Ella: Nine Months

Nine months with our Ella girl, and it was her busiest month yet. Crazy how fast these months are flying by – here’s her update!

Ella at nine months:

• Weight: Her doctor’s appointment is next week and I’ll update then, but I’m sure she is closing in on 20 pounds. Girlfriend is getting big!
• Length: No clue – we’ll find out next week!
• Every day I look at her and think she looks a little bit more like Chris. Her eye shape is 100% his, and so many of her other features are too. Her hair is a very light brown now with lots of blonde to it – nowhere near as dark as it was when she was born.
• She’s still in 12 month clothes and they fit her pretty well right now – she has so many so I hope they fit a bit longer before we have to jump to 18 month stuff!

• No doctor’s visits this month – just next week for her normal checkup and vaccinations.
• I am in disbelief that we successfully made it to 9 months of breastfeeding. To be honest, I never expected to make it this far. We’ve now gotten to our family vacation, so it’s all downhill from here. I am planning to keep pumping at work until she turns one or until my supply completely tanks, but now that we’re past this trip, I’m at peace with whatever happens. I plan to nurse morning and evening as long as I can if she wants it!

• This girl cannot get enough of food. She eats EVERYTHING. She still loves chicken the most, but she’s had eggs, pasta, tacos, fish… we basically just to baby led weaning at this point. We are still sending purees to daycare and she’ll eat them at home too, but I know we only have a little bit of time left with those purees!
• Still sleeping through the night with two naps a day for the most part. She goes down for the night between 7:45 and 8:15 and usually sleeps until 6am or so.

• Ella still has ZERO teeth. Honestly, it doesn’t surprise me since Abbie didn’t have teeth yet at her age either. I think the bottom two are finally close to breaking through – there’s a huge bump at the center of her bottom gums now and she’s been a little bit crankier lately. Everything goes into her mouth. Having no teeth isn’t stopping her from eating though!
• Ella officially learned to crawl this month and mastered it in about 30 minutes. We have one step down into our living room, and she mastered getting up that in the next 30 minutes. She’s also trying to pull up on everything I feel like she’ll be walking within 6 weeks.
• In cloth diapers 95% of the time, or in disposables size 3.

• Our solo car rides home from daycare are getting a little bit easier. There has been a lot of playing Moana songs and making silly faces… and sometimes she still gets upset and I have to just tune her out and drive. Part of living where we do is dealing with the commute – for all of us.
• Still the biggest momma’s girl ever. If I’m out of sight, she’s fine, but if she sees me, she wants me.
• Nicknames: Miss Ella, Ellabella, Miss Thing, Boo Boo

Life with Two:

I just can’t get over the bond these two are growing. Abbie is always helping Ella get her toys, holding her hand, and making her laugh. Now that Ella is mobile, she’s chased Abbie around while Abbie giggles up a storm. Abbie is not a fan of sharing her toys, so that’s a work in progress. Overall, I just love watching them together. It’s the best.

Postpartum:

Nothing new here – the baby hairs are still driving me nuts, my weight loss is slowly starting to get a little bit easier, and Ella being so much more interactive just makes everything worth it. Honestly, my weight is what it is, and if it takes me until after I’m done nursing to get rid of all this weight… I’ll deal with it. I’m looking forward to the day I stop pumping (I have a countdown of work days left in my phone notes) and getting my work days back to normal.

Nine months. Getting so big and it’s just about time to start planning a birthday party!