Nine Months

More like nine and a half months, but oh well.  Better late then never.  Piper had a well-check with her new pediatrician a couple of days ago. We decided to choose Dr. Shannon Brigman, who has a small practice in town with one other doctor.  I had actually met her nine months ago when she examined Piper before being released from the hospital.  I hope she's a good fit for our family, but only time will tell.  Piper weighed 18 lbs, 6 oz and measured 27.5 inches long, which put her in the 53rd percentile when comparing weight to height.  Dr. Brigman said she is the poster child for ideal body proportions...not too chunky, but not too skinny either. She gave me the green light to drop one of Piper's milk feedings, specifically when I inquired about her post-afternoon nap/pre-dinner feeding.  We are 'day three' into her new feeding schedule, and so far she doesn't seem affected by the loss of meal #4.  However, we've replaced milk for cheerios in a snack cup. As I mentioned in a previous post, there's a lot to report regarding Piper's development.  While we were in California her second top tooth began to poke through, and as predicted, she began to crawl.  Although, in the beginning it wasn't your traditional crawl on all fours. She would drag one leg while pushing off with the other foot. It looked pretty funny.  But since we've been back home, her crawling has ironed itself out, and she is on to more advanced things like pulling herself up and occasionally letting-go.  She even started walking behind her push toys. She has also began making sounds similar to mamamama and nananana. I kinda thought she would pick up words a lot faster then McKinley did, considering she listens to her talk all day.  But Dr. Brigman said it's just the opposite.  Apparently because she is the second child and hears her sister talking non-stop, she feels like she doesn't have to.  Eating solid foods is going really well.  She's practically a garbage disposal because anything we put on her tray she quickly gobbles up. We've expanded her solids to include dinner, and she is trying new table food daily.  We also recently introduced yogurt, and she loves it. Next up is eggs.  Let's see.....what else? We are slowly transitioning out of her swaddle, and now her arms are free.  Even though her legs are still wrapped, she is a little houdini, and one afternoon I found her standing up in her crib hanging on to the side rail.  Time to lower the mattress!   The photo shoot proved to be challenging, for as soon as I placed her where I wanted her to be, she would crawl towards me. Hence, we have a lot of close ups.  She is definitely making her personality known and has a flair for the dramatic.  When she gets upset, she'll throw her head back (see below).  Well, there's probably more I could share, but I'll wrap it up and save it for another day.  Boo bear, we love you so much and can't believe you're already nine months old!

Pre-photo shoot set up.

One of my faves!

Drama queen!  Check out the major gap between her top front teeth.