{alligator: Jellycat // dress: Peek // leggings: Carter’s (old) // onesie: Gerber (old)}
{Eloise wanted to jump in during the photo shoot with Daphne this morning. I love this picture of them. Sharing a sister secret!}
{month nine} Nine months? Guys, that’s three-quarters of a year. I feel like I am going to blink and it’s going to March 1st. This monthly milestone is definitely emotional for me (emotional, but in a good and happy way).
Daphne is all about standing these days. If she can use something to help her get up to standing, she will, for better or for worse. And she has definitely taken some tumbles from trying to use something that wasn’t strong enough (like a toy or ball) but she is learning and getting so much stronger in her legs. She can stand up on her own and only be holding on by like a finger – she is SO close! But, beyond standing, she doesn’t seem as interested in actually walking. At least yet. She will cruise a bit along the table, but if she wants to get somewhere, she is happy to plop back down on her bottom and crawl. And boy is she a fast crawler! She can get around a room so quickly these days and I think the second gate (to block off the stairs) is imminent. Like this weekend. Daphne has had some exposure to stairs, but still has some learning to do. The actual climbing up part is pretty natural for her (a lot like crawling) but she tends to want to sit down which is scary on stairs since there isn’t much room for that!
Eating is still going well. As I mentioned, Daphne is eating all BLW food (so she is feeding herself with her hands) and it is almost impossible to get her to eat from a spoon at this point. She just wants to grab it and fling the food off, and then chew on it. So, eventually we will re-introduce the spoon as a feeding tool that she can control, but for now, her hands work well! More and more I have been trying to feed her what we are eating (especially for dinner) just a de-constructed version of it. We have yet to find a food that she doesn’t eat, and we have tried a wide breadth of food!
Daphne is still such a good sleeper. (Knock on wood!) Part of the thing that helps, especially for me during the week, is that she is pretty routine by waking and sleeping at the same time every day. There is still some leeway in her schedule where some days she is up at 7:30 am or doesn’t nap in the afternoon until 1:45 pm, but still consistent enough where I can rely on her daily schedule to schedule my own day and week, and know exactly when she is going to be ready for sleep. Before nap times she can go from crazy crawling all over to asleep in 1 minute, but at bedtime, she is ready for bed. Any time after 7 pm is fair game for bedtime and she will let us know when she’s ready for a bottle and bedtime snuggles. We are still alternating between pumped milk and formula at nighttime and she doesn’t seem to have a preference at all.
Like the true younger sister that she is, Daphne never wants to be left out. If there is something going on, she wants to see it and be part of it. It is pretty cute when this means that she is included in Eloise’s play, but it sometimes means that things get moved up to the dining room table or other high-up surface and that Daphne does not get to play. But we have a rule with Eloise that if Daphne is either playing with something that isn’t a Daphne-safe toy or is something really special to Eloise (meaning she doesn’t want to share it), then she has to find an alternative toy for Daphne. Sometimes Daphne will be super interested in that alternative toy (meaning she will chew on it) and sometimes she will move onto something else by speed-crawling away!
Nursing is still going well and is super short these days. Partly that is because Daphne is a much more efficient eater, but partly also because she is SO distracted. I try to nurse her in a neutral setting where there isn’t too much distraction (noise, lights, people) so that I know she will get a full feeding. We are still nursing 4 times per day and I don’t see any early signs of weaning. Yet. I know its coming, but for now it works!
{weight} 19 pounds.
{hair} blackish brown.
{teeth} two bottom middle teeth, top four teeth.
{eyes} dark grey/brown.
{clothes} 6 months (pants only), 9 months and 12 months (Carter’s), 6 to 12 months.
{diapers} size 3 {from the honest company}. At home we are doing cloth (Grovia) and disposables when we go out and overnight.
{feeding} nursing every 3.5 to 4 hours during the day, starting around 8 am. feeding sessions last around 5 to 10 minutes (both sides). bedtime is around 7:30 with a 6 oz bottle.
{likes} eating, bath time with Eloise, watching big kids or babies, crawling, pulling up to her knees or feet, spinning on her back and belly, teething rings, chewing on anything, sitting in her highchair, staring at her quilt (from Amanda), rattles, nursing, riding in the car (usually), her big sister Eloise, Sadie, singing, lights, paci, being bounced, sucking on her hands, being tickled, talking (cooing).
{dislikes} having gas, lying down flat right after eating, being hungry or tired, not having a bottle immediately after seeing it, having her face or nose wiped off.
{nicknames} Daph, Daph Daph, Daphers, Bug, Snorty, Baby D, Daphne Doo, Daph-a-doo, Love, Lovebug.
And here is Eloise’s nine month update.
Happy NINE months Daphne!
M
This post contains affiliate links.