The Lang Family: January 2012

Two weeks into 2012 and our sweet Reed is now nine months old! He's made some big strides this month, and we think some even bigger milestones are just around the corner. Reed continues to amaze us with his easy-going nature (he didn't even make a peep when getting his 9-month shot!), and we see more and more of his personality every day. He is still thoughtful and serious in new situations - he needs to study and take everything in before letting loose with smiles and laughter. But Reed is not stranger shy - he'll let anyone hold him - and when he feels comfortable, Reed loves to giggle and play. He can be quite strong-willed (especially when it comes to food!) and wants to touch everything he sees, but he is also able to focus quickly and for long periods of time. We fall more in love with this kid every day!

Here are all the things we want to remember about Reed at nine months:

At 20 pounds, 12 ounces and 29 inches long, Reed is in the 50-75 percentile for both weight and height. He's wearing mostly 12-month clothing, although he still has a few pairs of 9-month knit pants and sleepers.
Speaking of sleep, Reed continues to be a great sleeper. He takes two naps a day: the first from around 9 - 10 a.m. and the second from 1:45ish to 3:30/3:45. We put him down for bed around 7 or 7:15 and he sleeps until 6:45 or 7 a.m.
Reed is still only taking breastmilk for liquids and has approximately 32 ounces a day, with three 7-8 ounce bottles at daycare, around 8 ounces in the morning from Mom, and only 2-3 ounces before bed (if any).
He's gotten really good at holding his own bottle, although we do have to keep our hands nearby in case of accidents. The bottle/nursing sessions are more challenging now, since Reed is so much more distracted. He wants to be looking around and doing other things, so it takes quite a bit of perseverance to get him to finish a full bottle.
Solids went a lot better this month, although we started having a few problems again in the last week or so. He eats a carton of food, plus half a sandwich thin and piece of cheese for lunch, Mum Mums as a snack, and a carton of food, carton of yogurt, bread or puffs, and sometimes an egg for dinner.
Reed's favorite foods are yogurt, fruit/grain mixes, bread, and cheese. He's hit or miss on eggs and cottage cheese. The big development here is that he LOVES to feed himself and is starting to rebel a bit against spoon-feeding, which is making it a challenge on some of his old favorites, like yogurt. We also found out at his doctor's appointment that his iron count is a bit low, so we need to do a better job of giving him meat and cereal. The challenge will be finding new and interesting finger foods for him, especially since . . .
He doesn't have any teeth yet! Since I'm still nursing, I'm not really complaining! Plus, I just love his gummy grin.
Reed has gotten much better at pulling up and has gotten himself to a full stand several times, although most of the time he seems to get stuck at his knees.
He got to a sit on his own in his crib once, but we haven't seen him do it since. He seems so close, but most of the time we still have to help him get to a sitting position.
Reed is so close to crawling! He can scootch forward and sometimes does a semblance of an army crawl. He can also get into a pike position and get to his knees, but he can't figure out how to move from there. We feel like the big moment could happen any day and we're just hoping it's when we're home to see it.
He continues to be fascinated by Ari P., who wants even less to do with Reed than she did before! She's definitely going to be in trouble once Reed is mobile. Watch out, Ari!
While we were in California for Christmas, Reed's favorite "word" was "ba ba", but ever since we got back, it's been "ma ma". He says it all the time, and sometimes he even seems to intend it for me! When I took him to his 9-month appointment, out of nowhere he said, "Ma ma", and when I looked back at him, he was grinning at me in the mirror. Who knows - maybe that will be his first real word!
Speaking of mama, Reed has gotten very attached to me this month. Perhaps because I was with him so much in CA, but he often wants to be held by me or near me in some way. No complaints here!
On Christmas Eve, Reed waved and clapped for the first time. His first wave was to Nana, which was very special. It's a little inconsistent - he doesn't do it all the time - but he really loves to wave at himself in the mirror every morning.
Reed loves to hang upside down and often will launch himself backward in our laps, which keeps us on our toes!
He also loves being tickled, both on his tummy and under his chin.
Reed's favorite toys are his monkey toy (he was so excited to see it when we got back from CA!), his V-Tech music ball from Nana and Papa, his drum from Gram and Grandpa, his dog from Uncle Rob and Aunt Brie, and elephant ball popper from Aunt Rachel.
After months of reading with no response, Reed is finally showing an interest in some books! His favorites are All of Baby, Nose to Toes (thanks Marilyn and Bob Riffle!), The Going to Bed Book (thanks Melissa Reichley!), and Good Night Moon, as narrated by Grammy. By far, All of Baby is his favorite. He gets excited before we even open the first page!
He has gotten very into peek-a-boo, and he really loves it when I jump out from around a door or corner, then creep up to "get him". Loads of giggles!
Reed got very into smacking his lips this month, and still enjoys blowing raspberries.
Last but not least, just like I did when I was little, when he gets excited, he tenses his whole body up, especially his arms. Grammy freaked out a little when she saw Reed do it - a little deja vu!