Forty Weeks

Isla had her 9 month appointment this past Wednesday. She is still our Little Peanut but her growth is right on track. She weighed 16 pounds, 2 ounces (10th %ile), her length measured 26 1/4 inches (10th %ile) and her head was 17 1/4 inches (25-50th but closer to the 50th %ile). We spent most of the appointment talking about France. Our pediatrician very kindly asked me "What made you decide to take a trip of this length with a 9 month old?" What's she trying to say!!? :) She said she was actually quite impressed and was excited to hear how it goes. Because of our trip, Isla got an early MMR shot in her arm which made her cry big crocodile tears (apparently it really stings). She also got a shot in the leg and had a heel stick to measure her iron status. Poor girl! She had quite the set of war wounds. I'm proud to say her hemoglobin was 12.8 which is quite good if I do say so myself.

Isla started dancing this week. No, I don't think you understand. Like really dancing. The three of us were out and about and there was some music on in the background. Out of nowhere, Isla starts bopping her head and then, GET THIS: she raises one hand and starts pushing it in the air to the beat like a girl in the club (at least, that's what I'm told they do...) Seriously!? Graham and I both just looked at each other and started laughing. I told him she certainly did NOT get it from me because a) I don't dance and b) when I do dance, I don't use my arms and I certainly don't look that good. I can't wait to capture it on video. It has been repeated numerous times since, particularly when we are driving in the car. That backseat tranforms into a nightclub, I tell ya what.

What I did capture on video is Isla's other new dance move. It's her head shaking, arms flailing dance. She started doing it over the weekend.


I am thrilled to report we are making progress with our napping issues! I had completely lost my confidence as a mother after having much more crying than sleeping at naptimes. So, I decided to try moving her morning nap a half hour earlier to 8:30 AM. I also am trying a new routine of spending about 5 minutes rocking her, reading to her, singing, letting her touch my face which really seems to help her wind down before I lay her in the crib. And, my favorite part is that I discovered that we have a Baby Einstein Lullaby CD (THANK YOU TO WHOMEVER GAVE THAT TO US!!!!) which I started playing and it works magic! She's moving back toward hour long naps again, at for least the past couple days...at this point, I'll take anything longer than 20 minutes!

This week feels like a blur as far as her new foods go. I think this was the first time I gave her toast. She also had bits of a whole wheat pita as well as her very first cheese quesadilla. Yesterday I gave her some cottage cheese to try and she also had a couple blueberries blended into her breakfast yogurt. She continues to be an easy kiddo to please, as long as she gets to eat EVERY time she sees you eat.

Another big milestone this week is that Isla figured out how to click her tongue. She is so proud of herself and usually does it right away when you do it to her (except of course when you are trying to catch it on video). I let her watch the video of herself doing it and she got really excited and started clicking right away. (Oh and take note of her crazy squealing/inhaling sound that she makes too. The one that makes her cough).