it a little bit. Considering all the things we could be dealing with right now, I am not complaining or freaking out about this one little bit. If he is a little late in sitting or reaching other milestones, I am so okay with that.)
• is kind of a little flirt--he loves to smile at the ladies and play the "I'm so shy" game (It is so fun to continue to see his personality develop--he has never been lacking in that!)
  
• Photo shoots are a lot more difficult now...
• I love my 9 month old!